Tuning your CalRx | Alternate method thats too easy

MJNTWise · Mar 15, 2018

What is your water flow to your reactor? I have the same one with a needle valve and no issues with flow. I have a line coming from my reefflow pump, my thinking is more pressure going to reactor the better..just my thoughts.

RUNVS · Mar 15, 2018

nvladik said:
Morning guys and gals. So I am trying this method, but I am still running into issues. I just can't seem to keep the flow consistent. I do have a needle valve, and I got to a small consistent stream, little faster then individual drops. Within 48 hours, I am back to drop by drop. Touch it gently - back to a stream. I really don't want to have to adjust it every other day. Any help is greatly appreciated.

So I had this issue as well and it would drive me nuts because my alk would dip every other day or so because of this I have an MRC Dual Chamber CaRx in the end I just took the needle valve off and run full stream and upped my PH setpoint for the reactor to keep my alk in line and I have never had another issue since. I have heard of a few people running a full stream into another canister filled with filter floss and then using a needle valve off of that so that the needle valve does not get clogged might be something to look into.

Reefer1978 · Mar 15, 2018

MJNTWise said:
What is your water flow to your reactor? I have the same one with a needle valve and no issues with flow. I have a line coming from my reefflow pump, my thinking is more pressure going to reactor the better..just my thoughts.

I am actually trying reverse, smaller pump so the needle valve can be open more and clog less. Before I ran on what Geo recommended, a dedicated Sycce 1.5 - didn't work for me.

RUNVS said:
So I had this issue as well and it would drive me nuts because my alk would dip every other day or so because of this I have an MRC Dual Chamber CaRx in the end I just took the needle valve off and run full stream and upped my PH setpoint for the reactor to keep my alk in line and I have never had another issue since. I have heard of a few people running a full stream into another canister filled with filter floss and then using a needle valve off of that so that the needle valve does not get clogged might be something to look into.

I would prefer to run a single chamber. To that extent, I moved the valve to be right off the pump and before the reactor.

Reefer1978 · Mar 15, 2018

Any other ideas guys? came home tonight and it's drip, drip, drip.

RUNVS · Mar 16, 2018

nvladik said:
Any other ideas guys? came home tonight and it's drip, drip, drip.

If you are using a PH controller I would do my first suggestion if you dont want to add a filter before your needle valve. I would just take the needle valve off and run a full stream if your feed pump is adjustable I would turn it down a bit and adjust your PH setpoint higher and keep an eye on your alk. Its what I do with no issues, what you will find is your tank PH will be lower without degassing the effluent but I average a tank PH of 7.7 without issue as I know many who do as well so I wouldnt be too concerned with the PH drop unless its running quite a bit lower than the 7.7

Reefer1978 · Mar 18, 2018

RUNVS said:
If you are using a PH controller I would do my first suggestion if you dont want to add a filter before your needle valve. I would just take the needle valve off and run a full stream if your feed pump is adjustable I would turn it down a bit and adjust your PH setpoint higher and keep an eye on your alk. Its what I do with no issues, what you will find is your tank PH will be lower without degassing the effluent but I average a tank PH of 7.7 without issue as I know many who do as well so I wouldnt be too concerned with the PH drop unless its running quite a bit lower than the 7.7

I tried that, but I keep on increasing the CO2 supply and it still can't keep up with the flow of water.

Reefpharmer · Mar 18, 2018

I know this isn’t a part of this thread but I had the issue described above. The needle would clog constantly... i ended up getting a masterflex peristaltic pump which is adjustable in flow rate and ran it without the needle at all. Fixed the flow issue. W the pump running, the tuning becomes muuuuch easier

RUNVS · Mar 19, 2018

nvladik said:
I tried that, but I keep on increasing the CO2 supply and it still can't keep up with the flow of water.

I agree with @Reefpharmer you need to slow down your feed pump then.

David Cher · Mar 20, 2018

i am having a lot of problem in getting a stable setting . when i set 7.10 , the next day i measured the dkh is increased compared to previous day , so i decrease and the next day it decrease.

It is driving me nuts. output is constant

RUNVS · Mar 20, 2018

David Cher said:
i am having a lot of problem in getting a stable setting . when i set 7.10 , the next day i measured the dkh is increased compared to previous day , so i decrease and the next day it decrease.

It is driving me nuts. output is constant

So there could be a few different reasons for this I believe for starters I have noticed that in my tank I may measure my DKH to be 8.2 one day and the next day it may be 8.1 and the next day 8.3 and so on I attribute this to the fact that my measurement device (Hanna) has a accuracy limitation or I am not doing the precise exact same thing every time. I suggest not adjusting it day to day but monitor your DKH over the course of week if it drops a little every day over the course of a week than bump it up a small amount and see if over a weeks time it doesn't stabilize it.

I use an apex to monitor the PH in my reactor and I have it set to turn on the CO2 @6.95 and off @ 7.05 in reality it fluctuates between 6.90 and 7.15 but my DKH is constant between 8 and 8.2 throughout the week. so If I ever notice I need to adjust for any reason (I.E. adding more corals, corals growing better etc..) I may adjust my numbers from 6.95-7.05 to say 6.92-7.02 if I want to raise the DKH because the corals are consuming more. I would monitor for a week or two and then adjust again if needed.

