Brew's 187g slice of the ocean

Victoria M

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The water side of the reactor is done. Leak checking it now. Cooked and ate while it sits.

B8F43DCD-D729-4849-B235-767FD31390AD.jpeg
Nope! Not gonna put that in my mouth!
I grew up eating whatever we could catch as a kid. I was hungry, and it was what we had. But now? Nope!
 
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Brew12

Brew12

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P.S. please explain with a drawing with the water flows after it is all set up.
Will do. Took me a bit to figure it out when I first considered getting it.
 
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Brew12

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I'm not brave enough to start playing with the CO2 side of things tonight. Tomorrow I will get that set up, the pH probe calibrated, and kick up the testing rate on my KH Director. I'll probably test 8 times a day until I'm confident I have a handle on things.
 

Victoria M

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I'm not brave enough to start playing with the CO2 side of things tonight. Tomorrow I will get that set up, the pH probe calibrated, and kick up the testing rate on my KH Director. I'll probably test 8 times a day until I'm confident I have a handle on things.
Looking forward to it
 

Lowell Lemon

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I am. Sipping on some bourbon, contemplating what life has in store for me.
A hang over tomorrow! That's what is in store for you lol! All those soldiers marching through you mouth with muddy boots on that is what is next...how do you do that to yourself? Just resist snorting Vodka like @najer okay? ;Wacky ;Meh:p
 
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Brew12

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A hang over tomorrow! That's what is in store for you lol! All those soldiers marching through you mouth with muddy boots on that is what is next...how do you do that to yourself? Just resist snorting Vodka like @najer okay? ;Wacky ;Meh:p
Nope, no hangover. I enjoy my Makers 47 but I very rarely get drunk. When I do, it's normally on vacation.

Progress was made this morning. I got the pH probe calibrated and the CO2 unit all working. I did raise my alk testing to 8 times a day for now. The pH in the reactor is still too high to melt the media, but its dropping nice and slow.

On todays list... mixing up more 2-part ;Blackeye I mixed up a gallon of each last weekend and only a few days left before I'll need to refill the containers. Well... depending on how this whole Calc Rx thing goes.

I still need to program in some fail safes for the 2 water pumps and CO2 solenoid along with cleaning up under the tank. All in all it's been a productive morning. Going to enjoy a little more coffee then start on refinishing cabinets again.
 
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Brew12

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I've been fighting this thing all morning. Seemed to be taking a crazy amount of CO2. I realized it had to be leaking CO2 but couldn't figure out where from. I could rule out any parts under water, so that helped.
I know how to make leak detector using water and dish soap, but the thought of spraying it near my tank rules that out. So out came a small strip of tissue which barely flapped when I found the leak. Lid wasn't tight enough. Seems to be much better now.
Hopefully I can get it dialed in now that this is fixed.
 

crusso1993

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I've been fighting this thing all morning. Seemed to be taking a crazy amount of CO2. I realized it had to be leaking CO2 but couldn't figure out where from. I could rule out any parts under water, so that helped.
I know how to make leak detector using water and dish soap, but the thought of spraying it near my tank rules that out. So out came a small strip of tissue which barely flapped when I found the leak. Lid wasn't tight enough. Seems to be much better now.
Hopefully I can get it dialed in now that this is fixed.

Good that you were keeping a close eye on it as many folks suddenly have an empty CO2 tank and wonder what happened. Good catch!
 
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Brew12

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Still can't get the leak stopped, so the playing is over for now. I'm going to make a Lowes run in a bit to get some silicone grease. That should get the leak stopped without my worrying about damaging the lid by over tightening.
 
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#honestyinreefing

Ok, time for an update on the Calc Rx. I fought it all last night and ended up shutting it down again. This morning it dawned on me what I was doing wrong. Yesterday, after fighting the CO2 leaks, I picked up some silicone grease to help the O-ring to seal. I thought that was working, but I was my own worst enemy. I think I was frustrated and was cranking up the regulator to drop pH faster and then trying to dial it in. What I was doing was over-pressurizing the reactor and blowing the silicone grease out allowing new leaks.
So.. I took it apart, cleaned it up, and applied fresh grease. I dialed up CO2 to a slow drip and walked away. No rush, no looking for an hour. Sure enough, pH is now holding steady with a constant slow drip rate. The fact my KH Director automatically adjusts dosing makes it a little challenging to know how much the reactor is contributing, but it's doing something.

So.. the process I'm using to adjust. My Alk setpoint is currently at 10dkh. Since I haven't adjusted my dosing rate in a few days, my KH Director could only get alk to 9.3dkh because of the limits I have set. Alk is now at 9.6dkh so I know it is doing something. When alk gets up to 10dkh I'll lower the setpoint to 9.6dkh so the KH Director will automatically reduce dosing. I'll keep adjusting as needed until more and more demand is met by the reactor.
 
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Brew12

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So, I have an update, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm dosing over 400ml per day of each 2 part. The calcium reactor is at a pH of 6.7dkh. Alkalinity is holding steady but not climbing. This is ridiculous. Maybe the reactor needs to break in before it starts really adding significant amounts of alk and kalk.
 
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