Equipment Review: Aquarium Engineering ACR (Automatic Calcium Reactor)

[this is me]

I emailed Bill on a new purchase inquiry and he was able to respond within 6 hours.
I'm now very hesitant to buy it from him after reading the last couple posts.

 

[dadnjesse]

I emailed Bill on a new purchase inquiry and he was able to respond within 6 hours.
I'm now very hesitant to buy it from him after reading the last couple posts.

He's quick to answer if he doesn't recognize your number. He did replace a controller for me after hounding him for weeks on Face Book. He's on Face book almost every day, you just have to join the group.

 

[PSU4ME]

I don’t see any way to join his group on FB. Found his page but it doesn’t look active. Called from a few numbers, no dice

 

[jdiefenbaugh]

I don’t see any way to join his group on FB. Found his page but it doesn’t look active. Called from a few numbers, no dice

You have to submit a request to join the private page. Mine has been pending for some time, but I did hear he was having problems with FB and something about the possibility of the page having to be deleted/reset.

 

[Chueco]

Then you let people know, so they're understanding, simple as that. Also, people don't generally care when a CEO has personal problems, as it isn't considered in the warranty. My personal problems have no bearing when I can't pay a bill, but I'm supposed to shop simpathy when the product I paid an exorbitant amount of money for doesn't work AT ALL?

Then you let people know, so they're understanding, simple as that. Also, people don't generally care when a CEO has personal problems, as it isn't considered in the warranty. My personal problems have no bearing when I can't pay a bill, but I'm supposed to shop simpathy when the product I paid an exorbitant amount of money for doesn't work AT ALL?

Exorbitant is an exaggeration. The price is higher then other CR but exorbitant, no. I agree his customer service skills aren’t the greatest. That’s the same reason Marine Depot is out of business. The guy has skills building things. He’s an artist, you have to be patient with this type of personality but in our hobby the parameters are to narrow to have patience for divas.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I was recently asked about how I use a Masterflex peristaltic pump to control my ACR rather than the factory controller. While answering, it gave me the needed push to proceed with complete removal of the factory controller. I was still using it to operate the float switch and CO2. As it would turn out, it's removal was due.

For those that have never looked inside the valve module, this is what it contains. A pinch valve and 2 solenoids, with a check valve in between them.

The red silicone cable is the float valve. My plan was to snip the red and white wires for the float valve at the crimp connectors, that way I could revert back to the factory controller if I every felt the need, just by matching the colours of the stubs and re-crimping the connections.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that I would never be reverting back to using the factory controller, at least not in it's current design. Having the check valve in between the 2 solenoids leaves 1 exposed to back flow from the CalRx. In my controller, the solenoid before the check valve is showing signs of corrosion.

OK, lets get on with what I am going to use.

The basic requirements to eliminate the remainder of the factory controller is to replace the CO2 control function. This can be accomplished in it's simplest form by a solenoid valve and a check valve placed before it to protect it. This is a 24V Clippard EV valve along with a Dennerle CO2 check valve. This is all that is needed to automate the ACR (when driven with a peristaltic pump).

However I wanted a bit more bells and whistles, so I included a IFM pressure sensor to monitor the pressure of the CO2 inside the reactor. This is not really needed, but the Clippard valves are almost dead silent, so it would provide at least a visual indicator of the CO2 operation. Here is the revised layout with the sensor included.

I need to put it in a project box, but did not have any on hand and so I just did a temporary installation. Lol, ask me in 6 months if it is still running in temporary mode.

I removed the strain relief grommet from the old controller intending to reuse it, but then noticed the tightening nut is super glued to the old factory box.

I got it all setup and running and then decided something was wrong as I could not detect the Clippard valve opening, even though the IFM was registering the 9 PSI, so obviously it had opened at some point. So I disassembled it and dragged it all back to my kitchen counter work bench. Once away from the fish room, I could detect the slight click as the solenoid opened. So it was working fine, I could just not hear it over the other water/equipment noise.

I was confused why I was seeing 9 PSI on the sensor, I run my CO2 at 10 PSI, but in the past the head pressure exerted by the feed pump was only 2 PSI. So I expected it to close the solenoid at 2 PSI and not reach 9 PSI. I remembered that I have a check valve on the feed pump line, so I opened the bypass valve I use for reactor startup and purging, and the pressure has slowly drifted down.

So the factory controller's removal is complete. As strange as it sounds, I am probably going to miss the loud snap of the old factory solenoids energizing as I started to use it as a confirmation signal that everything was OK. Time to hook up a sonar ping inline with the float switch and give the ACR it's voice back!


Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

An update on my replacement of the factory controller with a Clippard valve. Everything has worked flawlessly.

The inclusion of the IFM pressure sensor proved handy as the Clippard valve is too quiet to hear during operation. By periodically monitoring the sensor, I was able to correlate the readings to the cycling of the Clippard valve. When the valve cycles, the reading on the senor jumps to 6 PSI and then drops to 5 PSI rather quickly. It remains at 5 PSI for a bit and then starts oscillating between 5 and 4 PSI. Once it settles on 4 PSI it remains at that value for several minutes and then starts oscillating between 4 and 3 PSI. Once it finally settles at 3 PSI, it remains there until the float switch cycles the valve and restarts the process. When my alkalinity goes too high, and the peristaltic pump is shutdown by my Alkatronic , the cycling of the ACR slows to a crawl and eventually stops, just as you would expect it would.

So for anyone who is looking to use a peristaltic pump with their ACR, a Clippard valve makes a great replacement for controlling the CO2. The valve I am using is the same type as used in the Carbon Doser if you are familiar with that product.

Dennis

 

[Scubabum]

An update on my replacement of the factory controller with a Clippard valve. Everything has worked flawlessly.

The inclusion of the IFM pressure sensor proved handy as the Clippard valve is too quiet to hear during operation. By periodically monitoring the sensor, I was able to correlate the readings to the cycling of the Clippard valve. When the valve cycles, the reading on the senor jumps to 6 PSI and then drops to 5 PSI rather quickly. It remains at 5 PSI for a bit and then starts oscillating between 5 and 4 PSI. Once it settles on 4 PSI it remains at that value for several minutes and then starts oscillating between 4 and 3 PSI. Once it finally settles at 3 PSI, it remains there until the float switch cycles the valve and restarts the process. When my alkalinity goes too high, and the peristaltic pump is shutdown by my Alkatronic , the cycling of the ACR slows to a crawl and eventually stops, just as you would expect it would.

So for anyone who is looking to use a peristaltic pump with their ACR, a Clippard valve makes a great replacement for controlling the CO2. The valve I am using is the same type as used in the Carbon Doser if you are familiar with that product.

Dennis

When you have a chance, can you please post the exact part # for your setup? I just fired up my slightly used ACR and it's performing as it should with the factory controller. I would like to have a backup in place or perhaps switch over to something like your setup. I was considering the Carbon doser controlled with a breakout box and the float switch in the ACR but your setup has me very curious. Thanks in advance......................

I just scrolled back a few pages and saw the parts list... Disregard and Thank you for posting this.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

When you have a chance, can you please post the exact part # for your setup? I just fired up my slightly used ACR and it's performing as it should with the factory controller. I would like to have a backup in place or perhaps switch over to something like your setup. I was considering the Carbon doser controlled with a breakout box and the float switch in the ACR but your setup has me very curious. Thanks in advance.

Sure, no problem.

I am using the following Clippard parts.

Clippard ET-2-24-V (ET-2-24-V)
Clippard ET-C48 (ET-C48)

The valve above is the 24v model. They also make it in 12v. The valve I used has spade terminals, which makes for a neat installation when paired with a Clippard cable. They also come in wire lead versions for installing inside boxes or local to the circuitry. I went with 24v so I would be able to re-use the ACR power supply and to be compatible with the IFM pressure sensor. The valve has 10-32 ports, so you will need to source some 10-32 to 1/4" pneumatic adapters. I sourced mine from Ebay along with the valves.

I had the IFM sensor on hand (and the valves) from an auto tank switcher project I am planning to build, but I would suggest just using an LED or buzzer to provide feedback (unless you want to monitor the pressure inside the reactor).

The basic circuit is quite simple. Connect 1 lead of the float switch cable to the ground of the power supply. The other lead becomes the ground for the valve and any indicator you wish to include. Connect the valve to the positive of the power supply and to the float lead (ground). Any indicator you wish to include is connected up in parallel with the valve. If your indicator is an LED, don't forget to place a current limiting resistor in series with it.

I am happy to assist anyone who goes down this route.

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Lol, I am back at it, building something to hopefully complement my ACR CalRx. I created a thread for my CalRx Aeration Tower / CO2 Removal from Effluent Project

This is supposed to blow off any excess CO2 from the effluent before it is added to the tank. It does this by using a pH controller to toggle an air pump off an on until a preset pH is reached.

