McDam
Active Member
Since R2R has been such an amazing source of knowledge for me through out my years in the hobby I want to share this idea with you all. It was originally posted under the chemistry forum for discussion but this has now become quite the DIY project and I think this is a more appropriate place for it, as I would like to continue to show my progress and future updates.
The whole idea here, is to use carbonated water as a source to lower ph in a reactor similar to calcium reactor, on a smaller scale, and without the use of pressurized CO2 to dissolve calcium carbonate material to be dosed to our reef aquariums for supplementation and coral growth.
Here is a link to the original post.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/club-soda-calcium-reactor.243181/
please have a read and feel free to post any comments or questions here.
Here is the gist of it and the DIY part quoted form the OP. Enjoy!
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My assumptions where that if I mixed carbonated water and tank water into a sealed container full of coral media (I used small dry rock ruble since I had some around) where the ph can be controlled within the reaction chamber by the rate and ratio of the dose of each liquid, and the subsequent addition of fluid would then force the effluent out and into the sump. Once the ratio was figured out I could proportionally increase or decrease the amount added by both dosing pumps to reach a drip/flow rate to satisfy the calcium and alkalinity demands of the tank.
So I set out to test it. I already had two dosing pumps from previous two-part dosing. I had all the tubing I needed, and the media required. I just needed a sealable container to put it all in.
I got some fittings that would allow me to connect the tubing and insert the pH probe. Just had to buy some Club Soda. Easy Peasy!!
I drilled 2 holes on one side, one for the CS (Club Soda) and one for the SW (Saltwater). One other hole near the top side for the effluent to drain out of, and one in the lid for the pH probe. Filled the unit with the rock ruble and presto, a miniature calcium reactor.
Once I had that all done I did a few tests to get a better idea if I would actually be able to get the pH low enough without using the entire bottle of CS, turns out the CS has a pH of around 5.34 measured using apex pH probe.
Then I tested to see how much CS it would take to get the SW down to an acceptable range to dissolve the media.
First test was 10 ml of tank water and 1 ml of club soda resulting in a ph of 5.66 . Ratio 10:1
next I tested 10 ml of tank water and 0.1 ml of club soda " " Ph of 6.62. Ratio 100:1
So I hooked it all up and gave it a whirl.
So one dosing pump is pulling water from the sump and injecting it in the middle section of the reactor. The other dosing pump is pulling from the bottle of CS and injecting it in the bottom of the bottle. There is no re-circulation within the reactor but I may try and add it some how. The pH is monitored at the top and as fluids are pumped in, the excess is pushed out the upper side and back into the sump. I filled the reactor (or bottle to be frank) with water from the sump then added CS until I reached a pH target of 6.50. I initially set the dose to started out with a 20:1 ration SW:CS to see if the ph would raise or lower and then adjust I would adjust it from there. What I didn't realize, but made sense, was that the 10:1 ration would not be the same when the coral media is added.
As it dissolves the coral media the ph of the solution increases. So I just had to add a bit more.
here is the pH reading while trying to tune it or dial it in. the large spikes are from me moving the pH probe back to the main display to make sure it was still ok pH wise.
Then it seems I found the sweet spot and I gotta say I am quite surprised by how stable it is once it is set.
So now, all that's left is to monitor the tank parameters. Get Alk and Calc up to a desirable level and adjust dosing to match the demand.
I did do an effluent alk test quickly last night and was very excited when I went through the whole 1ml syringe of titrant and it was still blue.(red sea test kit) I will have to do another test but from what I gather the effluent is around 25 dkh. I don't know whats ideal but its a pretty good start!!!!
The whole idea here, is to use carbonated water as a source to lower ph in a reactor similar to calcium reactor, on a smaller scale, and without the use of pressurized CO2 to dissolve calcium carbonate material to be dosed to our reef aquariums for supplementation and coral growth.
Here is a link to the original post.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/club-soda-calcium-reactor.243181/
please have a read and feel free to post any comments or questions here.
Here is the gist of it and the DIY part quoted form the OP. Enjoy!
*********************************************************************************************
My assumptions where that if I mixed carbonated water and tank water into a sealed container full of coral media (I used small dry rock ruble since I had some around) where the ph can be controlled within the reaction chamber by the rate and ratio of the dose of each liquid, and the subsequent addition of fluid would then force the effluent out and into the sump. Once the ratio was figured out I could proportionally increase or decrease the amount added by both dosing pumps to reach a drip/flow rate to satisfy the calcium and alkalinity demands of the tank.
So I set out to test it. I already had two dosing pumps from previous two-part dosing. I had all the tubing I needed, and the media required. I just needed a sealable container to put it all in.
I got some fittings that would allow me to connect the tubing and insert the pH probe. Just had to buy some Club Soda. Easy Peasy!!
I drilled 2 holes on one side, one for the CS (Club Soda) and one for the SW (Saltwater). One other hole near the top side for the effluent to drain out of, and one in the lid for the pH probe. Filled the unit with the rock ruble and presto, a miniature calcium reactor.
Once I had that all done I did a few tests to get a better idea if I would actually be able to get the pH low enough without using the entire bottle of CS, turns out the CS has a pH of around 5.34 measured using apex pH probe.
Then I tested to see how much CS it would take to get the SW down to an acceptable range to dissolve the media.
First test was 10 ml of tank water and 1 ml of club soda resulting in a ph of 5.66 . Ratio 10:1
next I tested 10 ml of tank water and 0.1 ml of club soda " " Ph of 6.62. Ratio 100:1
So I hooked it all up and gave it a whirl.
So one dosing pump is pulling water from the sump and injecting it in the middle section of the reactor. The other dosing pump is pulling from the bottle of CS and injecting it in the bottom of the bottle. There is no re-circulation within the reactor but I may try and add it some how. The pH is monitored at the top and as fluids are pumped in, the excess is pushed out the upper side and back into the sump. I filled the reactor (or bottle to be frank) with water from the sump then added CS until I reached a pH target of 6.50. I initially set the dose to started out with a 20:1 ration SW:CS to see if the ph would raise or lower and then adjust I would adjust it from there. What I didn't realize, but made sense, was that the 10:1 ration would not be the same when the coral media is added.
As it dissolves the coral media the ph of the solution increases. So I just had to add a bit more.
here is the pH reading while trying to tune it or dial it in. the large spikes are from me moving the pH probe back to the main display to make sure it was still ok pH wise.
Then it seems I found the sweet spot and I gotta say I am quite surprised by how stable it is once it is set.
So now, all that's left is to monitor the tank parameters. Get Alk and Calc up to a desirable level and adjust dosing to match the demand.
I did do an effluent alk test quickly last night and was very excited when I went through the whole 1ml syringe of titrant and it was still blue.(red sea test kit) I will have to do another test but from what I gather the effluent is around 25 dkh. I don't know whats ideal but its a pretty good start!!!!
