Gro Tech Calcium Reactor

[Ruth]

Does anyone have a Grotech Calcium Reactor? I finally got mine on line (Thanks Wendell at OA for putting it together for me) and cannot find anywhere that it refers to the rate you should have the water output going back into the tank (or sump in my case) from the reactor. It has a degassing chamber that the water goes through first and then into the sump. Right now I have it set for a steady thin stream but just wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

[BMW Rider]

I have an article that I downloaded which outlines how to setup and tune in a CA reactor. I can't recall the author or the source now, but if you like I could e-mail it to you. I edited it into an MS Word document, but I could probably save it in another format if you don't have Word.

Basically though, first you want to maintain the desired PH in the chamber by balancing the flow and the bubble count. I am keeping my effluent ph at around 6.8 -7.0. Increasing the flow or decreasing the bubble count will raise the ph, increasing the bubble count or decreasing the flow will lower it. The rates will be higher or lower depending upon your tanks calcium usage. For that you will need to test your CA and ALK levels regularly until it is maintaining an even level. If your levels are dropping, increase both flow and bubble count to maintain the effluent ph at the desired level while supplying more CA to the tank. Inversely, if the levels are increasing, lower the flow and bubble count.