Here are a few photos from the build that will give you a 20,000' view of what it entails.

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Here is a PSA. Everyone running an ACR should have a check valve in place to prevent back flow when the feed pump is turned off. I was already aware of this, and have a check valve, but had the override valve open and forgot to close it after setting up my aeration tube project. While working on something unrelated, I accidentally disconnected a float switch, causing the pump it was protecting from overflowing to shutdown. This is the same pump that feeds my ACR. By the time I noticed, the water level in the ACR was down 1/4" from the top due to the expansion of the CO2 back to atmospheric. This caused the alkalinity in the tank to jump 0.3 dKH in a matter of minutes. The tank did not appreciate the sudden rise. I only lost a single frag from it, but consumption went off a cliff, so even though other corals pulled through, they did not appreciate it.

So my advice is everyone should be running a check valve to prevent back flows, with an override valve in parallel for reactor start up, when you are trying to get the CO2 pocket established at the head pressure of the feed pump. Just don't forget to close it after you have the reactor running, lol.

Though not specific to the ACR, I have mentioned my plans to build an CO2 Tank Auto Switcher. That has now been finally undertaken. Here is a preview below.

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

While working on something this morning I noticed that the Clippard valve has a different operation pattern than the factory controller solenoid. I had my head down close enough to the valve to hear the faint tick as it energized for a brief moment and then several seconds later energized again. The pause between being energized was much shorter than previously with the factory solenoid. The frequency of the CO2 addition is governed by the amount of flow going through the reactor, but the Clippard valve that replaced the factory solenoid seems to add CO2 in much smaller amounts then the solenoid was able to. I would hear the loud clack of the solenoid toggling as infrequently as once an hour before, where the Clippard now energizes multiple times per minute.

This makes sense as the travel on the Clippard valve, between being open and closed is only 0.007" instead of the assumed much larger travel of the solenoid. So the Clippard valve is able to open and close faster and track the level of the float switch much closer, allowing the CO2 additions to be tiny compared to before the change.

Dennis

 

[ScottB]

While working on something this morning I noticed that the Clippard valve has a different operation pattern than the factory controller solenoid. I had my head down close enough to the valve to hear the faint tick as it energized for a brief moment and then several seconds later energized again. The pause between being energized was much shorter than previously with the factory solenoid. The frequency of the CO2 addition is governed by the amount of flow going through the reactor, but the Clippard valve that replaced the factory solenoid seems to add CO2 in much smaller amounts then the solenoid was able to. I would hear the loud clack of the solenoid toggling as infrequently as once an hour before, where the Clippard now energizes multiple times per minute.

This makes sense as the travel on the Clippard valve, between being open and closed is only 0.007" instead of the assumed much larger travel of the solenoid. So the Clippard valve is able to open and close faster and track the level of the float switch much closer, allowing the CO2 additions to be tiny compared to before the change.

Dennis

Is the Clippard valve an "aftermarket" swap or something from Bill?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Is the Clippard valve an "aftermarket" swap or something from Bill?

No, my replacement of the factory solenoid with the Clippard has nothing to do with Bill. It is an off the shelf industrial pneumatic valve that I replaced the functions of the factory solenoid with. I had grown dissatisfied with the pinch valve portion of the factory controller early on and had started using a Masterflex pump to drive the ACR and then eventually replaced the CO2 control of the factory solenoid with the external Clippard valve.

For those of you that have heard of or are familiar with The Carbon Doser, the valve I am using is a similar model to the one at the heart of The Carbon Doser. The valves themselves are very affordable and have a MTBF of over a billion cycles.

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I was trying to remember where I had posted the walk through of the swap of the factory solenoid to the Clippard, it is a few posts above in this thread, it is pretty easy to do as long as you can make basic connections between wires.

I also used a pair of those valves in my CO2 Tank Auto Switcher. In that unit, I did not have a normally open version of the valve on hand, so I used a normally closed one that I keep energized 24x7 until the backup tank needs to be swapped in. The valve does not get hot and barely even gets warm to the touch. Just slightly above body temperature.

Dennis

 

[ca1ore]

Still waiting for my heat exchanger from Bill ..... 2 years plus ......

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I am going to make a slight change to how I have the IFM pressure transducer and Clippard valve wired. The PN5004 that I am using as a passive display of the internal reactor pressure has a single output that is going unused at the moment. After hearing about an ACR that was damaged from being accidentally over pressurized, I am going to wire the Clippard valve to the unused output, through the float switch, to protect my ACR from an over pressure situation.

