cal reactor ? and plumbing ?

[kevinbeth]

What size hole saw do i need to use for a 1" bulkhead ? Is it 1 inch or a little bigger.

How does a calcium reactor get water from the tank to the reactor and back. Are there 2 pumps, one to feed the reactor and one to circulate once inside the reactor, or is there just one feed pump and thats it. If using it inline with your ato would that be enough to supply the tank or is it just better to have seperate controller and pump

 

[elfloyd]

I have my feed to the Cal reactor tapped into my return line. It runs all the time. Flow through the ATO may not be enough. And I have one pump to circulate water within the reactor.

 

[weaglereefer]

I think it's a 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" hole for a 1" bulkhead. Not positive.

You run a feed pump (or run off the return pump) and have a recirculating pump run the reactor. It's also common to have water run through a canister of aragonite media before it re-enters the tank so the pH isn't depressed too much.

 

[kevinbeth]

So if its always running from the return pump then how would you shut it down when ph swings?Is the controller shutting the co2 down eough to stop a ph drop?

 

[weaglereefer]

I would assume that you could stop the recirc pump and water would just flow through. You could always put a solenoid in-line just in case. I got a 12v solenoid for $15 on fleabay and had a spare inverter sitting around. It runs my RO/DI unit to top off my 5 gallon reserve.

 

[grouper therapy]

The feed source runs all the time. The ph controller is typically used to control the co2 injected into the reactor. Does your reactor have a port for the ph probe?
You could put the feed source on a ph controller to stop the flow of effluent out of the reactor in the event that the ph does drop below a set point but you will need a solenoid valve

 

[kevinbeth]

Anyone know for sure what sizei need to drill?