So I Just Set Up A Ca Reactor...help?

[stricknine]

I just set up my calcium reactor for the first time, and all seems well but I just wanted to confirm this is right, and get a few questions answered. It's an Octopus CR100 with an SMS 122? Milwaukee PH Controller and gauges. I have a 75G tank, 75G sump, and 20G frag.

Here's my CaRx set up:



1/ Why do I have two outputs on the top? One seems to be a constant flow while the other spits and sputters randomly.

2/ I have a 50GPH intake pump, controlled with a plastic needle valve. It seems to work so far, is this okay?

3/ I've been playing with the CO2 for about 2 hours, and it seems pretty flakey, everything I set it at seems to be completely different a half hour later. Any reason or faulty solenoid?

4/ With a PH controller set at approx 6.5, do I even need to be concerned with the bubble count?

5/ Just to be sure, can someone confirm the PH/CA/ALK params I should get this set at? As above, I am also running Ultra Lith (Zeovit Equivalent).

Thanks All!

[MichaelLitoris]

I own a CR140D so I'll try to answer the best I can:

1) There are 2 outlets, one is the effluent, the other is a vent pipe that is used to purge the system from air bubbles during the initial setup or refilling the reactor with media. You should use a small valve to open and close the vent pipe.

2) I personally added a Tee to my Mag 7 pump with a gate valve and a John Guest fitting instead of using a small powerhead; I get better pressure and the powerhead I used when I started the reactor got really noisy after a couple of months, I just couldn't deal with it.

3) Please be patient, the final calibration may take a few days (I may be too picky). Start slowly like 1 bubble per second, then look at the pH Controller an hour later and open the needle valve a little more until you hit 6.8; keep increasing the bubble count if you can't hit 6.8. If the Ca reactor can't keep with Ca and Alk in a couple of weeks then lower it to 6.8, then 6.7, but you should measure this over time; every setup is different and therefore you'll get different results. The volume of effluent water also changes the pH, so again, depends on your system, just take your time.

4) The pH controller value rules over the bubble counter; the bubble counter is just a reference for the amount of CO2 you're injecting into the reactor but like I said above, start at a higher pH until you get your Ca and Alk in order.

5) Alk is around 14 dKH for my system, this is what you really need to look for; I'm sure it can be pushed a bit more, but for the size of my setup works well enough. If you have lots of SPS you may have to raise Alk by increasing the CO2 and possibly the effluent volume.

A last word of advice: you won't raise your current Ca, Mg and Alk with the reactor; reactors are meant to keep Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium but never to raise them. I have to add more Mag to my system once a month using Magnesium Chloride (it has the tendency to move down to 1250 ppm and my goal is 1300; and sometimes Ca gets down to 410 ppm, I try to keep it at 450. These adjustments are very small though and my reef tank would be perfectly happy with 1250/410, but it's my personal preference to keep Mag/Ca at 1300/450. Alk is always constant in my setup at 9.5 dKH.

Good luck with your reactor; that's the best purchase I've made for my setup by the way; I have no complaints about the Reef Octopus reactor (except perhaps the pump is a little noisy, but my Mag 7 feed pump masks it very well, lol.