Need some calcium reactor help! A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE

[Tarolisol]

Im having trouble raising the Calcium levels in my tank and dont know how to adjust the reactor appopriatly.

The levels are as follows.

Tank:
PH 8.3
Alk 11dKH
Calc 220ppm

Reactor:
PH 6.6
Calc 420ppm

Now what should i adjust to raise the tank calcium?

[BMW Rider]

First, it looks like your alk and Ca levels are way off balance. I'd double check the tests, then if correct, dose a calcium suppliment to bring the Ca level up to at least 400. Also its important to have your Mg levels correct since it will affect the Ca and alk.

Once everything is at the correct balance, you can start tuning in the reactor. I'm running mine to maintain a Ph reading of between 6.8 - 7.0 in the reactor. You don't want to run the Ph too low as it could make the media break down and clog up. Alternatively if the Ph is too high, you won't get the media to dissolve enough. Then once the Ph is right, its just a matter of adjustinging the flow of water through it to reach the correct dosing for the tank. The tanks levels should remain balanced as the reactor supplies both Ca and alk as well as Mg. If the levels are dropping, then you need to increase the water flow through the reactor. You will need to make a proportionate increase in the CO2 to maintain the reactor Ph. If the levels climb, then cut back the flow and bubble count.

[Delphinus]

Ed's advice is on the money. Although you can change levels by dialing in your reactor differently, it's generally best to get the levels up to your targets by manual additions of dosing whatever, and then letting the reactor "maintain" those levels rather than "bring the tank up to" those levels (if that makes any sense).

[vanreefer]

I agree check the Mg level then adjust the Ca to desired levels and use the reactor to maintain levels

[Tarolisol]

I have been a little skeptical of my dKH test, so maybe ill buy a better brand and get back to everyone.

but say i dont have anything to supplement my calcium would that be a problem, i dont have any corals at the moment :( also if i just adjust the rait of water entering my tank rom the calc reactor wouldnt that effect my PH of my tank?

[support@proline]

Sean ,what brand of test kits are you using?
Pay albert a visit he does have salifert & Elos Test kit ,KH test kits are usually pretty cheap does not matter what brand .Make sense to double check.
Don't worry once you figure how to dial the reactor ,they be easy to work with.
I think Ed & Tony have pointed you to the right direction.

[Tarolisol]

Yeah, i was just at golds yesturday and got the Elos Mg kit. I might just upgrade all my kits, i am using aqua pharmacuticals at the moment.

[Tarolisol]

Well, to keep up with this post.
My magnesium level is 1.100 or somthnig like that, not sure if thats good or bad.

Also i cant seem to bring my calcium up. Ive been adding argamilk for several days now but cant get it above 240ppm. My alk is at about 11-12dKH. Im beggining to think there is something wrong with my calcium kit, or can argamilk go bad.

Also my PH has been slightly increasing it has gone up to 8.45 from 8.3. Cant really explain this.

[support@proline]

Hi Sean
Just checking on how you doing with this?
your MG should be around 1300 to 1350 ppm, your low MG can cause some problems with the balance.
The Zeomag that you have comming to you can be just placed on the top of the media in the chamber ,stuff is very strong ,please use in the ratio of 10% zeomag to 90% aragonite media.
For a quick Mg fix you can use an additive.any brand will do .
what is your bubble / minute for co2
How many drops/ minute of effluent exits ,the reactor?
Sorry for late response ,but keep us posted please.

[Pescador]

Aragamilk won't bring your CA levels up. It is basically an aragonite slurry. You need a calcium supplement like Reef Complete (that has Mg as well) or the calcium part of a two part supplement.
Don't dose anything for your alk so it can fall and let your CA go up.
It could take a couple weeks to bring your level up until it's in balance with your alk and then your reactor will maintain it.
You can use a calcium supplement to raise your levels but to maintain them you have to use a balanced two part supplement or your reactor.

