Calcium Reactor Questions...

[rs1831]

I'm in the process of setting up my new 75 gallon tank. Its going to be mostly sps and I would like some info on cal rectors. What is needed besides the reactor? Do I have to purchase anything to keep alk up or is there media that does both alk and cal? I understand the the ph in the reactor is low from the co2 so what do most people do about that?
Thanks.

 

[hurt]

I own a Korallin 1502. Besides the reactor itself, you will need a CO2 tank(once you get it, you need to take it to a welding store to have it filled), a regulator to place on the CO2 tank to regulate the flow of CO2(most regulators come with a bubble counter as my JBJ did, though some don't) Also, some reactors have a bubble counter built in, as my Korallin does. Also you will need to buy media for the reactor, the media supplies both Alk and Ca, and some medias contain even more good stuff(magnesium, strontium etc).
So besides the reactor you must buy
-5 or 10 lb CO2 tank
-regulator
-bubble counter if not present on regulator or reactor
-media
I also own a pH monitor which I wouldn't consider it a necessity, but it makes it easier to check your effluent pH.
As for the low pH, I send my effluent from my reactor to my skimmer to burn off any excess CO2 through my skimmer and raise pH. After it leaves my sump(with skimmer) it drains into the first chamber in my fuge which is full of dead sps skeletons to help raise the pH once again.

 

[rs1831]

Thank you for the info. How do you like the Korallin 1502?

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by Hurt
http:///forum/post/3093315
I own a Korallin 1502. Besides the reactor itself, you will need a CO2 tank(once you get it, you need to take it to a welding store to have it filled), a regulator to place on the CO2 tank to regulate the flow of CO2(most regulators come with a bubble counter as my JBJ did, though some don't) Also, some reactors have a bubble counter built in, as my Korallin does. Also you will need to buy media for the reactor, the media supplies both Alk and Ca, and some medias contain even more good stuff(magnesium, strontium etc).
So besides the reactor you must buy
-5 or 10 lb CO2 tank
-regulator
-bubble counter if not present on regulator or reactor
-media
I also own a pH monitor which I wouldn't consider it a necessity, but it makes it easier to check your effluent pH.
As for the low pH, I send my effluent from my reactor to my skimmer to burn off any excess CO2 through my skimmer and raise pH. After it leaves my sump(with skimmer) it drains into the first chamber in my fuge which is full of dead sps skeletons to help raise the pH once again.

on the PH Monitor although I would get A PH controller. Once you set the effluent rates, usually 6.6 - 6.9 it will automatically shut off the c02. You use less C02 and if the power goes out it goes off so you don't overload your tank. Plus you have to worry less about the bubble count because your controller will turn it off for you if the PH gets too high.

 

[hurt]

I love my Korallin, it's made my life much easier...
I think a pH controller is nice to have, but I don't think you have to have one to run a Ca reactor by any means, especially if you send the effluent to your skimmer. I think it really depends on how good of a needle valve you have on your regulator. Also, the solenoid on the regulator turns off the CO2 supply when the power goes out, so you don't have to worry about OD'ing your tank with CO2 without having a pH controller when the power goes out.

 

[king_neptune]

Quint spent a good while the otherday talking to me about reactors, lost the thread, sorry.
He siad get a larger bottle. AS big as you can comfortably fit.
The reasoning is the cost to fill goes down considerably in ratio the larger the tank.
For example:
A 5lb bottle cost %10 less to fill than a 10lb bottle. Evin though you get double the Co2. I guess the charges figure in the time to hookup the machine rather than the volume of gas.
A 5lb bottle will probably last 6-8 weeks(this is a rough estimate...dont hold me to it). So you can imagine the yearly savings by going to 20lb or more.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3094750
Quint spent a good while the otherday talking to me about reactors, lost the thread, sorry.
He siad get a larger bottle. AS big as you can comfortably fit.
The reasoning is the cost to fill goes down considerably in ratio the larger the tank.
For example:
A 5lb bottle cost %10 less to fill than a 10lb bottle. Evin though you get double the Co2. I guess the charges figure in the time to hookup the machine rather than the volume of gas.
A 5lb bottle will probably last 6-8 weeks(this is a rough estimate...dont hold me to it). So you can imagine the yearly savings by going to 20lb or more.

