DaStaCo Reactor Thread

[KPersico]

Please see setup below. I keep getting an alarm sound. I have a co2 monitor and I don’t show that it’s a co2 leak. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[reef_ranch]

Nothing jumps out from the pictures. Has it ever run properly or is this your first set up? If it has run properly in the past, the issue could be the float switch, the peri pump tubing or the eheim pump. The best advice I could give clean the reaction chamber and the float switch and set it back up. If that doesn't do it, check to make sure the eheim pump is working and if it is, change out the tube in the peri pump.
If this is your initial set up, check the length of the tubing and make sure the intake tube is under water and not collecting bubbles and that effluent tube is not submerged.

 

[Janci]

Please see setup below. I keep getting an alarm sound. I have a co2 monitor and I don’t show that it’s a co2 leak. Any help would be greatly appreciated

There are different kind of alarms.
First to know is when the alarm goes off? Is this after starting up or much later?
Check the options on the alarm page included here.

 

[Janci]

I will do the test tomorrow.
Take out the line to the tank for 24 hours and measure the quantity.
These pumps run 4.2L/h so the count is done easily.
Just like to find a way to count how many times it doses per day.

I have ran this test and found that about 10.7 liter is pumped through the reactor in 24 hours.
The alkalinity of the effluent is 57.4 dKH (tested twice to be sure)
For a Dastaco with the controller settings on 1 vent and the dosing knob set at only 1.2(-ish) I believe that is a LOT!
I try to maintain alkalinity at 7 dKH.
Pumping 10 liters of this kind of effluent in a 650L tank seems heavy.
I will check pH as well as soon as I have a test kit.

Does anybody have an idea of the alkalinity (+ controller settings) of his set up?

 

[reef_ranch]

I have ran this test and found that about 10.7 liter is pumped through the reactor in 24 hours.
The alkalinity of the effluent is 57.4 dKH (tested twice to be sure)
For a Dastaco with the controller settings on 1 vent and the dosing knob set at only 1.2(-ish) I believe that is a LOT!
I try to maintain alkalinity at 7 dKH.
Pumping 10 liters of this kind of effluent in a 650L tank seems heavy.
I will check pH as well as soon as I have a test kit.

Does anybody have an idea of the alkalinity (+ controller settings) of his set up?

Kalkwasser has a dKH of 114 (according to this article by RHF: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php) -- that's 2 times the amount you measured in your effluent using this calculator: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/AlkConversion.php. The reef chemistry calculator (http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html) calculates that for a 120g tank that uses 1 dKH of alk per day, it takes 3.98 liters of kalkwasser to maintain the alk. That equates to about 8 litres of your effluent. If your measurements are correct, your tank uses about 1.2 dKH of Alk per day. Seems reasonable?

 

[Janci]

Kalkwasser has a dKH of 114 (according to this article by RHF: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php) -- that's 2 times the amount you measured in your effluent using this calculator: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/AlkConversion.php. The reef chemistry calculator (http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html) calculates that for a 120g tank that uses 1 dKH of alk per day, it takes 3.98 liters of kalkwasser to maintain the alk. That equates to about 8 litres of your effluent. If your measurements are correct, your tank uses about 1.2 dKH of Alk per day. Seems reasonable?

Thank you @acesq I did not get to those calculators yet.
And yes, this is pretty close to the alkalinity drop I saw in 24 hrs.
Strange enough, I saw a bigger Alk drop during the night than during daytime.
I might check this again to verify the statement as this was not expected at all.

 

[road_runner]

Hello all,
Anyone know why first chamber is half filled and what happen if media is less than half or more than half?

 

[reef_ranch]

Hello all,
Anyone know why first chamber is half filled and what happen if media is less than half or more than half?

Probably very little difference. Logic tells me the more media in the first chamber the less dissolution since it is buffering the water. I’m sure that if you’re within 10-20% of suggested you’ll be fine.

 

[reef_ranch]

Double post

 

[road_runner]

Probably very little difference. Logic tells me the more media in the first chamber the less dissolution since it is buffering the water. I’m sure that if you’re within 10-20% of suggested you’ll be fine.

So more media mean more alk/ca or less alk/ca? I have heared both and not sure which is correct...
What happen if 1st chamber is full
What happen if 1st chamber is 20% full only?

 

[reef_ranch]

Less media will dissolve faster, but if you want to supercharge the system, best to vent more times per day.

 

[reef_ranch]

Dissolve faster = higher alk/calcium. Appreciably faster/higher?? Can’t say.

 

[road_runner]

Less media will dissolve faster, but if you want to supercharge the system, best to vent more times per day.

My problem is opposit. I think my dastaco might be oversized for my need. And its putting on more alk than I would like. Even with setting 1 alk and 1 venting...I talked to aissa he recomended increasing the media in 1st chamber a bit more but it did not help.
He is now on vacation and I do not want to bother the poor guy he was incredibly helpful so am asking around to learn more from ppl as well.

Also a freind of mine who ise the dastaco and I trust alot, told me kind of thebopposit. Less media means less alk. So trying to ask around incase I miss understood something.

 

[reef_ranch]

My problem is opposit. I think my dastaco might be oversized for my need. And its putting on more alk than I would like. Even with setting 1 alk and 1 venting...I talked to aissa he recomended increasing the media in 1st chamber a bit more but it did not help.
He is now on vacation and I do not want to bother the poor guy he was incredibly helpful so am asking around to learn more from ppl as well.

Also a freind of mine who ise the dastaco and I trust alot, told me kind of thebopposit. Less media means less alk. So trying to ask around incase I miss understood something.

I’d go with Alissa over any other opinion. If it’s that oversized, you could either trade it for a smaller one or turn it off at night.

 

[road_runner]

I’d go with Alissa over any other opinion. If it’s that oversized, you could either trade it for a smaller one or turn it off at night.

But I thought turning on and off the dastaco is a big no no...

 

[reef_ranch]

But I thought turning on and off the dastaco is a big no no...

You aren't going to be getting a steady input of Alk/calcium throughout the day, but the unit will work as well.

 

[road_runner]

You aren't going to be getting a steady input of Alk/calcium throughout the day, but the unit will work as well.

Super useful thank you so much

 

[1Blazer]

Im in the same boat--- I love the reactor but I have an A2 system from Unique Corals and it seems to be oversized and the PH at its worst is around 7.7 after leaving the reactor on. I have tried to use my apex to control it via the pH probe but i just ran into inconsistent Alk measurements. I am considering putting a Nilsen reactor for the effluent to feed into and raise the pH but I am not sure that would work well. Any thoughts?

 

[1Blazer]

Double Post

 

[1Blazer]

Triple Post

 

[1Blazer]

Quadruple Post

 

[1Blazer]

I give up now ;Dead

 

[road_runner]

Im in the same boat--- I love the reactor but I have an A2 system from Unique Corals and it seems to be oversized and the PH at its worst is around 7.7 after leaving the reactor on. I have tried to use my apex to control it via the pH probe but i just ran into inconsistent Alk measurements. I am considering putting a Nilsen reactor for the effluent to feed into and raise the pH but I am not sure that would work well. Any thoughts?

Yeh I wanted A1 but unique coral convinced me to go A2..I think it was bit oversized for me. But that's ok its managable.
I did not mind the ph drop, I use co2 scrubber anyway.
That being said beside the higher level alk I am running the alk is rock solid actually. I have kh guardian and test every 2 hours. The reactor is very consistent..