Why wont my Calcium reactor work correctly ? HELP PLEASE

gilman

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I bought a new geo 618 and smc415 secondary chamber . Im running seachem reefreactor MD in the main chamber with a mix of reefreactor MD and LG in the secondary chamber . Aquamaxx dual gauge regulator and 5lb tank .

My solenoid is ran with my apex . I calibrated the ph probe last weekend . My reactor PH is running between 6.4-6.2 . My effluent drip is about 1 per second .

I can not keep my ALK stable . The reactor will not keep up with demand and I have no idea why .

The tank is 120g with a 42g sump and 50g frag tank . Overall 180g I estimate . SPS heavy . The reactor is fed from a manifold . My tank is at 8.2 at the moment . Testing the effluent with my hanna checker it measures over 20 dkh since the checker does’nt test higher than that .

Ive resorted to dosing 7ml a day of BRS soda ash in conjunction with the reactor to keep my ALK stable .

What am I doing wrong ? Why wont my reactor keep a stable alkalinity ? I upgraded to this system in June from a 40breeder with a Aquamaxx ctech nano reactor that I had dialed in perfect . Now I cant get this reactor right to save my life ...

Im going to add a picture of the reactor set up and video of the co2 and effluent drip .

4467E25E-0C96-41A1-A62B-40586DF564EA.jpeg
 

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JCOLE

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Fill your Hanna Culvette half with effluent and the other half with RODI. Test it, then double the results for your dKh.

Once you find your dkh then you might have to increase the effluent flow and or co2 rate to achieve the stability. Also, CARX, even though they can raise your calcium and Alk they are not meant for that. They are meant to maintain your levels for stability. Depending on your livestock, you might need to dose and use a CARX. I use Kalk and a CARX.
 

vetteguy53081

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What is your bubble count, and what size media are you using? The fine(small pieces) do clog up the system. I like the Reborn and A.R.M. media in medium size. also, you dint by chance fill the chambers to the top? (allow about 1.5" of space)
 
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gilman

gilman

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Fill your Hanna Culvette half with effluent and the other half with RODI. Test it, then double the results for your dKh.

Once you find your dkh then you might have to increase the effluent flow and or co2 rate to achieve the stability. Also, CARX, even though they can raise your calcium and Alk they are not meant for that. They are meant to maintain your levels for stability. Depending on your livestock, you might need to dose and use a CARX. I use Kalk and a CARX.

Doing that my effluent is 25dkh
 

JCOLE

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Doing that my effluent is 25dkh

Effluent is too low. You are aiming for an effluent dkh of between 35-50dkh, if the effluent dkh is low increase the bubble rate slightly and test an hour later. Continue to do this until the target dkh is reached. This will be the optimum output for the reactor at the drip rate set.
 

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It can take a bit of fiddling to get a CaRx dialed in. Looks like you are using reborn? I use reborn in my main chamber, but standard crushed coral in the secondary. One drop per second on the effluent seems low. PH of 6.3 is a bit low even for reborn, so be wary of turning your media into toothpaste. Increase effluent to a steady, slow stream and maintain pH at 6.5 and see where you end up. It’s an oft repeated saw that a CaRx does not raise mineral levels, but I’ve never found this to be true. It may be best to establish levels initially with additives and then use the reactor to maintain those levels, but adjustments certainly can and will move levels.
 

JCOLE

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Also, once you achieve your dKH level then as @ca1ore said, make sure your pH isnt too low or you will be making mush. It is a balancing act to get the sweet spot.
 
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I understand all that . Ive been running a CARX for over a year successfully until I started using this one .

I just changed out my media to the Reefreactor LG . Reset my solenoid ph control to 6.5 ON 6.4 OFF . I also turned the effluent drip and CO2 in up . Ill wait a few hours and test effluent dkh again .

Idk what else I can do to get the effluent dkh to come up . Even lowering my PH in the reactor didnt seem to break down the media , it makes no sense to me unless the media was completely clogged . When i replaced it it was real dirty but the media wasnt mush ... at 6.2ph I would think it should have been .
 
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gilman

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Also, once you achieve your dKH level then as @ca1ore said, make sure your pH isnt too low or you will be making mush. It is a balancing act to get the sweet spot.

Heres my apex chart showing the ph range in the reactor for the past week . Like I mentioned in the first post I cleaned and calibrated the probe last weekend thinking maybe that was off . I started out back at 6.5 and slowly lowered it over the week because it wasnt producing a rich effluent finally getting it down to the 25dkh today .