Yeah I started out with a 5lb tank and upsized to a 20lb when I found out that (4) 5lb fillups cost about the same amount over the cost of filling up a 20lb to pay for the upgraded bottle.
Plus you can stick CO2 tanks anywhere and run Co2 proof tubing very easily... through a hole in the wall, for example, so they are easily hidden. My 20lb tank sits in the garage and a line runs up through the floor to the tank above.

 

[hurt]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3094750
A 5lb bottle will probably last 6-8 weeks(this is a rough estimate...dont hold me to it). So you can imagine the yearly savings by going to 20lb or more.
Way off on the timetable to refill a CO2 tank. I last filled my 10lb CO2 tank in Jan 08(~18 months ago), and it only cost me $9 to refill it with CO2. That's with using ARM media, and a little more than 10 bpm of CO2.

 

[rs1831]

What are some other ways to make sure that my ph doesn't go down?

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by Hurt
http:///forum/post/3095292
Way off on the timetable to refill a CO2 tank. I last filled my 10lb CO2 tank in Jan 08(~18 months ago), and it only cost me $9 to refill it with CO2. That's with using ARM media, and a little more than 10 bpm of CO2.
fortunatly I said dont hold me to it ^^ due to the fact Ive only read about Co2, and the only knowledge I have is from people who have informed me a 5lb bottle lasts about 2 months.
hmmm your running at 10bpm....dont most people do roughly 4x that amount or more? divide 18months by 4...then cut that number in half becuase I quoted a 5lb bottle. not the 10 pounder you got, and thats 2.25 months....roughly
at any rate, I think the main point sudjested was keep it as large as you can fit/afford. I myself am getting a 35lb bottle for my system.

 

[hurt]

Wasn't trying to hold you to it, I just wanted to make sure people realize a 5 lb tank lasts much longer than 2 months. Even at 60 bpm, a 5 lb tank should last 6 months.
Korallin Reactors are very efficient and require less CO2 than most reactors to run. I don't have a huge load on my tank now, but at 10 bpm of CO2 and ~50 dpm, my effluent has a pH of 6.9 and a dKH of 28 using ARM media. Different media's dissolve better at different pH, and ARM requires less CO2 than most other media.
As for low pH, I first send the effluent to my skimmer, then into the bubble trap of my fuge over dead sps coral skeletons, next Chaetomorpha in fuge aborbs any CO2 left, and finally my ATO dumps in Kalkwasser in the return chamber of my fuge. All of which help to absorb/blow off CO2 and ultimately raise pH in my DT. Of course you can always get another chamber for the reactor to raise effluent pH.

 

[king_neptune]

gotcha^^ thanks for the knowledge.
oh and by any chance got a camera? Id like to see a snapshot of what you got. any ideas for my system would be nice. i should be doing the plumbing later this week.

 

[rs1831]

Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3095554
gotcha^^ thanks for the knowledge.
oh and by any chance got a camera? Id like to see a snapshot of what you got. any ideas for my system would be nice. i should be doing the plumbing later this week.

I would like to see that as well.

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by Hurt
http:///forum/post/3094513
I love my Korallin, it's made my life much easier...
I think a pH controller is nice to have, but I don't think you have to have one to run a Ca reactor by any means, especially if you send the effluent to your skimmer. I think it really depends on how good of a needle valve you have on your regulator. Also, the solenoid on the regulator turns off the CO2 supply when the power goes out, so you don't have to worry about OD'ing your tank with CO2 without having a pH controller when the power goes out.
Didnt say it was necessary.. I said I would get one. It makes your reliance on the bubble count less important. (NOTE: I Did not say NOT important, Just LESS Important)

It also means that you use less C02. If your tank is not using up the C02, then it will be off where if you just have the bubble counter it is running all the time.
I also think this is important IF you do not have a skimmer designed to accept C02 input easily which most newbies would not.

 

[windlasher]

Originally Posted by Hurt
http:///forum/post/3095292
Way off on the timetable to refill a CO2 tank. I last filled my 10lb CO2 tank in Jan 08(~18 months ago), and it only cost me $9 to refill it with CO2. That's with using ARM media, and a little more than 10 bpm of CO2.

- Even a small tank should last MANY Months.

 

[hurt]

Not the best pics, but here are a couple shots of my Ca reactor and CO2 tank. The green line on the top of the reactor feeds CO2 from my tank into the bubble counter on the reactor, then into the reactor itself. The white line is attached to an aqua lifter pump which takes in tank water from an air tube stuck in my overflow in my DT. The effluent then drains to my skimmer(tank on right) after which it drains into my fuge(tank on left).