Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[bonzeef]

Can anyone tell me dose L/S easy-load fit in I/P Brushless Variable-Speed (77410-10). The I/P easy-load flow rate is too much for my need. Tx

[slief]

Originally Posted by bonzeef

Can anyone tell me dose L/S easy-load fit in I/P Brushless Variable-Speed (77410-10). The I/P easy-load flow rate is too much for my need. Tx

As far as I am aware, those pumps only support the IP Easy load heads and not the L/S easy load heads. Those pumps aren't ideal for our application due to their minimum RPM of 65 RPM. You want a pump that can go from 1 RPM up. Even with the L/S head, LS17 tubing needs 17 RPM to flow at 25 ml/min. Even at it's lowest RPM, the pump you are considering would flow at 95 ml/min with LS17 tubing which is way too much for a typical tank. I would pass on that pump if your plan is to use it for a calcium reactor. Another downside is that it is a power hog and much less efficient than an LS series pump.

[janes_mw]

Just wanted to say thanks to this thread and the OP. My set up has been running for a couple months now and "it just works"! I set it once for initial conditions and then up'ed the dose here about 2 weeks ago. This thing just is super consistent and there is no way the effluent line will clog best I can tell. It was super easy to set the chamber to 6.5 pH and the effluent control is very accurate with the Masterflex. On the CO2 dispensing side of things, the other Thread around 2 stage regulators provided me with another rock solid addition to this system. With that, the bubble rate has not changed once since I set it and it will run the tank right down to empty with no effect on the bubble count.

Anyway, thanks! Great thread .
mike

[bonzeef]

As far as I am aware...

Thanks for the information. Nice thread btw

[hkgar]

Originally Posted by slief

As far as I am aware, those pumps only support the IP Easy load heads and not the L/S easy load heads. Those pumps aren't ideal for our application due to their minimum RPM of 65 RPM. You want a pump that can go from 1 RPM up. Even with the L/S head, LS17 tubing needs 17 RPM to flow at 25 ml/min. Even at it's lowest RPM, the pump you are considering would flow at 95 ml/min with LS17 tubing which is way too much for a typical tank. I would pass on that pump if your plan is to use it for a calcium reactor. Another downside is that it is a power hog and much less efficient than an LS series pump.

That pump is rated from a minimum of 200ml. A little more than I can imagine the average tank needing. Here is the information on this pump.

http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Ma...hTerm=77410-10

Go to http://www.coleparmer.com/ and enter a model number.

[slief]

Originally Posted by hkgar

That pump is rated from a minimum of 200ml. A little more than I can imaging the average tank needing. Here is the information on this pump.

http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Ma...hTerm=77410-10

Go to http://www.coleparmer.com/ and enter a model number.

Yep. But that flow rate you mention is with the IP head. My comment was geared towards the question of whether you could run an LS head on that pump. My response was hypothetical and predicated on the fact that even if your could put an LS head on it, the flow would still be way too high at the minimum RPM.

[bonzeef]

Just another question how often do you guys change your brushes on L/S drive since we run it 24/7 . Tx

[herring_fish]

This is minor but has anyone used a mesh like this one? I have seen them on smaller tanks that expel their gasses faster. They keep the user from getting their hands stuck to the tank wall when the temp of the tank drops.

This one is on a bigger tank. It appears to be there to prevent scratches.

[slief]

Originally Posted by herring_fish

This is minor but has anyone used a mesh like this one? I have seen them on smaller tanks that expel their gasses faster. They keep the user from getting their hands stuck to the tank wall when the temp of the tank drops.

This one is on a bigger tank. It appears to be there to prevent scratches.

Never had my tanks get cold enough to have a need for those but I've used those on my scuba tanks to keep the fancy finish scratch free.

[herring_fish]

Where to you get them?

[renevilleneuve]

I apologize in advance if the information I am looking for is already on this thread. I would like some feedback on using kalk dosing alongside a calcium reactor. I had started with kalk dosing for a while with approx parameters of 9 dkh with calcium at around 450. Then I added a calcium reactor and stayed within these numbers but then relatively quickly my dkh fell and my calcium went higher. My question is what is the relation between these two components and how do I approach the balancing act? When I read the D&D relations between alk and cal they seem to make sense. I don't understand what I am supposed to aim for and how to go about it? My corals seem happy although a large monti seems unhappy. My acans are bulging with joy,my sps seem relatively happy,my numerous fish (40-50) in 400 gallons are healthy.

