Need a new calcium reactor Opinions
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OK Here are my readings: GEO 618, MI SMS122 controller set to come on at pH 6.6, Drip rate: 5 drops/sec (4.8 to be exact).
Effluent dKH: 23
Tank dKH: 9
Joe, I think you are taking the right steps to decrease the drip rate. Can you see the correlation now between the slow drip rate like what Ares uses and the very high dKH effluent he has. Mine is in the middle, with a higher effluent rate but slightly lower dKH?
Single CA reactor adjustments will do the following (not changing other settings:
Lower controller setpoint>increase dKH of effluent/tank
Raise controller sepoint>decrease dKH of effluent/tank
Lower effluent drops/sec rate>increase dKH of effluent/tank
Raise effluent drops/sec rate>decrease dKH of effluent/tank
Lower CO2 bubble count> lower dKH of effluent/tank
Raise CO2 bubble count>raise dKH of effluent/tank
These settings have worked for me for months. Matter of fact, I recently raised the pH setting of my controller because the dKH had crept up to 10.
But I wouldn't set your controller lower than 6.3 period
Dave
Effluent dKH: 23
Tank dKH: 9
Joe, I think you are taking the right steps to decrease the drip rate. Can you see the correlation now between the slow drip rate like what Ares uses and the very high dKH effluent he has. Mine is in the middle, with a higher effluent rate but slightly lower dKH?
Single CA reactor adjustments will do the following (not changing other settings:
Lower controller setpoint>increase dKH of effluent/tank
Raise controller sepoint>decrease dKH of effluent/tank
Lower effluent drops/sec rate>increase dKH of effluent/tank
Raise effluent drops/sec rate>decrease dKH of effluent/tank
Lower CO2 bubble count> lower dKH of effluent/tank
Raise CO2 bubble count>raise dKH of effluent/tank
These settings have worked for me for months. Matter of fact, I recently raised the pH setting of my controller because the dKH had crept up to 10.
But I wouldn't set your controller lower than 6.3 period
Dave
skriz
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Tom is 100% right about the media (surprise, surprise!). The small media is the best media. They're both made of the exact same stuff, so your only difference is in the surface area. The more surface area, the better. The smaller media is easier to "melt", using less CO2 and delivering more goodness into your tank.
FYI: All of our commercial reactors (used in coral farms and such) use the small media.
FYI: All of our commercial reactors (used in coral farms and such) use the small media.
I have one pump that feed my refugiums and the reactor. I can open it more or turn it down but it appears to be set right. There does not appear to be to much pressure built up by it but enough that if I open the valve there is plenty more effluent then I need.
Could this effect anything? I would only think it would matter if there was way to much being pumped in there. Hell I don't know any more.
I sure do miss the old days were all I had to do was adjust the effluent rate and let the controller do all the work.:sad:
I am stubborn but please help me understand.
If I cut the effluent rate in half to 55 ml and it increases the DKH of the effluent by double which would be from 21 to 42. I am still putting in the same amount of dkh into the tank right?
What am I missing here? I feel like I am not getting something that you guys see. :confused2:
Thanks everyone I appreciate it.
Joe
Could this effect anything? I would only think it would matter if there was way to much being pumped in there. Hell I don't know any more.
I sure do miss the old days were all I had to do was adjust the effluent rate and let the controller do all the work.:sad:
I am stubborn but please help me understand.
If I cut the effluent rate in half to 55 ml and it increases the DKH of the effluent by double which would be from 21 to 42. I am still putting in the same amount of dkh into the tank right?
What am I missing here? I feel like I am not getting something that you guys see. :confused2:
Thanks everyone I appreciate it.
Joe
Well you are right about the amount the PH.
Here is the problem I need the dkh of the effluent to increase by more then double to get my tank were I want it at around 9.5 to 10DKH.
So the suggestion of lowering the effluent rate will help with the PH problem but it has not allowed me to put more dkh in the tank. Unless somehow if when I lower the drip rate it will more then double the amount of DKH in the effluent. Maybe it will help by having more dewill time or something.
The Idea of reduceing the drip rate will help my tank I am not sure. It will raise the dkh of the effluent but I geuss the only way to know if it will more then double the dkh is to try it.
Correct?:confused2:
Thanks Joe
Here is the problem I need the dkh of the effluent to increase by more then double to get my tank were I want it at around 9.5 to 10DKH.
So the suggestion of lowering the effluent rate will help with the PH problem but it has not allowed me to put more dkh in the tank. Unless somehow if when I lower the drip rate it will more then double the amount of DKH in the effluent. Maybe it will help by having more dewill time or something.
The Idea of reduceing the drip rate will help my tank I am not sure. It will raise the dkh of the effluent but I geuss the only way to know if it will more then double the dkh is to try it.
Correct?:confused2:
Thanks Joe
well it'll drip more DKH into your tank, but you'll need to get your tank where you want it. Even though the effluent is higher, if your tank isnt set to the levels you want, you wont raise the tank with the reactor alone.
