Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[herring_fish]

Thank you

I haven’t bought one yet but I do plan to buy a controller. So you can put the effluent in a high flow area on its way into the tank instead of introducing it through top off water? I think that it would allow me to have better control.
I understand that you put the effluent in a high flow area as well, independent of the kalk. Otherwise there might be precipitation if they are in line. Is this true?

Is it hard to maintain a pH of 8.4 in the day time and is it desirable?

[janes_mw]

"Dry Running" mine tonight!!

[darthvader]

What unit model is this? I'm having a hard time finding one thats 600 rpm and will take ls17 tubing. Would anyone be able to point me directly to one? Thank you. I wonder if a stenner pump like this would do the trick. I don't see why not.
http://www.stenner-pumps.com/prod-85m5.htm

[slief]

Originally Posted by darthvader

What unit model is this? I'm having a hard time finding one thats 600 rpm and will take ls17 tubing. Would anyone be able to point me directly to one? Thank you. I wonder if a stenner pump like this would do the trick. I don't see why not.
http://www.stenner-pumps.com/prod-85m5.htm

It isn't designed for continuous duty. I use the same exact pump for my ATO. It runs up to 90 GPD. You can adjust the flow but the motor always spins at the same speed. There is a clutch that disengages the head when you slow the flow down and then catches every so often to push the fluid through the tubing. You can't really meter the flow like you would with a Cole Parmer and it would be very difficult to get than pump dialed down precise enough for our use. They use a fair amount of power and are VERY noisy but damn near bullet proof for intermittent duties such as that of an ATO pump. Bottom line. GREAT ATO pump. I'd argue that those pumps are arguably one of the best pumps for ATO use but it's not a good continuous duty CaRx pump and not designed to run 24/7.

[slief]

Originally Posted by darthvader

I'm having a hard time finding one thats 600 rpm and will take ls17 tubing. Would anyone be able to point me directly to one? Thank you.

Most of the Cole Parmers will support LS17 tubing. As has been mentioned previously, you just need to either get one with a head like that 7815-10 or buy a head seperate which is what I did. Search eBay for "Cole Parmer Masterflex" and check daily for ones that pop up. 600 RPM pumps are always available there as are LS17 compatible heads but you have to be patient to find bargains or pony up to get a really nice one. You can search the model of the pump or head you are looking at on the Cole Parmer website www.coleparmer.com and check the specs of the pump and or head. That's what I did.

[tlc]

this thread is humongous and a wealth of knowledge. this pump may have already been mentioned but does anyone have any experience with the nautilis ii from reefdosingpumps.com ? they offer a continuous pump that's capable of 850ml an hour for $ 179..

[slief]

Originally Posted by tlc

this thread is humongous and a wealth of knowledge. this pump may have already been mentioned but does anyone have any experience with the nautilis ii from reefdosingpumps.com ? they offer a continuous pump that's capable of 850ml an hour for $ 179..

It has been discussed in this thread. It's not really suitable. Most of us are running between 25 ml/min - 50 ml/min with many others running even higher. If you do the math, 850 ml/hr only works out to 14 ml/min. Even on a small tank, you would be running that thing at full speed with no room to increase flow and the tubing wouldn't last long nor would I expect that pump to last running like that.

[zachts]

I will say the nautilis type pumps do work well, just not for a CA reactor due to a low flow rate as silef mentioned. They are very tough and I've been running a similar re-purposed IV pump as a two part doser 24/7 for the last 4 or 5 years or so and for that purpose it works great. Provides excellently consistent water parameters with a slow constant drip as compared to the traditional on/off type doser.

For the same cost though you can easily find a CP pump or comparable type on ebay if your patient enough.

[GusDiaz]

I have a Cole Parmer Microprocessor Pump Drive model 7524-00 with a 7518-10 Head. I am planning to use it for a Korallin denitrator and I need flow rate of 1-10 drops per second. What tubing I need for the head and the feeding of the pump. Thanks for any help.

[GusDiaz]

Sorry if I am high jacking a little this thread.