Hopefully it gets straightened out now . I also noticed my check valve having a drip periodically. Do you think that is effecting the CO2 going in ? Im installing a new brass valve today as soon as it shows up from amazon .

57D2AA03-1240-4BF2-BEED-AFDF779EDC16.png
 

JCOLE

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I dont have reborn so I cannot say what the melting point is. I use reef media from Seachem. I keep mine around 6.5. You could bump yours back up to around 6.5 then test the dkh again after about an hour or 2. The key is wait for your reactor to equalize before making changes. Minor adjustments can change the effluent over time.

I dont use a check valve. My co2 tank is level with my reactor so no worries of back filling. I would think if yours is leaking or dripping then it would cause the solenoid to run more than normal.
 
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I dont have reborn so I cannot say what the melting point is. I use reef media from Seachem. I keep mine around 6.5. You could bump yours back up to around 6.5 then test the dkh again after about an hour or 2. The key is wait for your reactor to equalize before making changes. Minor adjustments can change the effluent over time.

I dont use a check valve. My co2 tank is level with my reactor so no worries of back filling. I would think if yours is leaking or dripping then it would cause the solenoid to run more than normal.

I also use seachem reefreactor , I never said I used reborn . I was using the medium and just switched to the large . After testing my effluent just now it went up to 26.2 . Hopefully Im on the right track , thank you for the help !
 

JCOLE

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I also use seachem reefreactor , I never said I used reborn . I was using the medium and just switched to the large . After testing my effluent just now it went up to 26.2 . Hopefully Im on the right track , thank you for the help !

No problem. Sorry, I heard Reborn a couple times so I got lost in the conversation. Good luck! Let me know how it works for you over the next week.
 

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What is the pH of the effluent going back to the tank? You may just need to increase the rate of drip into the tank. I would expect a higher KH with a pH of 6.4-6.5

I would replace the check valve at any rate. As your reactor is under pressure from the manifold, it’s very cheap insurance to keep salt water out of your solenoid and regulator, especially if you have a leak that would vent CO2 pressure in the line. Not sure where yours is dripping but if the check valve is built into an integrated bubble counter sitting above the solenoid or similar that could be an issue. I have a clippard check valve but a lot of people seem to like the Karbon Doser check valve as well. In any event, as long as the water isn’t hitting the check valve brass, plastic, or stainless should all work fine.
 
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gilman

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No problem. Sorry, I heard Reborn a couple times so I got lost in the conversation. Good luck! Let me know how it works for you over the next week.
So I still cant get a high DKH from my effluent . It hasn’t gone over 26 and after buying new CO2 and trying to adjust it further the highest Im at right now is 24.4 dkh . I have my solenoid set at 6.38-6.40 right now . I also replaced the geo factory check valve with a brass one and the tubing to black co2 tubing .

Im really at a loss with this reactor .
 

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I have the 618 and a second chamber running, fed by a masterflex and my regulator is always open. I don't have huge colonies, but my internal pH in the reactor is 7.04 (give or take .03) and my dkh is pretty steady in the mid 8's. My masterflex is running @ 80rpm currently.
 

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So I still cant get a high DKH from my effluent . It hasn’t gone over 26 and after buying new CO2 and trying to adjust it further the highest Im at right now is 24.4 dkh . I have my solenoid set at 6.38-6.40 right now . I also replaced the geo factory check valve with a brass one and the tubing to black co2 tubing .

Im really at a loss with this reactor .
My GEO 618 runs with reborn at a pH of around 6.5 and I get about 25dKh out of it. That level is fine for a carx. If your reactor is not keeping up with demand, increase the effluent flow rate.
 

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Calcium reactors are simple, the retention time of the water in the reactor determines efficiency at a set pH and flowrate. Overfilling the reactor with media in the circulationchamber therefor significantly reduces retention time. Based on the picture I would reduce the amount of media untill only 1/3 of the chamber is filled with media.
 

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Calcium reactors are simple, the retention time of the water in the reactor determines efficiency at a set pH and flowrate. Overfilling the reactor with media in the circulationchamber therefor significantly reduces retention time. Based on the picture I would reduce the amount of media untill only 1/3 of the chamber is filled with media.
That reactor looks properly filled to me. On the older models, there is a line on the reactor that shows how much to fill, at about 2/3, which is what it looks like he has in there now.
 

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