Who uses a Calcium reactor and can help me?

[john90009]

Iv had my tank and system running good for a year now and it seems stuff is slowly declining , over the time my bubble count was set to a fast bubble per second, pouring effluent the speed of a aqua lifter. and the ph monitor is 7.3-7.5. My alk is 10.2 i have been turning the monitor up trying to lower the alk but it never goes down. the calcium was at 420 but now 410 due to a power outage and my solenoid getting stuck causing for alot of c02 to pour into the chamber. Can anyone help me on here of an AIM account would be easier. Im trying to get my alk down and stable so my corals stop going threw H3ll

 

[Paul_N]

PH Monitor reading 7.3-7.5, is that tank levels of reactor/effluent reading? The reactor should be run with PH at 6.5-6.8. MY effluent runs just short of a steady stream.

 

[john90009]

the 7.3-7.5 is the numbers set on my monitor. when it was first setup by a fellow reefer he had it down to 6.8 and what not and the effluent was at a very slow drip he said increase the drip when you need more calc/alk- over awhile i had the stream open to pump calcium in but my alk has always come in at a faster rate . Do you recommend that i slow my drip and slowly turn the monitor down the the effluent becomes a stronger drip instead of a less strong stream?

 

[john90009]

looking at your 220 upgrade my system is stocked more then yours and mine seems to be pumping in way more calcium and alkalinity as yours : / i dont understand reactors lol

 

[Paul_N]

looking at your 220 upgrade my system is stocked more then yours and mine seems to be pumping in way more calcium and alkalinity as yours : / i dont understand reactors lol

That tank in the pic with the lights is not my 220. I am still running my 75 gallon. That is another members tank (125 gallon) and I took a new bulb for him to try so I could compare it next to his. Here is my tank:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/f52/75-gallon-tank-pics-25274-2.html

I run my PH in my reactor at 6.6, and my effluent is a very fast drip. My bubbles are at about 1 per sec. My tank PH runs from 7.9-8.0 since I have been running a calcium reactor. If anything you should be having issues with too low PH. I run my alk in my tank at about 10. What are the rest of your tank parameters? How about Mag? You definitely need to set your PH controller lower to about 6.7-6.8 to start.

 

[john90009]

mage 1300 i have to dose that by hand periodically. Calcium flirts around 420-400 went wacky today because power was our and no lights for a whole day. Yeah nvm your 75 is stocked like mine but your giant clam outcompetes alot of my stuff. I run the fine media in my reactor and my ph in the tank never drops under 8.0 thats what i like about the fine media.Im going to start by slowing down the drip from my effluent and making the bubbles slower so its 1 bubbler per second. If all goes according to plan i will see the alk and calcium go down when this happens i will lower the monitor, there for raising the concentration of the effluent does that sound right?

 

[Paul_N]

I think that is a good place to start with lowering bubble count and effluent rate. You can then test and see where you are at and adjust. With the bubbles at 1 per sec and ph in the 6.6-6.8 range you should just have to adjust the effluent. That was the way mine worked for me. I never touched the bubble count or the ph controller after I set it. I adjusted effluent till I got my levels where I wanted them and have not touched them since.

 

[john90009]

Thanks paul you have been way more of a help than anyone else

 

[Paul_N]

Thanks paul you have been way more of a help than anyone else

No problem I know getting my reactor "dialed in" was a little bit of a PITA but once I did, it's been hands off. I am sure some of the experts will chime in. Some times the weekends are slow for responses for technical help as everyone may be running around. I am by no means an expert but try to give my experiences and hope they help a little. Good luck..:bigsmile:

 

[john90009]

i originally had it dialed in untill one of my levels werent high or to high and i was told turning the monitor up would lower alk- some how i got to a high monitor level and flowing effluent so it barley broke anything down in the reactor.

 

[Paul_N]

I see, so essentially what you did was just shut the CO2 off by setting the controller too high. Another thing also is that the reactor should not be used to try to raise Calcium levels, just to maintain them. I dosed to get my levels where I wanted them then dialed in the reactor.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Even if you don't use a Geo reactor, I have always found their directions one of the easiest to understand for setting up a new system.
I think the best thing anyone ever told me was make only one adjsutment at a time, either CO2 bubble count or effluent drip rate and wait 24 hours to see what the results of that adjustment were with test kits before making any other changes.
The second thing that stuck in my mind is calcium reactors are only to maintain present levels not raise them. get the levels where they need to be by hand then slowly adjust the reactor to maintain those levels.

http://www.geosreef.com/caReactorInstructions.pdf

 

[gnoles]

The second thing that stuck in my mind is calcium reactors are only to maintain present levels not raise them. get the levels where they need to be by hand then slowly adjust the reactor to maintain those levels.

The above is the best piece of information I received when setting up my Geo.

 

[cnote2991]

Another helpful idea is that a Ca RX is really a poor name choice. Think of it as more of an Alk RX. This helped me a great deal when dialing in my RX. Also like stated before, use 2 part to get levels where you want them and RX to maintain. If you are trying to raise with the RX you will overshoot everytime, then readjust and fall below. Make 1 adjustment at a time ant let it run for a couple of days before making another adjustment. Use 2 part to keep it in line untill you find the sweet spot. Once you get close very small adjustments are the key to dial it in. HTH

 

[fizhfly]

calcium reactors are very easy if you are using a controller !
if you are using a controler with a probe in the reactor itself then all is needed to do is set the reactor ph to about 6.6 and then you only need to set the effluent drip rate to set the alk level in the system to maintain it where desired.
i run my systems at 11 dkh .

 

[Ericm1205]

if you want an added extra help with keeping levels stable. add about 2" of neomag on the top of the reactor media to help keep your Mg levels up.