CalcFeeder Basic/Pro - latest generation calcium reactor

[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by robbous

You are correct with faster flow, ph is holding up well but it seems water in mixing chamber drains faster with the stronger flow is it just a matter of tweaking the flow just right to prevent water from draining to fast from mixing chamber? What would be really nice is if this reactor had a DC pump where flow could be adjusted from controller instead of ball valve like it is. My Reef octopus skimmer as a DC pump where it's adjustable from a control box and I love it

The peristaltic pump should control the flow out of the mixing chamber and into the aquarium.

[robbous]

Anyone ever have issues with controller touch screen not reacting to finger touch to control ml of effluent and menu settings mine are not responding to finger touch even after power down and power back up

[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by robbous

Anyone ever have issues with controller touch screen not reacting to finger touch to control ml of effluent and menu settings mine are not responding to finger touch even after power down and power back up

Yes, but the new firmware fixed it for me.

[lionfish300]

Originally Posted by robbous

Anyone ever have issues with controller touch screen not reacting to finger touch to control ml of effluent and menu settings mine are not responding to finger touch even after power down and power back up

YES Rob that is how my is from day 1 and I couldnt upgrade till they mail the cable and they would not send the cable till they have more hex nuts LOL

[Przemek_PacSun]

@lionfish
Have you reported to service not working screen? or it's working with small delay like it was in original firmware?
About hex nuts - we had only few of them on stock and actually so we had to order them(your parcel is on way as you know) - totally we had to sent 5 completes of hex nuts to Customers(we are not using them in regular products and we had to buy them a specially after few users requests).
Thats why it initially took more time than our service expected.
@Rob
As I talked with service today your issue looks quite strange (not firmware related)and we are sending to you new controller.
Touchscreen will not work if it's wet or dirty - but in your situation it have to be related by something other and we will diagnose it when we will get your original controller.
Service don't have any similar reports about not working screens(stopped working after time) so it looks like hidden defect.

If anybody have technical questions or any need advanced troubleshooting - please remember about sending mail to service@pacific-sun.eu directly. That's the best way for getting quick response/help.
Thanks! :-)

Best regards

Przemek

[HippieSmell]

Where is the water level supposed to be in the bioball chamber? I'm not sure if my optical sensor is working properly.

[gcarroll]

Anyone know what their ph is coming out of these reactors? My friend is stating that his is 7.7 but that seems pretty high.

[lionfish300]

Originally Posted by gcarroll

Anyone know what their ph is coming out of these reactors? My friend is stating that his is 7.7 but that seems pretty high.

Should be 6.5 or lower otherwise it not going to work

[wishntoboutside]

For those that have an extra chamber what ph are you getting out at the second chamber.?

[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by wishntoboutside

For those that have an extra chamber what ph are you getting out at the second chamber.?

I haven't tested out the degassing chamber, but I got 6.5 out of the main chamber.

[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by HippieSmell

Where is the water level supposed to be in the bioball chamber? I'm not sure if my optical sensor is working properly.

Is the sensor a simple level sensor, or is it actually testing co2 saturation? Because the water level never gets to the optical sensor.

[mrtint]

Originally Posted by HippieSmell

Is the sensor a simple level sensor, or is it actually testing co2 saturation? Because the water level never gets to the optical sensor.

Mine sits about even or a little higher. I thought bioballs were giving it false readings but when I opened chamber.... there is actually a clear casing around the optical eye so I think the CO2 actually fills correct. It just looks like water is high


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[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by mrtint

Mine sits about even or a little higher. I thought bioballs were giving it false readings but when I opened chamber.... there is actually a clear casing around the optical eye so I think the CO2 actually fills correct. It just looks like water is high


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Mine sits well above above the black plastic disc. Only an inch or two from the top of the chamber.

[Przemek_PacSun]

Water level in mixing chamber is independent from water level in optical sensor tube. It can change smoothly depending from flow speed thru mixing chamber(that depend from media capacity, size etc).
pH in effluent also depend from water speed/flow - higher flow = lower pH(but it can't be to fast in other way pump will suck co2 from mixing chamber and pH can drop too fast..)

[Johnseye]

My Aquabee pump failed on Sunday. I noticed a clicking sound from the motor and slowed water flow. After shutting the reactor down and draining the water I removed and checked the pump. No obstructions anywhere, no loose media. Media couldn't get through the top filter of the gas chamber, or bottom of the reactor anyway but you never know. Attached picture shows the inside of the pump if anyone's curious. The pump's only been running for a few months so this is concerning. Hopefully it's a one time isolated incident and no one else has issues. Everything had been stable over the last few weeks since replacing the governor pipe, increasing flow.

PacSun is sending out a replacement which they responded to quickly. However the replacement is shipping from Poland and won't be here until next Tuesday so that's 8 days without a reactor. No expedited shipping, although I asked. I thought they were going to start sourcing parts from a distributor in the US. Disappointing.

[HippieSmell]

That stinks. Do you think the governor pipe had anything to do with it? I wonder if you just had a bad pump to begin with.