The way it will work is that the IFM output will be configured to a hysteresis PNP normally closed setting, with a trigger pressure of 10 PSI and a reset pressure of 9 PSI. This will provide 24v to the Clippard only until the internal pressure inside the reactor reaches 10 PSI (or any pressure I configure the IFM to use). Then the output of the IFM will drop to ground, preventing the float switch from opening the Clippard to add more CO2. Once the pressure inside the ACR drops to 9 PSI (hopefully due to the CO2 being dissolved into the water column in the reactor), the IFM will again pull it's output high (24v) and the float switch will again be able to control the CO2 addition through the Clippard.

I thought about using the output when I was putting the Clippard onto the ACR originally, but had not used that feature of the IFM yet at that point. After using this capability in my auto tank switcher, and discussing with @theatrus the ways that an IFM transducer could be used to help with end of tank dumping in single stage regulator setups, and then hearing about the over pressure accident, using the IFM to protect against this seems like a perfect solution.

The tweak has now been completed and is working as expected.

Dennis

 

[BrianReefer]

I am going to make a slight change to how I have the IFM pressure transducer and Clippard valve wired. The PN5004 that I am using as a passive display of the internal reactor pressure has a single output that is going unused at the moment. After hearing about an ACR that was damaged from being accidentally over pressurized, I am going to wire the Clippard valve to the unused output, through the float switch, to protect my ACR from an over pressure situation.

The way it will work is that the IFM output will be configured to a hysteresis PNP normally closed setting, with a trigger pressure of 10 PSI and a reset pressure of 9 PSI. This will provide 24v to the Clippard only until the internal pressure inside the reactor reaches 10 PSI (or any pressure I configure the IFM to use). Then the output of the IFM will drop to ground, preventing the float switch from opening the Clippard to add more CO2. Once the pressure inside the ACR drops to 9 PSI (hopefully due to the CO2 being dissolved into the water column in the reactor), the IFM will again pull it's output high (24v) and the float switch will again be able to control the CO2 addition through the Clippard.

I thought about using the output when I was putting the Clippard onto the ACR originally, but had not used that feature of the IFM yet at that point. After using this capability in my auto tank switcher, and discussing with @theatrus the ways that an IFM transducer could be used to help with end of tank dumping in single stage regulator setups, and then hearing about the over pressure accident, using the IFM to protect against this seems like a perfect solution.

The tweak has now been completed and is working as expected.

Dennis

Hey Dennis, need your help with my ACR. Have had it for 2 years and has mostly worked as expected. Then about 2 months back it started getting 1” of “air” and I haven’t been able to get it working consistently since. So a few weeks ago I then swapped to Bill’s newest controller which has a pinch valve for the effluent and for the CO2. No matter what I do, I’m getting a1-2” air pocket and it’s def not air bubbles (confirmed by running sicce feed pump in bucket next to it and had same issue)…it’s excess CO2 building up…to the point of dropping right below the recirculating pump input so it’s basically DOA at that point

Bill said with these new pinch valves on the CO2 line, if the CO2 pressure is up too high it’ll force CO2 past the closed valve, so I turned it down, but then it’s too low and (with the valve box open) I can see effluent flowing through the CO2 line toward the regulator…it seems like it’s impossible to get the CO2 to perfect equilibrium so that it’s high enough to counter the effluent pressure, but low enough to not force through the pinch valve. While trying to get this working today (twice) the reactor ended up blasting the tank with that 1.5” of effluent too, which shot the dKh up.

And worse I removed my feed line check valve temporarily to see if that helped, walked away for 30 min, and in that timeframe I also got a dreaded back feed…even though the tank return pump feeding it never was off. Possible the CO2 pressure forced a backfeed?

Any suggestions?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Hey Dennis, need your help with my ACR. Have had it for 2 years and has mostly worked as expected. Then about 2 months back it started getting 1” of “air” and I haven’t been able to get it working consistently since. So a few weeks ago I then swapped to Bill’s newest controller which has a pinch valve for the effluent and for the CO2. No matter what I do, I’m getting a1-2” air pocket and it’s def not air bubbles (confirmed by running sicce feed pump in bucket next to it and had same issue)…it’s excess CO2 building up…to the point of dropping right below the recirculating pump input so it’s basically DOA at that point

Bill said with these new pinch valves on the CO2 line, if the CO2 pressure is up too high it’ll force CO2 past the closed valve, so I turned it down, but then it’s too low and (with the valve box open) I can see effluent flowing through the CO2 line toward the regulator…it seems like it’s impossible to get the CO2 to perfect equilibrium so that it’s high enough to counter the effluent pressure, but low enough to not force through the pinch valve. While trying to get this working today (twice) the reactor ended up blasting the tank with that 1.5” of effluent too, which shot the dKh up.

