calcium reactor cant keep up with alk

blstravler

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Make sure that your test kits are fresh and accurate. Then wait a few more days. My tank does not use calcium and alk in pure balance, but I can true it up about every 3-4 months with just a few tablespoons of dowflake (calcium chloride driveway melt).

Adjust your reactor based on carbonate and then adjust the calcium if you need to. I have never found it to work very well the other way
Thank you for the quick reply - Just went out and picked up new test kits - will test again and get back.
 

blstravler

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Make sure that your test kits are fresh and accurate. Then wait a few more days. My tank does not use calcium and alk in pure balance, but I can true it up about every 3-4 months with just a few tablespoons of dowflake (calcium chloride driveway melt).

Adjust your reactor based on carbonate and then adjust the calcium if you need to. I have never found it to work very well the other way
It’s highly embarrassing that my test kits were the issue. Calcium and Mag are fine. Will lower my Effluent ALK down some to get my tank ALK down.
 

bob lloyd

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Has any one had similar experiences, because TMC co2 bottles here in the UK are small I started using a local gas dealer the only co2 they sell is food grade using this along with my PH controller I can’t get it over 7kh in display tank , with TMC co2 I could go to 12 kh . I would have thought co2 is co2 weather it be TMC or food grade. Any thoughts please.
 

john2

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Help~I was setting up my K reactor for the second time. It began leaking where the small plastic tube is inserted to the outlet. I noticed the grey three way junction was cracked and leaking. MODEL C1502. Anyone know where I can find parts. One dealer said they thought the company had gone out of business.
 

jda

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The fitting are metric, but you can replace them if they are the ones that screw in. Korallin always had replacement parts, but tarrifs and pandemic might have slowed them down. You might be able to seal that up with some super glue gel or some weld-on depending on where it is and what material is there... hard to know without a photo.
 

Rst

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@jda or OP's experience with AquaMaxx T3

My AquaMaxx T3 has been tuned according to @jda's post #14. This works amazingly, keeping my tank's Alkalinity steady at 9.5 dkh.

But only one annoying problem to solve – can this reactor be modified to stop the annoying generation of excess CO2 bubbles constantly circulating?

When following jda's method, I have tried to set the bubbles to the lowest possible number according to my CarbonDoser's range of settings.(minimum of 1 bubble every 10sec) while still keeping my ratio at its optimum setting. Still no joy
 

jda

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You can take any tube and attach/glue it to the top extending down 1/2 inch around the pump inlet. This will pull water from lower down and allow the co2 to build up on the top. I tipped my aquamaxx on the side for a while until I did this and had the pump inlet near the bottom.
 

Rst

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You can take any tube and attach/glue it to the top extending down 1/2 inch around the pump inlet. This will pull water from lower down and allow the co2 to build up on the top. I tipped my aquamaxx on the side for a while until I did this and had the pump inlet near the bottom.
Wow thank you so much for you quick reply. If you still have this reactor, any chance you can send me a few close ups of where and how yours is attached?
 

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Wow thank you so much for you quick reply. If you still have this reactor, any chance you can send me a few close ups of where and how yours is attached?
Hi jda,
Very sorry to trouble you but I don’t really understand how to make this bubble collector you suggested.

I am probably handy a little with drilling a small hole through the lid (is 1/2” drill bit the right size?) and could even tap (thread) if that’s what you did - but I obviously want not to make a mistake.

Can you look at this photo taken from the top of my reactor and point out where to drill the hole(maybe through the word “WATER” where the “SUMP WATER IN” label is OR could be at the other end of the input acrylic channel where the bubbles and water enter the acrylic channel then making its way along to the pump’s inlet) and what I might use for a CO2 collection container. Would a clear 1/2” diameter and 4” high acrylic test tube or bowl shaped be what you might recommend or something similar?

Hoping you can forgive my being persistent but I really want to get this right. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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MAB Reef

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Just read through this thread for probably the 2nd time and it's finally all starting to make sense. Thanks @jda for all this info. I'm close to getting my CaRX tuned and all the info you provided has helped tremendously. This is especially helpful since my pH probe was reading incorrectly very high so I was shooting for 6.5 not realizing I was melting my media just trying to get passed 8. Now I'm just using the pH probe to seal the hole.
 
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