[Tarolisol]

Hi Sean
Just checking on how you doing with this?
your MG should be around 1300 to 1350 ppm, your low MG can cause some problems with the balance.
The Zeomag that you have comming to you can be just placed on the top of the media in the chamber ,stuff is very strong ,please use in the ratio of 10% zeomag to 90% aragonite media.
For a quick Mg fix you can use an additive.any brand will do .
what is your bubble / minute for co2
How many drops/ minute of effluent exits ,the reactor?
Sorry for late response ,but keep us posted please.

The reactor is doing probly a dubble per second, maybe slightly less. As for efulent i have no clue buts its probly pretty high since its coming out quite quickly.

[kari]

After the mg is at normal level maybe use something cheap like calcium chloride (Turbo Calcium) and baked baking soda for adjusting alk and calcium levels.

I'm planning on trying the mg media in the reactor aswell but wonder if over dosing can become a problem. It would be a bummer if levels get too high and the need to dump all the media comes up. Possibly the easiest fix is to use a salt brand with the correct mg content and do some water changes. I find the bottled mg additives get too costly with larger tanks.

[Doug]

If all measures are correct, then dont add anything that will effect your alk. levels. Plus the reactor is basically an alkalinity reactor, so it will maintain those levels.

I agree with the idea of adding a calcium/magnesium/strontium product, like the mentioned Turbo Calcium or my preference , Seachems Reef Advantage. However their are several on the market.

Adjust it slowly. I would back the reactor down for now, until a balanced calcium & alk. levels are reached. An effluent quanity around 40ml/min. & a bubble count of around 60 or less/min. Ed,s ph suggestions are right on. They can all be increased later as the tank matures & grows. Also it should then maintain both alk. & calcium levels. Most aquarists with larger tanks, esp. with sps, use both reactors. Kalk & CO2.

Or at the least, drip kalk, with a jug or whatever.

[Tarolisol]

Ok, so im going to turn the reactor down for now untill i get everything correct with additives. I have mg and seachem calcium stuff that i am using to increase it.

Ill post back when i get everything at the right levels.

Thanks, everyone.

[Railskinner]

I have just set up a calcium reactor as well. Last night

calcium 440/alk 11/ ph 8.3 /salinity 1.023
77 gal/33 gal sump

5lbs tank/ milwaukee regulator/bubble counter/soleniod/needle valve /sms122 controller.Followed intructions for set up and ph was about 7.8. So i raised the bubble counter and then it dropped to 7.4

ATM I have everything working bubble counter set at about 150 drops per minute/ effulent at 180 drops. Ph was at 7.4 This morning I looked at ph controller and it's reading 7.0. I 'm trying to get this down to about 6.5- 6.7. If l turn the bubble counter up more and keep the efulent flow the same will this knock the ph down for me.

[vanreefer]

I have just set up a calcium reactor as well. Last night

calcium 440/alk 11/ ph 8.3 /salinity 1.023
77 gal/33 gal sump

5lbs tank/ milwaukee regulator/bubble counter/soleniod/needle valve /sms122 controller.Followed intructions for set up and ph was about 7.8. So i raised the bubble counter and then it dropped to 7.4

ATM I have everything working bubble counter set at about 150 drops per minute/ effulent at 180 drops. Ph was at 7.4 This morning I looked at ph controller and it's reading 7.0. I 'm trying to get this down to about 6.5- 6.7. If l turn the bubble counter up more and keep the efulent flow the same will this knock the ph down for me.

With that size tank unless it's overflowing with large sps colonies I would slow down the drip rate to ~120 min and bubble count to about 60/ min and come adjust the reactor slowly from there

A basic rule of thumb to start is ~ 2 drops of effluent to one bubble... then test ph CA and ALK if all are fine then leave'er be if the ph is low, then so will the alk, just increase the bubble count. If the Ca is low but ph is OK-low and the ALK is high, only adjust the drop rate.

