Remote Calcium Reactor

Trailermann · Jan 2, 2018

To save space in my tank stand, I am considering placing the reactor about 75 feet away from the 120 gallon display tank. It would be in the lower level of my house where I have my water mixing room.

Since I plan a mixed reef that will not have a heavy SPS load, the reactor's effluent volume will not be high. Will the lag time between control steps in the reactor and the effluent reaching my display tank (via the sump) negate the effectiveness of the reactor?

DLHDesign · Jan 2, 2018

Not sure about the reactor effectiveness question, but I'd be concerned about the temperature loss that would come from running tank water through 150ft of plumbing. Do you have a way to insulate the lines?

Terence · Jan 2, 2018

I guess you are asking if the effluent in the lines will go bad or become less effective. My answer is not likely. You would probably go through the line at least once or twice an hour.

Also, temperature will not be an issue. The amount going into your tank is small compared to the overall tank volume. It will lower the temp, sure, but nothing that would overwhelm an average heater.

Mandelstam · Jan 2, 2018

If you use 1/4" (ID) hose it will hold 8.5ml per foot of hose. So your 75 feet will hold 640ml. If you know your effluent volume in ml per day/hour you can calculate how long it takes to reach the DT. If you want to shorten the time you can maybe try to use a thinner diam hose.

Terence · Jan 2, 2018

640ml in a tank that size will be turned over twice an hour with a 30ml/min rate of effluent (pretty low rate BTW). This should not be the concern. The concern should be the head pressure and the pump you intend to use to feed the CaRx. You should certainly use a peristaltic pump of some sort.

ca1ore · Jan 2, 2018

I ran my CaRx this way for years. I like to run mine under slight positive pressure (3 psi) but a floor down it ran under fairly high pressure of almost 9 psi - but it's a MTC ProCal with unequalled build quality (in my opinion LOL). Make sure yours can handle that kind of potential pressure. As noted, you also need a fairly good pump to move the effluent through the long lines.

Trailermann · Jan 3, 2018

ca1ore said:

I ran my CaRx this way for years. I like to run mine under slight positive pressure (3 psi) but a floor down it ran under fairly high pressure of almost 9 psi - but it's a MTC ProCal with unequalled build quality (in my opinion LOL). Make sure yours can handle that kind of potential pressure. As noted, you also need a fairly good pump to move the effluent through the long lines.

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I am fairly new to the CR world and have a small one set up on my JBJ 30 Rimless. In all my reading, I have never seen reference to pressure within the entire CR system other than pressure of the CO2 cylinder.
I did just finished reading the literature of the MTC ProCal and learned it had a pressure gauge reading up to 15 psi.
What is the significance 3 psi and 9 psi that you mentioned?
And when you wrote about the sturdy pump for the effluent, you are talking about the pump that sends the sump water down (or up) to the CR and in turn returns effluent up (or down) to the sump. Right?

ca1ore · Jan 3, 2018

Any container holding water will be under some kind of pressure; the further you put it below the water level that feeds it, the greater that pressure will be. I find it useful to keep mine under about 3 psi because it makes the CO2 dissolve more easily and generally prevents the buildup of gasses in any of the cylinders. I accomplish the 3 psi simply by having the ProCal about 4 feet lower than the volume of water that feeds it. If you are to feed it from a volume of water higher than that, say 10 feet nominally if going down a floor in your house, then the pressure will be higher. In my case it was around 9 psi. I'm just suggesting to check to make sure the unit you have can handle that kind of pressure lest you dampen your floors.

And, yes, I am referring to the pump that will be required to move water/effluent in and out of the CaRx. Long runs of 1/4" tubing become quite restrictive. If you end up doing as you proposed, you may want to upsize the tubing to 3/8".