Can Only Get Effluent in Calcium Reactor to 14.4 dKh

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Don't sweat the pH in the reactor - just test the effluent dKh and forget about the pH. Just make sure that the tank dKh stays stable. I don't recommend to worry about tank pH either, but if you are 8.1 to 8.3, then you are plenty fine.

I just tested the other day and my reactor dKh was about 21. This is keeping me at 6.8 right now. Over the next few months, this will drift to 6.6 or 6.5 and I will turn up the reactor and remeasure... it could be 20 or 28 or whatever and I don't care as long as the tank dKh is good - it is impossible to exactly hit the ratio in the head, so the output will vary slightly which is cool. The tank dKh will slowly climb to about 7.2 over a week or two and then start to fall again. This is a normal cycle if you are growing things.

Letting the CaRx run 24/7 will also keep your tank pH as high as possible. The co2 is more efficiently used and the on/off dump with a solenoid will not happen which lets a lot of unused co2 out of the chamber and into the tank. My tank pH barely moves with my CaRx running, but we constantly have windows open and fresh air in the home - I mean like thousands of cubic feet per day and not a single window cracked an inch. The co2 in your home will determine tank pH more than your reactor will. The reactor can exacerbate a low pH tank in a closed up home, but the co2 in the ambient air is the issue, not the CaRx.
 
OP
OP
PeterC99

PeterC99

Solarbenchmark.com
View Badges
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Messages
6,384
Reaction score
30,060
Location
White Plains, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Don't sweat the pH in the reactor - just test the effluent dKh and forget about the pH. Just make sure that the tank dKh stays stable. I don't recommend to worry about tank pH either, but if you are 8.1 to 8.3, then you are plenty fine.

I just tested the other day and my reactor dKh was about 21. This is keeping me at 6.8 right now. Over the next few months, this will drift to 6.6 or 6.5 and I will turn up the reactor and remeasure... it could be 20 or 28 or whatever and I don't care as long as the tank dKh is good - it is impossible to exactly hit the ratio in the head, so the output will vary slightly which is cool. The tank dKh will slowly climb to about 7.2 over a week or two and then start to fall again. This is a normal cycle if you are growing things.

Letting the CaRx run 24/7 will also keep your tank pH as high as possible. The co2 is more efficiently used and the on/off dump with a solenoid will not happen which lets a lot of unused co2 out of the chamber and into the tank. My tank pH barely moves with my CaRx running, but we constantly have windows open and fresh air in the home - I mean like thousands of cubic feet per day and not a single window cracked an inch. The co2 in your home will determine tank pH more than your reactor will. The reactor can exacerbate a low pH tank in a closed up home, but the co2 in the ambient air is the issue, not the CaRx.
Did add a cheap second chamber to the calcium reactor with fine media and noticing the effluent jumped to 26dKh. My tank pH has also stabilized to 8.15 to 8.3.

Really appreciate your detailed answers and patience. Thank you.
 

watdachuck

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 21, 2013
Messages
1,028
Reaction score
984
Location
Columbus, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Jumping in late to this one but I am having the same issue. I ran out of Reborn which BRS no longer seems to stock. I changed nothing on my reactor (6.4 Ph calibrated) and alk just keeps falling. I dialed up the effluent rate while maintaining Ph and we will see what happens overnight. I wish Caribsea gave a little more guidance with their product.
 
OP
OP
PeterC99

PeterC99

Solarbenchmark.com
View Badges
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Messages
6,384
Reaction score
30,060
Location
White Plains, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Jumping in late to this one but I am having the same issue. I ran out of Reborn which BRS no longer seems to stock. I changed nothing on my reactor (6.4 Ph calibrated) and alk just keeps falling. I dialed up the effluent rate while maintaining Ph and we will see what happens overnight. I wish Caribsea gave a little more guidance with their product.
I had to lower pH of water in calcium reactor to produce high Alk effluent.

EE3C76B3-3E39-4AAC-B59A-C6F52AC01B38.png
 

watdachuck

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 21, 2013
Messages
1,028
Reaction score
984
Location
Columbus, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you, I adjusted my controller to a low of 6.3 and will see how things look in 24 hours. My last test with reborn had the tank at 8.3, then I change to ARM. Day 1 (7.8), Day 2 (6.7), Day 3 (6.1).....I am going to wipe my tank out making this change at this rate!!!!
 

brahm

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
492
Reaction score
357
Location
Mammoth Lakes,Ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm running my reactor PH @ 6.30 it's the only way the media I'm using will melt. I beat my head against the wall trying to get it up higher per the articles, posts, and recommendations, but it didn't work for me. I also added a second chamber to offset the lower PH.

