Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[yellojello]

Originally Posted by slief

It’s likely the position and it’s likely electronically calibrated from the factory. I would make a mark on each end tighten it down and retest. Then move it slightly and retest again and continue to do so until you find the sweet spot. It doesn’t look like there is much room for adjustment so if that is the issue, it shouldn’t take much to find the position as long as you have a reference point as to where you start making adjustments from. It looks like there should be sensor on the board that would need to align with the black outer ring on the round wheel on the end of the shaft.

WOW! It wasn't an encoder issue at all. TLDR: One of the brushes wasn't making contact with the motor, trouble going through the hole.

After letting it sit for a while and let my frustration go away and resist to send it in for "repair" and $$$, I tried to troubleshoot again. So I turned it on, and began turning the motor by hand right before pushing the Play/Start key, and while keep turning it by hand, after I pushed Play/Start key the RPM would actually readout the number for a second or two before going to Error 1. That gave me hope that it wasn't an encoder issue at all. So I opened the motor back up and troubleshoot the motor itself. I looked this video up real quick "How to troubleshoot brushed DC motor" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWEsPw733h8

I put my multimeter on the positive and negative leads and got nothing. Tried the 9v battery and nothing. I took a closer look and ended up being one of the brushes wasn't fitting through the hole properly and no contact to the motor. After I verified both brushes making contact again, the multimeter was reading some resistance and the 9v battery made the motor run. All is good, no encoder issue, and save me some $$$.

[dadnjesse]

I have the 77301-22 with a 77301-21 head and I'm setting it up the head is making a clicking sound is this normal

[slief]

Originally Posted by dadnjesse

I have the 77301-22 with a 77301-21 head and I'm setting it up the head is making a clicking sound is this normal

Some heads will click a bit due to play in the housing and or rollers. If the head doesn't click when there is no tubing in it, that is likely the reason and you probably don't need to worry.

[dadnjesse]

I put in a new piece of tubing and the noise went away

[ReefTron5000]

I know it's in the thread somewhere but can someone please tell me how often tubing is supposed to be replaced?

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by ReefTron5000

I know it's in the thread somewhere but can someone please tell me how often tubing is supposed to be replaced?

I do it quarterly but you can go half a year or more. It’s cheap though so imo it’s better safe than sorry.

[tkeracer619]

Ecotech continuous duty dosing pumps are on the horizon. Finally a company has answered our needs in a dosing pump durable enough for our use. I’ll do my best to get one as soon as possible to run it through the gauntlet!

[dadnjesse]

I have a new to me Masterflex 77301-22. Last night my power went out for a few minutes, when I got up in the morning and checked my tank the unit's power was on but was not running, I had to restart it. Is this the norm for these units, every time my power goes out I have to restart it, or am I missing something.

[dadnjesse]

Ok never mind I figured it out. There was a way to change the settings to auto start after power loss.

[serenity]

Looking forward to joining the #MasterFlexGang . With the help from @slief I was able to procure a killer deal on a Cole-Parmer MasterFlex L/S Peristaltic Pump 7523-80 with a Cole-Parmer - EW-77800-62 - Masterflex L/S Easy-Load 3 Head.

They want you to run LS/17 tubing with this head, so that I what I purchased. I know most are running LS/15, but I assume this won't be an issue.

I also had @alanle build a custom Dual Stage Regulator for me with the following parts.
-Stainless steel dual stage GO regulator (rebranded from Swagelok)
-Clippard .07 volt solenoid
-Swagelok ultra fine Needle valve
-Swagelok liquid gauges


It will be running my CoralVue CR5000D reactor. I will also run a Milwaukee MC122 pH Controller with my Apex as backup should something fail.

I hope to be able to keep my pH more constant/stable within a much less degree of swing.


This is the first time I have ever used a Pera pump to run a reactor, I have always been bubble chaser and effluent chaser, so this will be a nice change of pace!

[slief]

Originally Posted by serenity

Looking forward to joining the #MasterFlexGang . With the help from @slief I was able to procure a killer deal on a Cole-Parmer MasterFlex L/S Peristaltic Pump 7523-80 with a Cole-Parmer - EW-77800-62 - Masterflex L/S Easy-Load 3 Head.

They want you to run LS/17 tubing with this head, so that I what I purchased. I know most are running LS/15, but I assume this won't be an issue.

