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Help with Calcium Reactor

M

mott768

just set my reactor up yesterday, I have a Milwaukee regulator and I can't get the psi down to 10 where it suggests it should be, if I open the knob on the front of the regulator all the way open the lowest psi I get is 40 and I get no bubbles in the counter even if I open the bubbler knob all the way, if I turn the big knob on the front of the reactor in some I get bubbles but psi goes up to 45..... is that normal and ok?

I dripped from the reactor into a cup to check ph and it is 6.9 in the reactor I am using ARM media.

I checked my calcium for the tank and it hasn't moved, what do I adjust to add more calcium to the tank? more co2? or more drips from the reactor to the sump?
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Your reactors job is to sustain your Ca. If you need to raise it you should use some Ca additive. Get the Ca to where you want/need it and then use your reactor to keep it there.

Can't help you with the regulator/guage. That part is all Greek to me.
 
JohnS_323

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Tom, I'm not sure what's going on with your regulator. For me, when the solenoid is open and CO2 is flowing, my pressure is down around 10-15. When the solenoid shuts, the pressure moves up to around 25-30. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, or right or wrong, it's just how it works. It seems to me if the hose doesn't blow off of your bubble counter (which it will if the pressure is too high) and you are able to maintain the right bubble count, you should be OK. Here's a link to an article I found really helpful (and still refer to often)

Ca Reactor Setup
 
M

mott768

I'm am really confused now and not getting or finding any help ???  Should I continue to drip kalk at night to keep my ph stable in the tank??? I thought using the reactor I wouldn't need to use additives anymore??? I used Trop marin calcium and dripped kalk at night to help with stabilizing my ph which is good... 8.3 daytime and 8.1 night. After hooking up the reactor I stopped the kalk and just drip ro/di water from my storage drum for top off.
 
M

mott768

John, thanks for the link.... I reading now, I tried that calculator that Rich posted but I am no chemist .... it's all Greek to me.... Some people told me I wouldn't need additive that I use the reactor for both alk and calc. but now I'm hearing conflicking stories.
 
JohnS_323

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Typically a reactor is not used to raise your levels.  It's used to maintain your levels.  You'll need some additive to get the system where you want it and then the reactor should keep it there.

As far as "not getting or finding any help" I thought that's what I was trying to do! ;D
 
M

mott768

Thanks for helping John..... Why do some state to use the reactor to raise and lower levels???

The more I read the more confused I got and get..... there is so many different posts and ways people setup the reactors....

If I continue (should I ) to drip kalk? will I over shoot the alk?

I just added some Trop marin calc to get the level back where I want it. I'll check the alk in a little while my tank PH is good for now 8.1 lights off, should I lower the ph in the reactor? that link suggested max of 6.7 but I read somewhere that using the ARM media to keep it at 7.0
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
Thanks for helping John..... Why do some state to use the reactor to raise and lower levels??? I am not sure why they would do this? Using the Reactor to raise Calcium can cause you to drip to fast which would put to much CO2 in your tank and lower your PH. I can understand to use it lower your Calcium, but then why even use a reactor?

If I continue (should I ) to drip kalk? will I over shoot the alk? Double check your ALK tests for the first weeks. I never used Kalkwasser before but I would be more concerened about overshooting your cal than your alk.

I just added some Trop marin calc to get the level back where I want it. I'll check the alk in a little while my tank PH is good for now 8.1 lights off, should I lower the ph in the reactor? that link suggested max of 6.7 but I read somewhere that using the ARM media to keep it at 7.0
I have heard of people using both.
 
R

reneeRN

a ph of 8.1 at night is just fine. mine goes down to 7.9 every night and 8.2 in the day. i have a ca reactor and drip kalk every night. my sps are happy as clams. what matters most is stability of your ph and alk. keep your alkalinity on the high side.
anthony calfo has great advice on his chat page, at marinedepot web site. he will answer you right away if you write to him.
good luck
 
M

mott768

Here's my readings as of now

Cal= 430
alk= 12.2

If I use kalk drip at night can I leave the cal reactor running 24/7 or should I have it turn off at night?
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Exactly how much higher do you expect your Ca to go? As long as you keep it there you have plenty in the water. I wouldn't want my alk climbing any higher than that.
 
M

mott768

Hi Phyl,
I don't want the cal higher anymore, I took John's advise and I used trop marin this afternoon to raise it. it was 320, my alk hasn't changed yet. The reactor was running 24hrs before I took the readings and there was no difference from when I set it up, I haven't touched the drip rates yet, I have it at 40 drops a min. but I'm wondering if my regulator is working right.

Any thought on the kalk drip ?
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I don't do it, but that's not to say that you shouldn't. I just haven't gone down that road.

Test in 24 and see where it is. Hopefully it will hold steady, otherwise make adjustments. Just keep a keen eye on that alk. You can send it swinging up over 14 in a hurry if you're not careful.
 
RichT

RichT

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Dripping Kalk will definitely raise your alk and ph. Your Ca is right where you want it, not much higher if any and your alk is a bit over IMO.

You will find all your Alk, Ca, Ph and reactor tuning answers here.

There you will find that Ca @ 430 ppm is balanced with Alk at 10dkh. There for you alk at 12.2 is not only 1.1 over the top of the recommended range it is 2.2 dKh over balanced. As you will also see on the web site, the balanced ratio of Ca to Alk is 20ppm : 1 meq\liter. 

BTW
To convert degrees of German hardness (dKH) to parts per million (ppm), multiply by 17.
To convert degrees of German hardness (dKH) to milliequivalents per liter (meq/l), divide by 2.8.

so, 1 dKh = 0.35714285714285714285714285714286 meq/l  ;D

Since my Ca reactor basically blew up, I've been dosing Randy's two part. I shoot for 440ppm ca and 4 meq/l dKh which is at the top right corner of the target box on the chart. In around 24 hrs, the values drop to 380 and 2.5 which is the bottom left of the target box. It's not steady but it within the target box.

Now the Ph is a whole nother headache that isn't cooperating right now. The drop in the alk is whats draging the ph down. It goes from 8.3 to 7.8 daily which isn't good. I figured that once I get off my butt and fix/make new a calcium reactor, I'll be able to maintain  more stable Ph readings.

HTH
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
have you checked your mag levels? If they are low keeping your cal at around 400 will be very hard to do. The mag holds the cal in solution and prevents it from precipitating out of the water. I would make sure your mag is between 1300 - 1400 first.
 
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