Code:
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/005:00/005:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 < 9.00 Then ON
If CxrxpH < 6.30 Then OFF
If Output CXRX_dosing = OFF Then OFF
 
OP
OP
PeterC99

PeterC99

Solarbenchmark.com
View Badges
Joined
Aug 28, 2020
Messages
6,384
Reaction score
30,060
Location
White Plains, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm running my reactor PH @ 6.30 it's the only way the media I'm using will melt. I beat my head against the wall trying to get it up higher per the articles, posts, and recommendations, but it didn't work for me. I also added a second chamber to offset the lower PH.

Code:
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/005:00/005:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 < 9.00 Then ON
If CxrxpH < 6.30 Then OFF
If Output CXRX_dosing = OFF Then OFF
I added the second chamber as well.

Really like the line where if Alk below 9 the turn CO2/reactor on.
 

brahm

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
492
Reaction score
357
Location
Mammoth Lakes,Ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I added the second chamber as well.

Really like the line where if Alk below 9 the turn CO2/reactor on.

Thanks, It's part of my overbuilt APEX logic to keep my Alk between 8.5-9.0 That code controls when c02 is added to the reactor.

Then I have my schedules broken out into 7 virtual switches.

1) For if the Alk is Low
Code:
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/015:00/005:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 > 8.49 Then OFF
If Time 00:00 to 11:00 Then OFF

2) For if the Alk is High
Code:
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/003:00/027:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 < 9.06 Then OFF
If Time 00:00 to 10:00 Then OFF

3) For if the Alk is in the range I want it to maintain.
Code:
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/005:00/015:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 > 9.00 Then OFF
If Alkx2 < 8.50 Then OFF
If Time 17:59 to 06:00 Then OFF

4) Is for Peak usage period (I found my tank seems to consume the most between 6pm & Midnight so I have it override the maintain levels for that time period)
Code:
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/010:00/010:00 Then ON
If Alkx2 > 9.05 Then OFF
If Alkx2 < 8.50 Then OFF
If Time 00:00 to 18:00 Then OFF

This controls them all.
Code:
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Output level_alk_p = ON Then ON
If Output raise_alk_d = ON Then ON
If Output raise_alk_n = ON Then ON
If Output level_alk_d = ON Then ON
If Output level_alk_n = ON Then ON
If Output drop_alk_d = ON Then ON
If Output drop_alk_n = ON Then ON

1, 2, 3 are replicated with different values for when the lights are on and off as the usage seems to differ consistently during those times. If we had real-time ALK monitoring setting it up would be a lot simpler. I found when I first got things going the 6-hour window was large enough that things could swing drastically between tests. I also found if I always used even numbers say 9.00, in some cases it would be at say 9.01, think it needs to drop the ALK until the next test (6 hours later) and it would drop it way too much so I have a little buffer in there
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Jumping in late to this one but I am having the same issue. I ran out of Reborn which BRS no longer seems to stock. I changed nothing on my reactor (6.4 Ph calibrated) and alk just keeps falling. I dialed up the effluent rate while maintaining Ph and we will see what happens overnight. I wish Caribsea gave a little more guidance with their product.

Stop with the pH and test the effluent dKh. Post back with what it is. This is the key number to know with your setup. If you don't know how to get your test kit that high, then hollar... some are harder than others.
 

watdachuck

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 21, 2013
Messages
1,028
Reaction score
984
Location
Columbus, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Stop with the pH and test the effluent dKh. Post back with what it is. This is the key number to know with your setup. If you don't know how to get your test kit that high, then hollar... some are harder than others.
Effluent is 7.3 dkh....will test again in another hour or so.
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It needs to be like 25, or so. There is a wide range, but 25 usually efficiently uses the co2 (if you go constantly without a pH controller). Some use it like 35-40 or more.
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No pH probe is the same as another. They are cheap, hobby grade tools that are prone to error and are not all that reliable. You just have to take them as a swag, or just stop using them.

You will probably need to wait overnight to test again. These things do not move quickly.
 

Mark Gray

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
2,957
Reaction score
2,827
Location
Athens GA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It needs to be like 25, or so. There is a wide range, but 25 usually efficiently uses the co2 (if you go constantly without a pH controller). Some use it like 35-40 or more.
Mine comes out somewhere between 40 and 60 but I never check it often.
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have had mine up to 50, but the tank pH took too much of a hit from the wasted co2. I can run at twice the effluent rate at 25 dKh and not have any tank pH problems. Fortunately, my reactors have always been large enough not to have to crank them up even more, but I could if I wanted to.

Goal for me is to keep up with tank demand and then not have the tank pH move at all. Found that 25ish dKh is a good spot for this, but not every tune hits this on the money, so if it is 21 or 28, I don't freak out.
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is going to sound harsh, but do you mean missing something other than that chamber pH to run a reactor is not all that reliable? I don't mean to be harsh and just trying to help, so if you are dead set on doing it this way, just let me know and you will never hear from me again on this.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 38 48.1%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 41 51.9%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 16 20.3%
  • None.

    Votes: 21 26.6%
  • Other.

    Votes: 8 10.1%
Back
Top