[slief]

Originally Posted by herring_fish

Where to you get them?

It's commonly referred to a "scuba tank protective mesh" and can be had in a wide range of colors.

http://www.amazon.com/Innovative-Scu.../dp/B003JPI3JS

[herring_fish]

Very cool, thanks.

[scuzy]

How do I prevent air trapped on the top of my reactor?

[slief]

Originally Posted by scuzy

How do I prevent air trapped on the top of my reactor?

You need to find the source of the air intrusion. It's likely a leak some place if you are using the Masterflex to pull the water through the reactor.

[scuzy]

Not sure where the leak could be as I use a master flex to push should I change it to
A pull method?

[tkeracer619]

You could try to do that but it likely won't solve the issue, it may make it worse. There are really two different problems that can cause this. One is a leak but if you are pushing I doubt that would be the cause. Some reactors that have effluent output on the piping and not on the lid of the reactor can trap air. The simple solution is to plug the stock effluent output and pull effluent from the lid. There is little reason to try and recycle the co2 like some manufacturers are doing. If the gas doesn't dissolve on it's first go around it likely won't ever dissolve.

If it is just some small bubbles it's no big deal. If it is a large amount of trapped gas I recommend drilling the lid and pulling effluent from there.

Originally Posted by renevilleneuve

I apologize in advance if the information I am looking for is already on this thread. I would like some feedback on using kalk dosing alongside a calcium reactor. I had started with kalk dosing for a while with approx parameters of 9 dkh with calcium at around 450. Then I added a calcium reactor and stayed within these numbers but then relatively quickly my dkh fell and my calcium went higher. My question is what is the relation between these two components and how do I approach the balancing act? When I read the D&D relations between alk and cal they seem to make sense. I don't understand what I am supposed to aim for and how to go about it? My corals seem happy although a large monti seems unhappy. My acans are bulging with joy,my sps seem relatively happy,my numerous fish (40-50) in 400 gallons are healthy.

I use both on my system, in fact I just re setup my kalk reactor. I have not really encountered this issue. In a very high demand tank I believe this is the way to go. What numbers does it currently run at. I tend to aim for 8,420,1260+

[slief]

Originally Posted by scuzy

Not sure where the leak could be as I use a master flex to push should I change it to
A pull method?

If you are using the masterflex to push, I would check the connections at the tubing on the Masterflex as well as making sure there are micro bubbles where the pump is drawing water from your sump. It could also be residual air in the reactor that wasn't purged out. To remove air, shut the recirculation pump off. Push the prime button on the Masterflex to bring it up to full pump speed and tilt the reactor back and forth to help guide the air to the outlet on the top of the reactor. The flow though the pump should push the air out of the reactor if the circulation pump is shut off. You might have to shake the reactor a bit to get any air out that may be trapped in the media and to the top of the reactor.

[scuzy]

I'm think it might be where I am drawing the water from might need a better bubble trap

[ssdawood]

So I did picked up two 77301 digital brushless units from ebay for 200 each.

Seller is frost liquidation and he has three more units for sale. He will accept best offer of 200 shipped on these.

If anyone is interested

[ssdawood]

Now the main question.

I have a 90 gallon in my living room and a 60 gallon in my spare room.

Can I use one masterflex on the effluent to feed the 90 and the other masterflex on the same effluent to feed the 60 gallon tank.

Basically I am trying to use one reactor, one regulator and ine tank to run two independent systems.

I figured with two masterflex I can use two different effluent rates and keep alkalinity stable on both tanks.

Can this be done.

[swk]

Originally Posted by ssdawood

So I did picked up two 77301 digital brushless units from ebay for 200 each.



Seller is frost liquidation and he has three more units for sale. He will accept best offer of 200 shipped on these.



If anyone is interested

That's a good deal. Is it the 6-600 rpm version? I'm having problems finding that info

[ssdawood]

Yes it is

[swk]

Nice. Wish I had the room for a separate controller and pump head. I have the 7523-70 which is the single unit but it's the slower rpm model.

[ssdawood]

http://m.ebay.com/sch/frostliquidati...?isRefine=true