What's the point of the needle wheel? I'd think a normal impeller would be more energy efficient.

[HippieSmell]

I'm not sure if this is related to the reactor, but I'm having a difficult time getting my ALK to 8 dKH. I've got the reactor running at max and my ALK sits between 7.6 and 8. Keep in mind I've only got 10 small frags and a few medium chalices.

[Johnseye]

Originally Posted by HippieSmell

That stinks. Do you think the governor pipe had anything to do with it? I wonder if you just had a bad pump to begin with.

What's the point of the needle wheel? I'd think a normal impeller would be more energy efficient.

I don't think the governor pipe had anything to do with it. PacSun isn't concerned about that. They sent me another governor pipe to use on the exit end of the pump, instead of the entry point. I just didn't use it since the reactor was working well at full flow. I think it was just a bad pump.

With regards to you not being able to get your alk high enough, that is a similar problem to I was having. I had increased my effluent rate very high, much higher than necessary with a slow decline in alk over time. Once I was able to increase the flow by removing the governor pipe, I was able to significantly decrease the effluent flow and keep alk at a steady rate.

That said, I was never able to get calcium safely up to 420. I increased the effluent to about 700ml to get the tank alk level to about 10 then had to resort to additional calcium dosing because I didn't want to push my alk higher than that.

[HippieSmell]

Originally Posted by Johnseye

I don't think the governor pipe had anything to do with it. PacSun isn't concerned about that. They sent me another governor pipe to use on the exit end of the pump, instead of the entry point. I just didn't use it since the reactor was working well at full flow. I think it was just a bad pump.

With regards to you not being able to get your alk high enough, that is a similar problem to I was having. I had increased my effluent rate very high, much higher than necessary with a slow decline in alk over time. Once I was able to increase the flow by removing the governor pipe, I was able to significantly decrease the effluent flow and keep alk at a steady rate.

That said, I was never able to get calcium safely up to 420. I increased the effluent to about 700ml to get the tank alk level to about 10 then had to resort to additional calcium dosing because I didn't want to push my alk higher than that.

Hmm. Maybe I need a different governor as well. My calcium is at 430, which is good, but my demand is pretty low, too. My issue is I have zero headroom right now since the pump is wide open and I'm dosing 7 l/hr.

[HippieSmell]

Just tested my ALK and it's only 7 dKH...

[PacSun Service]

@HippieSmell - Please contact us directly at service@pacific-sun.eu. Our service will help You to start Your Calc Feeder properly.

Best regards
Pacific Sun Service.

[HippieSmell]

What's the function of the recirculation tubing?

[Ted_C]

Just read through this entire thread today after ordering an AC4 Pro from my LFS (FAOIS) through deepwater aquatics.

Like many in this thread, I have no prior Calcium reactor experience so I am apprehensive and excited at the same time. Also like Rob, I am a long owner of other pac sun products including the tritons on a previous build and 3 Pac Sun Pandora Hyperions over my two current tanks.

[mrtint]

Just curious (I know demand on every tank is different) but
-What model calcfeeder
-What is your effluent set at on calcfeeder
-How many gallons is your tank
-What is your ALK reading

Again I know some tanks are loaded SPS. Some are 1/2 SPS 1/2 LPS. Ect.....

Mine
AC1 with DC2
495 effluent
225 gallons (200 actual water volume)
8 ALK


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[Johnseye]

Originally Posted by Johnseye

I don't think the governor pipe had anything to do with it. PacSun isn't concerned about that. They sent me another governor pipe to use on the exit end of the pump, instead of the entry point. I just didn't use it since the reactor was working well at full flow. I think it was just a bad pump.

With regards to you not being able to get your alk high enough, that is a similar problem to I was having. I had increased my effluent rate very high, much higher than necessary with a slow decline in alk over time. Once I was able to increase the flow by removing the governor pipe, I was able to significantly decrease the effluent flow and keep alk at a steady rate.

That said, I was never able to get calcium safely up to 420. I increased the effluent to about 700ml to get the tank alk level to about 10 then had to resort to additional calcium dosing because I didn't want to push my alk higher than that.

Despite my replacement pump being shipped from PacSun on 6/5 it is still in Cologne Germany according to FedEx tracking. It was supposed to arrive today according to original estimates, which would have been just over a week in transit. Now I have now idea when it will get here.

Despite PacSun having a US distributor for purchases, that distributor is not currently carrying the Aquabee pump. So, it shipped from Poland like everything else so far. Without a US distributor for these parts there is a risk when failure occurs. @gcarroll pointed this out earlier in this thread and he is spot on. When you rely on this equipment to keep your livestock alive and healthy a long outage like this puts that livestock at risk.

So far my reactor has been down or not working properly more than it has been working well. I don't blame PacSun for the Aquabee failure, although they did select this pump as a part of their reactor. Their parts distribution should be handled better, and is something I will now consider more in the future. PacSun has done a lot to help me troubleshoot and resolve problems, but I continue to have problems and shouldn't have had them in the first place.

Hopefully the controller doesn't fail...ever and the new pump allows the reactor to be stable for years to come.