Summary
Low alk---> increase the CO2 bubble count
Low Ca---> increase the drop rate
Low Alk and Ca but good PH----> increase both in the 2:1 ratio (drops:CO2)
Good Ca and Alk but low PH---> leave it and check again in a few days
High alk and low Ca---> check Mg if OK (above 1350) increase drop rate

These are the general rules of thumbs I have used to dial in my reactor...

HTH
Dan

[Tarolisol]

Well, things are going screwy, ive began increasing my calcium with an additive, seachem, i also was trying to increase my magnesium but its gone down and my alk well its sky rocketed

PH 8.35
Calcium 300ppm
Alk 15dKH
mg 900 somthings

[Pescador]

Which Seachem product are you using? Reef Complete? And your leaving the reactor off for now?
If it is still running is the Zeomag you have in your reactor a type of Dolomite?

If it is this might apply
It has been suggested that adding dolomite to CaCO3/CO2 reactors can help with magnesium problems. Dolomite is a material that contains both magnesium and calcium carbonate. If dolomite is added to the reactor to maintain existing appropriate magnesium levels against their continual depletion via calcification (for example, if the calcium carbonate used is too low in magnesium to maintain adequate magnesium), then this is a fine approach. Aquarists might typically use on the order of 10% of the media as dolomite (and 90% as calcium carbonate).
However, this method is unsuitable if the goal is to raise magnesium levels. The problem is that for every magnesium ion released from the dolomite, two units of alkalinity are also released:
MgCO3 à Mg++ + CO3--
Consequently, raising magnesium in this way by 100 ppm will necessarily raise the alkalinity by 8.2 meq/L (23 dKH). The only way around this problem is to add a mineral acid (not vinegar) to the aquarium to reduce the alkalinity, and that may be more problematic than just adding a magnesium supplement in the first place.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/rhf/index.php#10

[Railskinner]

day 4 with reactor set up
troubles now
sality1.023
calcium 460
alk 15 dkh - (was at 11 to start jumped to 15)
mag-1260
temp -78.9
turned down reactor to a 1(co2):2(drip effulent) 60/120 ratio and my alk has went thru the roof to 15, efulent ph reads at 7.4

last night i dropped the co2 rate to 30 drops per minute and alk has dropped to 13.4
i turned up the drip of efulent a bit , almost a steady run.This morning i noticed that the efulent has raised to 7.7 on the Ph probe.Would this cause the PH to raise as now that there is more flow thru reacter because of drip rate is higher?
Also should this lower the alk reading as well?

[vanreefer]

last night i dropped the co2 rate to 30 drops per minute and alk has dropped to 13.4
i turned up the drip of efulent a bit , almost a steady run.This morning i noticed that the efulent has raised to 7.7 on the Ph probe.Would this cause the PH to raise as now that there is more flow thru reacter because of drip rate is higher?
Also should this lower the alk reading as well?

Exactly Ph has gone up because the amount of CO2 inside the reactor is less Co2 is only lowering the PH to allow the media to disolve
It looks as though the reactor was fairly close to what you wanted just too much alk and maybe a bit to high on the ca... I would go to about 45 bubbles/min and an elffluent of still around 100-120 drips /minute

Decreasing the Co2/(increasing the PH) will slowdown the disolution of alk... slightly decreasing the effluent rate will lower the Ca disolution... I would also try to raise your Mg as this is vital to maintaining ionic balance of Ca and Alk

[Railskinner]

i will give a test of all the parameters tommorow morning
i"ll get the mag up to 1350 ish.
set the co2 rate at about 45/minute and the drip of the efulent at about 120
/minute. Ph of the efulent is at 7.6 atm (11.40 pm)
hopefully i'll get the alk back down.

[Railskinner]

finished testing this morning
Salinity 1.023
mag 1360
calcium 440
alk 11.8
efulent ph 7.4
45/co2 120/drip
Seems that the ph probe reading will not drop any lower
i recalibrated the probe this morning thinking maybe it might be out of wack.