Let me share my experience with my Korallin Denitrator S-3002. I have had this unit since 2006. I works wonderfully except every once in a while you get the surprised rotten egg smell if you do not adjust it well. I recently have read this tread and realized what might be wrong in the design of the unit. There is no way of controlling the rate of drops if you do not have a dedicated pump that you are able to control the exact amount of water that goes in.

I have always had the suggested feeder pump by Marine Depot (Aqua Lifter Pump). The problem with this pump and the regulator at the effluent end is that is difficult to estimate how actual quantity of fluid (drops per second) are actually coming out of the reactor. too fast and you do not have denitrifation benefits. Too slow and you get the rotten egg smell with the dangerous formation of di-sulfites and eventually the slime growth of bacteria that clogs the reactor making it even more slower and worse.

This is the main problem that I have found, how not to get the reactor to get the slime that gets it clogged up. Well I have noticed that when my reactor gets very clogged up due to the slime, if I one the effluent valve completely. in 1-2 weeks most of the slime coat of the bacteria goes away. Obviously what is happening is that the oxygen is killing the anaerobic bacteria and you will also loose the de-nitrifying ability on the reactor.

It is incredible how efficient these unit are when you start thinking in the terms of how much water passes through them. There are 15 drops on every 1 cc of fluid. this means that if your effluent flow rate is 1 cc per minute, you clean about 60 cc per hour. That projects to 1,440 cc per day. That is only 1.4 litters. There are 3.8 litter per gallon, so we are only cleaning 0.3789 gallons per day if your flow is 1 cc per minute.

I am guessing that my flow rate is between 8-16 drops per second by my "guesstimation" of how fast the drop rate looks at the effluent end.

The reason of this post is that I am wandering if I can defeat what I believe is the design problem of these type of reactors with the Cole Parmer pump. Defeat the slime that gets produces if you run this reactor too slow and that eventually will clog it up. If will try to see if I can now keep a better and more regulated flow through the reactor and see if I can keep the effluent water as close to 0 ppm of nitrate without getting to 0 in order to prevent a complete anaerobic condition that will make the overgrowth of the anaerobic bacteria that produces the di-sulfites and eventually clogs the reactor.

I bought the L/S 16 tubing. For the microprocessor 7524-00 it will be able to run from 8 cc to 480cc per minute (by the unit display).

[slief]

Originally Posted by GusDiaz

I have a Cole Parmer Microprocessor Pump Drive model 7524-00 with a 7518-10 Head. I am planning to use it for a Korallin denitrator and I need flow rate of 1-10 drops per second. What tubing I need for the head and the feeding of the pump. Thanks for any help.

Your pump has a minimum of 10 rpm. With that head, the lowest flow rate you will get would be with LS13 tubing which is .6 ml/min at 10 rpm. LS 14 tubing would yield 2.1ml/min. You need to figure out how many ml/min you r1-10 drops/second equal. Then use the flow chart in the page below to determine what size tubing will fit your needs best. As for the fittings, you might check Do It Center or Home Depot. They have a pretty decent selection or barbed to thread fittings as well as thread to John Guest. Or you could just use barbed to barbed adapters or connect the cole parmer tubing directly to your pump head via a long length of the Masterflex tubing. Another good source for the fittings is US Plastics. Some of the adapters and parts are listed in the first few posts on page one of this thread.

The flow charts for all the tubing that your head is compatible with is located in the specifications section of this page. Just click the flow chart link.
http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Ma...chTerm=7518-10

[herring_fish]

Are the John Guest style fittings that are sold at home Depot and Lowe’s of high enough quality to be depended on or would it be worth a few more bucks and the wait for delivery?

[GusDiaz]

I ordered the neoprene 14 and 16. I was thinking that the 13 would be too little. The recommendations of Korallin is to start at 1 drop per second. That is then 4 cc per minute. Most probably I will use the #14 because I am guessing that my flow will be between 4 cc/min to 8-12 cc/min.

It is strange, but the flow rates on the Cole Parmer website are different that the ones that the pump display actually gives. For example the pump displays for the #13 0.6-36 ml/min. For the #14 2-126 ml/min. And for the #16 8-480 ml/min.

It can be confusing because the tubing has a minimum and maximum flow, but depending on the pump model (and I guess the head model) then the minimum and maximum flow may vary. Just as a comment for all of us to keep in mind. This will definitely apply no mater what you run on your pump; a Ca+ reactor or a Korallin denitrator.