Hope this helps!

Mr.Fishtank · Mar 20, 2018

"Quote"
Morning guys and gals. So I am trying this method, but I am still running into issues. I just can't seem to keep the flow consistent. I do have a needle valve, and I got to a small consistent stream, little faster then individual drops. Within 48 hours, I am back to drop by drop. Touch it gently - back to a stream. I really don't want to have to adjust it every other day. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I have this same issue. But I own a new GEO 612 and still can't get the flow to stay constant. Weird thing is that when I pick up the effluent line it will completely stop flowing until I lower it back down. Just can not figure the crap out.

Mr.Fishtank · Mar 20, 2018

David Cher said:
i am having a lot of problem in getting a stable setting . when i set 7.10 , the next day i measured the dkh is increased compared to previous day , so i decrease and the next day it decrease.

It is driving me nuts. output is constant[/QUOTE

Are you testing at the exact same time of day. I take all my test at 8pm on the dot. If I wont be home at that time then it will not be tested until the next day. I try to keep my alk at 8dkh at 8:00pm.. If you check it at different times you will alway get a different reading.

hatfielj · Mar 20, 2018

I've been struggling with this problem of inconsistent effluent rate for the last few weeks as well. I run a constant pressure from my return pump line into the reactor. Switched to a needle valve on the effluent side and still it clogs daily.

I remember back when I first got into reefing (2006 or so), I think I used an in-line fuel filter (from an auto parts store) to prevent clogging. If I remember correctly, it was fairly common practice at that time. I'm planning on going out tonight to get one and will give it a try.

hatfielj · Mar 21, 2018

Happy to report that this did the trick!
Added this universal fuel filter from Home Depot. Any will work as long as there are no metal parts. A little tricky to plumb in but so far no leaks and my flow has been perfectly consistent since last night.

Sherman · Apr 4, 2018

This is interesting.

Makers Marc · May 2, 2018

Hey guys, hoping someone can help me wrap my head around a few things.

My goal at this point is to follow that videos process to a T. That being said:

Currently my effluent is a slow, constant stream, as little as it can be before seeing actual droplets.

I've programmed my Apex to turn on the Aquarium Plants carbon doser as follows:

1. Fallback off

2. Set off

3. If PhCaRx > 7.50 then on

4. If PhCaRx < 7.40 then off

Questions:

1. Before I turned it on, is there anything wrong with my programming?

2. Using this process, what level should I start off the black pressure knob at? This decides the "size of the bubble" and adjusts between 0 to 15 lbs.

3. Video says the seconds per bubble knob should be adjusted so that my PhCarx graph is like a sine wave eventually. So ill just start it at 5/10 unless someone tells me otherwise.

4. Am I missing any reason why this method would be faulty? Some critics said that at higher pH levels that the media may not liquify into alkalinity and calcium in the correct ratio, as it would at the manufacturer's recommended "melting point

bubbaque · May 2, 2018

Makers Marc said:
Hey guys, hoping someone can help me wrap my head around a few things.

My goal at this point is to follow that videos process to a T. That being said:

Currently my effluent is a slow, constant stream, as little as it can be before seeing actual droplets.

I've programmed my Apex to turn on the Aquarium Plants carbon doser as follows:

1. Fallback off

2. Set off

3. If PhCaRx > 7.50 then on

4. If PhCaRx < 7.40 then off

Questions:

1. Before I turned it on, is there anything wrong with my programming?

2. Using this process, what level should I start off the black pressure knob at? This decides the "size of the bubble" and adjusts between 0 to 15 lbs.

3. Video says the seconds per bubble knob should be adjusted so that my PhCarx graph is like a sine wave eventually. So ill just start it at 5/10 unless someone tells me otherwise.

4. Am I missing any reason why this method would be faulty? Some critics said that at higher pH levels that the media may not liquify into alkalinity and calcium in the correct ratio, as it would at the manufacturer's recommended "melting point

1. I can't answer as I don't use an apex

2. The manufactur of your co2 reactors usually states what to run it at.

3. You will watch the graph on the apex to see how often it is needing to turn on and off the carbon doser. You will want to adjust the knob until it's more of a straight line on the graph. If you get the straight line it means your reactor is tuned and it's not needing to over ride the regulator to tell it what to do. If it's turning off your regulator that means you are adding to much co2, so turn the knob to a slower bubble count. Don't lower the the bubble count so much that it doesn't stay in your targeted range.

I have mine tuned to where I don't even need a controller anymore as it doesn't need to turn it on or off as it stays at my desired ph constantly.

Also on the carbon doser it doesn't really equal bubble per seconds on the knob. You may set it at 5 but watch the bubble counter in your reactor, it may actually be 2 per second.

4. The media will melt at a higher ph but just at a much lower rate.

As others have mentioned your flow may still slow down with this method, so keep an eye on it.