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- Jul 14, 2018
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Question:
How do I lower output of my calcium reactor further while corals catch up in size?
I am in the process of shifting an old 90 gallon reef into a newish, 340 gallon reef. So far, I have transferred most of the coral by numbers, but they are mostly on the small side. The new tank has a calcium reactor instead of a two-part doser, the time needed to maintain the doser was getting to be too much (200 ml per day on the 90 gallon). I have finally got my reactor stable but it seems to be putting too much calcium in as my numbers are getting out of sync. (i.e. Ca is going up and Alk is going down, so I assume the coral are not using enough and the imbalance is coming from the excess additives). Its going slowly but I would like to have that stop, so I don't have to add two part in. Measurements are below but I have a calcium reading of 500, I don't mind the number, but if I do nothing for a week or two, the Alk drops below 7 and the Ca. continues to rise. So something must be done.
Please correct me if I am wrong, it is my understanding there are three ways to adjust the amount of enriched effluent that comes out of my reactor:
1) Increase flow rate in the reactor (read that the faster the flow rate simulates a higher reactor, therefore more enrichment to effluent at a given pH)
2) Decrease the pH, (all things equal, lower pH means more enrichment of effluent)
3) Adjust flow rate of effluent, at a given pH the faster the effluent leaves the reactor, the more enriched the effluent will be.
Should I lower effluent rate further? Too low could cause lines to clog up, right?
Should I turn the reactor off (or the CO2 off) at night? Can I prgram APEX to turn off at night, but to turn back on if CA or Alk drop to a certain level?
Should I raise the pH over 6.8? I figure I am borderline right now, though if the pH meter is out of calibration significantly, that could be an issue too.
Background:
350 gallon tank
RO Varios CR220 Calcium Reactor w/Two Little Fishes Media (i think)
Reactor pH 6.78 to 6.88 over the course of 24 hours, Neptune double junction pH probe
tank pH 8.02 to 8.05, Neptune double junction pH probe
Drip Rate 10ml/minute (peristaltic pump)
Flow rate in reactor set to 2 of 5 (DC pump with variable speed, no idea what 2 is flowrate but it is the second to last, and the last setting in the "normal" flow rate)
Current measurements of water (measured by recently calibrated trident):
Ca 493
Alk 7.45
Mg 1350
*I know the trident isn't super accurate, but I am shooting for stability only and would like Alk between 8 and 9dkh.
How do I lower output of my calcium reactor further while corals catch up in size?
I am in the process of shifting an old 90 gallon reef into a newish, 340 gallon reef. So far, I have transferred most of the coral by numbers, but they are mostly on the small side. The new tank has a calcium reactor instead of a two-part doser, the time needed to maintain the doser was getting to be too much (200 ml per day on the 90 gallon). I have finally got my reactor stable but it seems to be putting too much calcium in as my numbers are getting out of sync. (i.e. Ca is going up and Alk is going down, so I assume the coral are not using enough and the imbalance is coming from the excess additives). Its going slowly but I would like to have that stop, so I don't have to add two part in. Measurements are below but I have a calcium reading of 500, I don't mind the number, but if I do nothing for a week or two, the Alk drops below 7 and the Ca. continues to rise. So something must be done.
Please correct me if I am wrong, it is my understanding there are three ways to adjust the amount of enriched effluent that comes out of my reactor:
1) Increase flow rate in the reactor (read that the faster the flow rate simulates a higher reactor, therefore more enrichment to effluent at a given pH)
2) Decrease the pH, (all things equal, lower pH means more enrichment of effluent)
3) Adjust flow rate of effluent, at a given pH the faster the effluent leaves the reactor, the more enriched the effluent will be.
Should I lower effluent rate further? Too low could cause lines to clog up, right?
Should I turn the reactor off (or the CO2 off) at night? Can I prgram APEX to turn off at night, but to turn back on if CA or Alk drop to a certain level?
Should I raise the pH over 6.8? I figure I am borderline right now, though if the pH meter is out of calibration significantly, that could be an issue too.
Background:
350 gallon tank
RO Varios CR220 Calcium Reactor w/Two Little Fishes Media (i think)
Reactor pH 6.78 to 6.88 over the course of 24 hours, Neptune double junction pH probe
tank pH 8.02 to 8.05, Neptune double junction pH probe
Drip Rate 10ml/minute (peristaltic pump)
Flow rate in reactor set to 2 of 5 (DC pump with variable speed, no idea what 2 is flowrate but it is the second to last, and the last setting in the "normal" flow rate)
Current measurements of water (measured by recently calibrated trident):
Ca 493
Alk 7.45
Mg 1350
*I know the trident isn't super accurate, but I am shooting for stability only and would like Alk between 8 and 9dkh.