Is your Ca reactor not producing enough

Willito · #1 02-01-2006, 05:25 AM

Is there anyone having problem with their reactor not being able to keep up with calcium demands? What are you doing to meet this demand, adjusting the reactor or just going with additional calcium additives by other means because the reactor is simply not enough . Curious to see if this is a common problem with larger SPS tanks.

Delphinus · #2 02-01-2006, 05:48 AM

Anytime in the past that I've found my levels not at target I would just dial the reactor up. I don't really see how a reactor couldn't be adjusted upwards. About the only thing is a psychological barrier of not wanting to set the CO2 level high enough.

Maybe look at a bigger reactor with more media capacity if you find this to be a recurring problem. Or look at Magnesium levels ..

Chin_Lee · #3 02-01-2006, 06:02 AM

Will
I had that problem with my reactor when I first started out. It has the capacity to be filled with three gallon jars of ARM but initially, I wanted to replace frequently so I had only put one gallon into the reactor. I had the effluent pH close to 6.4 and my alk/cal kept going down. Eventually I had to put three gallons of media in, and kept pH efluent at around 6.7 to maintain my alk/cal. The output is a steady stream out of a 1/4" tube and my bubble count is about 90-100 bph.

bnhreef · #4 02-01-2006, 06:25 AM

Hey Chin,

Are you sure you're only adding 90 -100 bubbles per HOUR of CO2?????

Brad

Chin_Lee · #5 02-01-2006, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnhreef

Hey Chin,

Are you sure you're only adding 90 -100 bubbles per HOUR of CO2?????

Brad

No i'm not adding 90-100 bph. I am adding 90-100 bubbles per minute.

Gools · #6 02-01-2006, 12:02 PM

I find my reactor is keeping my calcium at 425, but my Alk won't go up. Alk stays at around 7, which is fine but I want it up around the 10 mark. Was debating wether to add some extension chambers to make them tall, to hold more media, to see if it would help

kari · #7 02-01-2006, 12:32 PM

Gools,
try using some baked baking soda to bring up the alk.

bnhreef · #8 02-01-2006, 02:00 PM

Sorry Chin,

I just thought you were doing something that I should be doing.

By the way guys, Kari makes the best Ca reactors this side of the Rockies.

Thanks again, Kari.

Brad

Gools · #9 02-01-2006, 08:17 PM

Kari
I did do that, works for a few days then comes right back down. I also made my own 2 part, and dosed the Alk part, and had the same results. It's not something I losing sleep over, but I would love to get it up to 10, when I had it there before, corals grew like weeds.

Willito · #10 02-02-2006, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Anytime in the past that I've found my levels not at target I would just dial the reactor up. I don't really see how a reactor couldn't be adjusted upwards. About the only thing is a psychological barrier of not wanting to set the CO2 level high enough.

Maybe look at a bigger reactor with more media capacity if you find this to be a recurring problem. Or look at Magnesium levels ..

My meg level is at 1275ppm and I have 2.5 containers of ARMs in my reactor. Bubble count is at 70/minute and drip rate at about 100 drops/minute and I have been hovering around 300ppm of Ca and a dkh of 4.