[darthvader]

Originally Posted by GusDiaz

I have a Cole Parmer Microprocessor Pump Drive model 7524-00 with a 7518-10 Head. I am planning to use it for a Korallin denitrator and I need flow rate of 1-10 drops per second. What tubing I need for the head and the feeding of the pump. Thanks for any help.

Almost got that same pump. How do you like it?

[slief]

Originally Posted by herring_fish

Are the John Guest style fittings that are sold at home Depot and Lowe’s of high enough quality to be depended on or would it be worth a few more bucks and the wait for delivery?

I use them on my CaRx and my top off loop and have not had any issues at all. I also use the little C-Clip things that they sell to keep the collar on the fittings pulled out. That insures a leak free fitting by keeping the collar on the fitting pulled outward. You can find those in the same section as the JG style fittings.

[GusDiaz]

Originally Posted by darthvader

Almost got that same pump. How do you like it?

I have not set it up because I still do not have the tubing. I should get it tomorrow and will set it up in the weekend.

[darthvader]

Originally Posted by GusDiaz

I have not set it up because I still do not have the tubing. I should get it tomorrow and will set it up in the weekend.

Have you turned it on? Is the pump fairly quiet?

[GusDiaz]

I have turned on the pump. It is not too noisy, it has a hum to it. The slower you run it the lees noisy it is. I will try to open it up today to see if it needs some maintenance before the tubing come in later today. I will have it inside the cabinet, so I do not think that is going to add too much to the noise of the other pumps like the main circulation pump.

[guc32]

I have someone on local CL selling a unit that is model 900-1255. I cant find any info or specs of this model. Can anyone help me out on finding info on this?

[slief]

Originally Posted by guc32

I have someone on local CL selling a unit that is model 900-1255. I cant find any info or specs of this model. Can anyone help me out on finding info on this?

I don't think that is a real Cole Parmer model number. That same model came up in this thread recently and I searched and found a couple different version Cole Parmers being advertised under that model. It seemed that they all had a generic white label with that number on it. To me it looked more like an OEM number than a Cole Parmer number. Can you post a picture of it?

[guc32]

Here is the pictures from CL

[guc32]

Is it a good buy without pump head for $400? Was going to meet up with him today and test it out.

[slief]

Originally Posted by guc32

Is it a good buy without pump head for $400? Was going to meet up with him today and test it out.

Depends on what you call a good deal. I'm pretty certain it's a brushed motor. You will end up spending another $75-$100 on a good Easy Load I or Easy Load II head. I'd say it's an OK deal at best on a decent pump. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than $300 on that pump but I'm kind of patient and look for the best deals. That is however a fair street price. The good thing is that is a digital control pump with a 600 rpm gear box. As such, at our ml rates, that pump will barely be spinning and it looks to be in good shape. It's a great pump for calcium reactor use if that makes you feel any better about the purchase.

[guc32]

Originally Posted by slief

Depends on what you call a good deal. I'm pretty certain it's a brushed motor. You will end up spending another $75-$100 on a good Easy Load I or Easy Load II head. I'd say it's an OK deal at best on a decent pump. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than $300 on that pump but I'm kind of patient and look for the best deals. That is however a fair street price. The good thing is that is a digital control pump with a 600 rpm gear box. As such, at our ml rates, that pump will barely be spinning and it looks to be in good shape. It's a great pump for calcium reactor use if that makes you feel any better about the purchase.

Ok and thanks for the advice. Should I be concern that its not an official Cole Parmer model number? Motor inside should still be serviceable through Cole Parmers parts?

[slief]

Originally Posted by guc32

Ok and thanks for the advice. Should I be concern that its not an official Cole Parmer model number? Motor inside should still be serviceable through Cole Parmers parts?

I think that may actually be a legit part number. If you google that part number, you will see other cole parmer pumps which are completely different that had a white label part number instead of the screened part number like the one in your pictures. It may be that it's just older and not listed on the CP site anymore or that it was a different model pump that was sold to an OEM with that part number. I wouldn't worry about it. Cole Parmer support is pretty good. You could always call them and get more info.