Yes you are right I added some baking soda last night. I have done this before but it kept droping to around 8.8. So my reactor was not adding anough dkh to meet the demand.
Then I decide that I can increase the rate to like 140 or so and that will hold me for a while or I can buy a new reactor but before I did that I wanted to make sure it would fix my problem.
The reson I started this thread.
I may go buy small media and try that.
Thanks Joe
Then I decide that I can increase the rate to like 140 or so and that will hold me for a while or I can buy a new reactor but before I did that I wanted to make sure it would fix my problem.
The reson I started this thread.
I may go buy small media and try that.
Thanks Joe
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Sorry about jumping into this so late, Joe, I've been pretty busy.
Tom and Raj already shared my opinion on reactor media. Smaller media produces more because it has a larger surface area/volume ratio. If you're using an MRC reactor, they come with strong enough pumps to force water through a finer media.
The spraybar even distributes water throughout the reactor so the media melts evenly. It prevents uneven distrubtion of CO2 resulting in even pH throughout the reactor.
The second chamber's primary use is to increase the pH of the effluent before in returns to the tank. It melts some media along the way, which does increase the KH/Ca in the effluent somewhat.
Decreasing the flow increases the dKH by lowering the pH of the reactor in reactors without controllers. You increase your CO2/mL of water ratio. If you have a controller, the CO2 will shut off once the pH drops to your set point, negating the slower flow output.
If you want a smaller reactor to put out more, you have to increase the flow rate in the same ratio as the bubble rate to keep the pH low enough to melt the media. I doesn't matter if you have a high flow rate through your reactor as long as your main chamber pH is low and you're coming out at a high enough pH to not disrupt your system pH. You'll just go through media faster this way, which is what you want.
Maintenance becomes an issue with this because of a more constant need to replace media. The problem with this, is that as your media melts away, the output decreases(less surface area to dissolve). This is where a larger reactor is needed. You can do the job with a small one, but you'll never take your hands off of it.
To give you an idea of the potential of an MRC commercial size reactor- I have a client with a 700 gallon that sports a MRC CCR-818 Single. I had it running a little</em> hot and accidentally had the KH at 14. I slowed down the drip rate which caused the controller to release less CO2, which slowly reduced the KH as it was consumed. That reactor will go through half of its media in 14-16 months.
The drawback to using lot's of kalk to fight low pH is the precipitation of magnesium. When you see kalk hit the water and turn white, it's precipitating out Mg. As long as you stay on top of it, it won't be an issue- but that's one more thing you have to adjust and watch on your tank.
Tom and Raj already shared my opinion on reactor media. Smaller media produces more because it has a larger surface area/volume ratio. If you're using an MRC reactor, they come with strong enough pumps to force water through a finer media.
The spraybar even distributes water throughout the reactor so the media melts evenly. It prevents uneven distrubtion of CO2 resulting in even pH throughout the reactor.
The second chamber's primary use is to increase the pH of the effluent before in returns to the tank. It melts some media along the way, which does increase the KH/Ca in the effluent somewhat.
Decreasing the flow increases the dKH by lowering the pH of the reactor in reactors without controllers. You increase your CO2/mL of water ratio. If you have a controller, the CO2 will shut off once the pH drops to your set point, negating the slower flow output.
If you want a smaller reactor to put out more, you have to increase the flow rate in the same ratio as the bubble rate to keep the pH low enough to melt the media. I doesn't matter if you have a high flow rate through your reactor as long as your main chamber pH is low and you're coming out at a high enough pH to not disrupt your system pH. You'll just go through media faster this way, which is what you want.
Maintenance becomes an issue with this because of a more constant need to replace media. The problem with this, is that as your media melts away, the output decreases(less surface area to dissolve). This is where a larger reactor is needed. You can do the job with a small one, but you'll never take your hands off of it.
To give you an idea of the potential of an MRC commercial size reactor- I have a client with a 700 gallon that sports a MRC CCR-818 Single. I had it running a little</em> hot and accidentally had the KH at 14. I slowed down the drip rate which caused the controller to release less CO2, which slowly reduced the KH as it was consumed. That reactor will go through half of its media in 14-16 months.
The drawback to using lot's of kalk to fight low pH is the precipitation of magnesium. When you see kalk hit the water and turn white, it's precipitating out Mg. As long as you stay on top of it, it won't be an issue- but that's one more thing you have to adjust and watch on your tank.
OK sorry to jump in here but I am getting ready to set up an MRC CR-1with ph meter and following this thread has just messed with my head.
Large or small media?
What Ph in chamber?
Manually increase the Alk ?
I know there is more but can't even remember what I don't know.
Thanks
Large or small media?
What Ph in chamber?
Manually increase the Alk ?
I know there is more but can't even remember what I don't know.
Thanks