And worse I removed my feed line check valve temporarily to see if that helped, walked away for 30 min, and in that timeframe I also got a dreaded back feed…even though the tank return pump feeding it never was off. Possible the CO2 pressure forced a backfeed?

Any suggestions?

Sorry you are having so much trouble with the controller, but frankly I am not surprised. Everything you have experienced, I have experienced when I was using the factory controller. The factory controller is terrible and is a ticking time bomb in my opinion.

Here is the background on the cause of the gas buildup. When you start your ACR up the CO2 pocket needs to get established and balanced. If you are not running a check valve on the feed line, effluent will be pushed out the feed line as it is displaced by the CO2 being added to the gas pocket. An equilibrium will be established between the pressure of the CO2 gas bubble and the head pressure of the feed pump. This can be observed in the rapid cycling of the solenoid with longer pauses as the CO2 bubble and feed pressure equalize.

Now, if you have added a check valve on the feed line, the CO2 pocket cannot push effluent back towards the tank and the CO2 pocket will form at the pressure your regulator is set to. As the pinch valve is opened and effluent is released, the CO2 pocket will drop in pressure towards the head pressure of the feed pump, but will expand in volume while doing this. Dropping the water level in the reactor, past the float valve. You will start to see the water level falling below the top rim of the reactor and eventually falling low enough to cause the Sicce pump to suck air causing it to stop. If the regulator is set to a pressure not too high above the head pressure of the feed pump, then the difference in pressure translated to gas volume may be small enough to allow the CO2 to be dissolved into the water slowly and the process recovers and reaches equilibrium and the float valve again functions to control the CO2 addition as expected.

Here is how to start up your ACR without the gas bubble expansion issue from occurring. Add a tee into your effluent line with a ball valve on it. Add a line in parallel to your feed check valve with a ball valve on it. Now to start your reactor, with the CO2 off, open the feed check vale bypass valve and open the ball valve on the effluent line draining into a bucket. Now turn on your CO2 (either at the valve on the tank or by plugging in the factory controller). The CO2 solenoid will start cycling off and on. Now close the effluent drain and then after a minute or two, close the feed check valve bypass. The CO2 bubble should now be established close enough to the feed pressure of the pump and the CO2 expansion issue that you were seeing should not occur. By using the effluent drain, you avoided having high dKH, low pH effluent from being pushed back through the feed line into your tank.

Anyone running an ACR should have a check vale on the feed line. If you don't, and your feed pump stops, the expansion back to atmospheric pressure of the CO2 will push effluent back into your tank, spiking the dKH and dropping the pH. As mentioned, you will need a bypass valve in place, and don't forget to close the bypass to allow the check valve to protect from back feeding when the feed pump stops.

While I was still running the factory controller, I also experienced effluent getting push past the pinch valve that you mentioned. It was that experience that convinced me to remove the factory controller. I placed a Masterflex pump on the effluent line instead of running it to the pinch valve, and that eliminated so many of the issues. I have since replaced the CO2 solenoid valve functionality with a Clippard valve and discarded the factory controller entirely.

In case you did not see the condition of the first solenoid in my factory controller, here is what I found when I opened the valve box.

My advice to every ACR owner, is to not use the factory controller. Use a peristaltic pump instead and add a quality CO2 solenoid valve. I suggest the Clippard valve I used as it is inexpensive and of industrial automation quality.

The need for a check valve (and bypass valve) on the feed line can be avoided if you install your peristaltic pump on the feed line and leave the effluent line open. Then the CO2 pocket will be established at atmospheric instead of at the head pressure of the feed pump. Your effulent dKH of the will go down as a result, but a lot of the complications of using the feed pump that was needed when using the factory controller, but is not needed once you stop using the factory controller, goes away. You will still need an effluent drain for startup to avoid effuelent from being pushed out by the CO2 pocket being established though.

I still have my Masterflex on the effluent line, but moving it to the feed line would be a better solution and removes the remaining complications from the legacy factory setup.

I am more than happy to answer questions on replacing the factory controller.

Dennis

 

[BrianReefer]

Sorry you are having so much trouble with the controller, but frankly I am not surprised. Everything you have experienced, I have experienced when I was using the factory controller. The factory controller is terrible and is a ticking time bomb in my opinion.