I also had @alanle build a custom Dual Stage Regulator for me with the following parts.
-Stainless steel dual stage GO regulator (rebranded from Swagelok)
-Clippard .07 volt solenoid
-Swagelok ultra fine Needle valve
-Swagelok liquid gauges


It will be running my CoralVue CR5000D reactor. I will also run a Milwaukee MC122 pH Controller with my Apex as backup should something fail.

I hope to be able to keep my pH more constant/stable within a much less degree of swing.


This is the first time I have ever used a Pera pump to run a reactor, I have always been bubble chaser and effluent chaser, so this will be a nice change of pace!

According to the specs, that head is not compatible with LS17 tubing so you might wear the tubing out faster or potentially damage the head. I would contact cole parmer support and ask them what the ramifications are when running LS17 tubing with that EW-77800-62 head as the tubing diameter and or wall thickness is different than the others listed for compatibility.

[serenity]

My apologies, I bought Masterflex L/S C-Flex Tubing 50 A, L/S 15, 25 ft. That was the tubing if I ended up buying a new head... I ended up keeping the head that came with it, that was if I were to replace it.

[slief]

Originally Posted by serenity

My apologies, I bought Masterflex L/S C-Flex Tubing 50 A, L/S 15, 25 ft. That was the tubing if I ended up buying a new head... I ended up keeping the head that came with it, that was if I were to replace it.

Only downside to the LS15 is it's low flow rate per RPM. You will be running the motor at a higher speed than if you were using LS24 which is similar to LS17 flow rates or LS35 or 36 which have even high flow rates which means even lower RPM on the motor and less wear and tear.

[Mache62]

Joining the club...I purchased from a member here a Master Flex 7521-40 pump with a 7017-21 head. I put it all together today and connected to a Geo 612 reactor. Trying to run out the air overnight.
Any suggestions are welcome!

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

[serenity]

Originally Posted by slief

Only downside to the LS15 is it's low flow rate per RPM. You will be running the motor at a higher speed than if you were using LS24 which is similar to LS17 flow rates or LS35 or 36 which have even high flow rates which means even lower RPM on the motor and less wear and tear.

I will pickup some LS24 to play with.

[Mache62]

For some reason getting this pump and reactor set up...without air trapped inside or any leaks has been a nightmare.
I'm running a geo 612 reactor with a 7521-40pump with a 7017-21 head. My recirculating pump is the standard eheim. I've tried both pulling from the effluent (which seemed to create the most bubbles) and now an pushing which has cut the trapped air down but still have some.
To top it all off when I came home from work the other day I had water spewing from the pump head so I can only surmise that I didn't mount the tubing correctly. Thankfully I had another head that came with the pump and that one doesn't seem to be leaking.
Sorry about the rant....i just am getting frustrated with something that should be straightforward.


Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

[dadnjesse]

I tried using my Masterflex to pull then I tried it to push and was getting air both ways, I now use my return to feed the reactor and the Masterflex to control the output and it runs flawless.

[Mache62]

Originally Posted by dadnjesse

I tried using my Masterflex to pull then I tried it to push and was getting air both ways, I now use my return to feed the reactor and the Masterflex to control the output and it runs flawless.

That's interesting. How do you control the flow to the reactor though?

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

[Vinny Kreyling]

The Masterflex pulls water through the reactor @ a specific flow.
The rest sits in the pipe & flows back to the sump.

[Mache62]

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

The Masterflex pulls water through the reactor @ a specific flow.
The rest sits in the pipe & flows back to the sump.

So it won't put to much pressure in to the reactor?

[Vinny Kreyling]

Not pulling.

[dadnjesse]

Originally Posted by Mache62

So it won't put to much pressure in to the reactor?

It's only fed by a 1/4 inch RO tubing there is only so much pressure that can go through.

[Mache62]

Originally Posted by dadnjesse

It's only fed by a 1/4 inch RO tubing there is only so much pressure that can go through.

That makes sense. Ok, I'll try that tomorrow then. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

[slief]

Originally Posted by Mache62

So it won't put to much pressure in to the reactor?

Unless the reactor is clogged, it should never be under any pressure other than some head pressure.

[slief]

Originally Posted by dadnjesse

It's only fed by a 1/4 inch RO tubing there is only so much pressure that can go through.

A Masterflex with LS17 tubing can produce upwards of 20 psi but unless the reactor is clogged or the output is restricted, there will never be much pressure inside the reactor other than the head pressure from the output to the sump.