Knop C CA Reactor - need instructions

[vince-1961]

Okay, I am feeling pretty dumb at the moment. I bought a used set up for a Knop C calcium reactor, complete with CO2 tank and whole works. Set it up per directions. All the parts work just fine, except ..... There is no effluent being discharged.
I got the inlet line stuck in the water of the sump, then it goes up over the edge of the sump and then down to the reactor. The water level in the reactor is higher than the water level in the sump. I made sure there was no air in the inlet hose when I stuck it in the water. And yes, The valve on the discharge line is open. The eheim pump is recirculating the water inside the reactor just fine.
I read on some website a review of this product that said I needed to add a pump to pump water to the reactor, but the guy who sold it to me said I didn't need to so that.
here's a pic....
Attachment 214253
Attachment 214254
It's been running for more than 24 hours. How do I get effluent to discharge?

 

[vince-1961]

surely someone can tell me how to set this thing up!!!!

 

[mboswell1982]

what exactly does it do? cause i have no clue, yet have always wondered about the co2 tanks an whatnot with the tanks LOL

 

[vince-1961]

It is called a "calcium reactor." It is a simple concept. First, fill a container with material containing calcium carbonate. (There are lots of products out there but they're all basically just very old skeletons of coral.... and when I say "old" I mean thousands of years old.)
Second run some water through it that is a bit acidic (meaning a pH value lower than 7.0). The acid will break down the material into its component parts of calcium and carbonate.
Third, put the broken down parts (the calcium and the carbonate) into the display tank where living coral and invertebrates can then grab those chemicals from the water to grow new shell and coral skeleton.
Carbon dioxide will lower the pH value of water to make it acidic. Hence the air tank pushing CO2 into the water that is recirculated over the calcium carbonate. The trick, of course, is getting the recirculated water to drip out (called "effluent") into the aquarium's water at just the right rate so as to maintain the calcium and the "hardness" of the water (i.e.- alkalinity or carbonate value) in just the right proportions without lowering the pH value of the aquarium water.
Hope that helps explain what a calcium reactor is and why it's needed for tanks growing shelled invertebrates and hard corals.

 

[mboswell1982]

ahhhh gotcha, makes perfect sense now, basically ur runnin a still for a saltwater tank LOL so its not something i need for a fowlr tank,sweet LOL

 

[vince-1961]

Correct. No need for a CA reactor or kalkwasser on a FOWLR.
In the meantime, surely someone can tell me where I got stumped???????