Here is the background on the cause of the gas buildup. When you start your ACR up the CO2 pocket needs to get established and balanced. If you are not running a check valve on the feed line, effluent will be pushed out the feed line as it is displaced by the CO2 being added to the gas pocket. An equilibrium will be established between the pressure of the CO2 gas bubble and the head pressure of the feed pump. This can be observed in the rapid cycling of the solenoid with longer pauses as the CO2 bubble and feed pressure equalize.

Now, if you have added a check valve on the feed line, the CO2 pocket cannot push effluent back towards the tank and the CO2 pocket will form at the pressure your regulator is set to. As the pinch valve is opened and effluent is released, the CO2 pocket will drop in pressure towards the head pressure of the feed pump, but will expand in volume while doing this. Dropping the water level in the reactor, past the float valve. You will start to see the water level falling below the top rim of the reactor and eventually falling low enough to cause the Sicce pump to suck air causing it to stop. If the regulator is set to a pressure not too high above the head pressure of the feed pump, then the difference in pressure translated to gas volume may be small enough to allow the CO2 to be dissolved into the water slowly and the process recovers and reaches equilibrium and the float valve again functions to control the CO2 addition as expected.

Here is how to start up your ACR without the gas bubble expansion issue from occurring. Add a tee into your effluent line with a ball valve on it. Add a line in parallel to your feed check valve with a ball valve on it. Now to start your reactor, with the CO2 off, open the feed check vale bypass valve and open the ball valve on the effluent line draining into a bucket. Now turn on your CO2 (either at the valve on the tank or by plugging in the factory controller). The CO2 solenoid will start cycling off and on. Now close the effluent drain and then after a minute or two, close the feed check valve bypass. The CO2 bubble should now be established close enough to the feed pressure of the pump and the CO2 expansion issue that you were seeing should not occur. By using the effluent drain, you avoided having high dKH, low pH effluent from being pushed back through the feed line into your tank.

Anyone running an ACR should have a check vale on the feed line. If you don't, and your feed pump stops, the expansion back to atmospheric pressure of the CO2 will push effluent back into your tank, spiking the dKH and dropping the pH. As mentioned, you will need a bypass valve in place, and don't forget to close the bypass to allow the check valve to protect from back feeding when the feed pump stops.

While I was still running the factory controller, I also experienced effluent getting push past the pinch valve that you mentioned. It was that experience that convinced me to remove the factory controller. I placed a Masterflex pump on the effluent line instead of running it to the pinch valve, and that eliminated so many of the issues. I have since replaced the CO2 solenoid valve functionality with a Clippard valve and discarded the factory controller entirely.

In case you did not see the condition of the first solenoid in my factory controller, here is what I found when I opened the valve box.

My advice to every ACR owner, is to not use the factory controller. Use a peristaltic pump instead and add a quality CO2 solenoid valve. I suggest the Clippard valve I used as it is inexpensive and of industrial automation quality.

The need for a check valve (and bypass valve) on the feed line can be avoided if you install your peristaltic pump on the feed line and leave the effluent line open. Then the CO2 pocket will be established at atmospheric instead of at the head pressure of the feed pump. Your effulent dKH of the will go down as a result, but a lot of the complications of using the feed pump that was needed when using the factory controller, but is not needed once you stop using the factory controller, goes away. You will still need an effluent drain for startup to avoid effuelent from being pushed out by the CO2 pocket being established though.

I still have my Masterflex on the effluent line, but moving it to the feed line would be a better solution and removes the remaining complications from the legacy factory setup.

I am more than happy to answer questions on replacing the factory controller.

Dennis

Extremely helpful, thank you Dennis

A few follow up questions:
1) Why do we need to bypass the input check valve on startup? Is it to allow CO2 back into the feed back during equalization, and if so, isn’t that CO2 going to go back into my tank during those first few minutes?
2) When you say “Now close the effluent drain and then after a minute or two, close the feed check valve bypass”…on the first part, I assume you mean close the diverted drain and open back up the main tank effluent line at that point?
3) Is there any trick to setting the right CO2 pressure on the regulator? In my updated controller the CO2 valve bill uses is the same as the effluent valve, it is a pinch valve too now (see pic), if I set it too high CO2 pushes past the pinch and eventually expands that CO2 bubble causing the issue, if I set it too low effluent backfeeds when the valve opens back into the regulator. I think ultimately this is my biggest problem.

Thx again