Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[hkgar]

I am currently dosing Randy's 2 part with the BRS dosing pumps and Apex controller. I am dosing 37ml per day a little every hour.

At what level of consumption should I consider a using a CA reactor. I have a reactor and was using it on my 90 gallon before switched over to a 180 and lost all my corals. My consumption is low as my corals are still small. (SPS).

[Aqualund]

Originally Posted by hkgar

I am currently dosing Randy's 2 part with the BRS dosing pumps and Apex controller. I am dosing 37ml per day a little every hour.

At what level of consumption should I consider a using a CA reactor. I have a reactor and was using it on my 90 gallon before switched over to a 180 and lost all my corals. My consumption is low as my corals are still small. (SPS).

Having used both, and seen the results of both methods, I personally believe that for SPS corals there is no substitute for a CA reactor with limewater dosing. I think I even read somewhere that although upfront cost for the CA is higher, you get a return on that investment vs dosing within a year or two.

[swk]

You can run the reactor PH around 7.2 and keep the flow low in the reactor. With this setup the calrx in almost infinitely adjustable.

My 75 gal has approx 2 dkh consumption per day. My reactor PH is 6.7 at 33ml/min effluent. This is on a geo 612.

[jimmy007]

Can I use this model with a calcium reactor?

Masterflex Microprocessor Pump Drive Model 7524-10

[slief]

Originally Posted by jimmy007

Can I use this model with a calcium reactor?

Masterflex Microprocessor Pump Drive Model 7524-10

Yes. That would work but its a low RPM unit. It maxes out at 60 RPM which means you will be working that motor pretty hard. 17 RPM is equivalent to 25 ml/min with LS17 tubing which is what I run through my reactor but I have a pump that runs up to 600 rpm which results in much lower wear and tear on the motor. This is due to the fact that the higher RPM motors are typically gear driven. With a 600 RPM motor, that is equivalent to less than 3 RPM on the motor itself. The gears increase the RPM at the head. In your case, you will be running that pump pretty hard so I am not sure how long it will last.
Ideally you want a pump that is capable of 600 RPM but even a 100 RPM motor would be better than a 60 RPM one in terns of wear and tear and longevity.

[jimmy007]

Would this model work better?

Masterflex Pump Console Drive 7521-40

Thanks Jimmy

[slief]

Originally Posted by jimmy007

Would this model work better?

Masterflex Pump Console Drive 7521-40

Thanks Jimmy

Yes. It would be less wear and tear on the motor due to the higher RPM capability. Just be sure to get an Easy Load head for it. Ideally one that supports LS17 tubing.

[jimmy007]

Originally Posted by slief

Yes. It would be less wear and tear on the motor due to the higher RPM capability. Just be sure to get an Easy Load head for it. Ideally one that supports LS17 tubing.

Thank you for help and input.

[jimmy007]

Are this pump easy to use?

What other parts do I need after I get the pump and head?

[hkgar]

Originally Posted by jimmy007

Are this pump easy to use?

What other parts do I need after I get the pump and head?

Read the beginning of the thread, particularly post #3

[jimmy007]

Originally Posted by hkgar

Read the beginning of the thread, particularly post #3

Thanks that was easy.

[hkgar]

You're welcome.

[jimmy007]

Is there a different between model 77521-40 and 7521-40?

[StevieK]

OK,

been following the thread for a while now ... not sure how you guys score the pumps you do. I cannot get close to a reasonable price ... looking for Masterflex L/S 7523-60 with a EasyLoad 7518-10

[africangrey]

Originally Posted by StevieK

OK,

been following the thread for a while now ... not sure how you guys score the pumps you do. I cannot get close to a reasonable price ... looking for Masterflex L/S 7523-60 with a EasyLoad 7518-10

I got my 7523-60 for $400 not cheap at all, basically after this thread surfaced, the price of pump has sky rocked on ebay especially for this particular model.

[StevieK]

Originally Posted by africangrey

I got my 7523-60 for $400 not cheap at all, basically after this thread surfaced, the price of pump has sky rocked on ebay especially for this particular model.

yes 400 seems reasonable

[jimmy007]

What the pro and con between brushless and brush model? How can you tell if the model is brushless?

[StevieK]

Originally Posted by jimmy007

What the pro and con between brushless and brush model? How can you tell if the model is brushless?

previously in the thread, the models are listed.

sound is the diff

[sfdan]

Hello Masterflex experts, I recently got a 7521-40 off Ebay with a 77200-60 head. I cleaned it up a little bit and checked out everything inside and it seemed in good working order. The brushes of the motor showed some wear but still had tons of material left.

Anyways, I'm new to this type of pump so I've created a video of it going from 0 to 600 RPM and just wanted to make sure it sounded ok. The level of noise isn't an issue, but I'm just sanity checking that I haven't set something up incorrectly. Thanks.

[StevieK]

Originally Posted by sfdan

Hello Masterflex experts, I'm new to this type of pump. The level of noise isn't an issue, but I'm just sanity checking that I haven't set something up incorrectly.

Im new to this kind as well. No help Sfdan, but thank you for letting us know how big a sound it is.

[naterealbig]

Quick question; I'm looking at this setup. Will this work well?

http://ebay.us/ZnGNQi

Or this one?

http://ebay.us/iFr6gT

[sfdan]

Originally Posted by naterealbig

Quick question; I'm looking at this setup. Will this work well?

http://ebay.us/ZnGNQi

Or this one?

http://ebay.us/iFr6gT

I'm not an expert at all, but the two things I looked for were 6-600 RPM and an easy load head that accepted LS-16 / LS-17 tubing.

Both pumps listed are brushed 6-600RPM pumps, so they should work but they'll be on the louder side. My only concern with the first one is I'm not sure how easy it is going to be to tweak the output, because the knob control doesn't look very granular. The second one is a newer model of the pump I have, and the control is very granular.

The head on the first one only accepts LS-15 / LS-24, which I think is technically fine but it is harder to find the proper tubing and plumb it into your system. The second one doesn't have a head so you'll have to get that extra ($50-$100).

I think the first one is potentially a good deal assuming you are comfortable making the LS-15/LS-24 tubing work, the second one probably isn't a very good value. Given my research and experience in the past month, $300 seems like a lot for a brushed pump without a head. I got my 7521-40 and 77200-60 head for $125 shipped.

I've found that any of the pumps recommended in this thread seem to sell at a premium compared to the other ones (I'm not sure how much of that is because of this thread and how much of that is just because they are nicer pumps), so if you want to get value then going off the beaten path a little bit is probably a good strategy.

[hkgar]

I have read that the effuent dKh should be between 25 and 35 and the reactor ph about 6.7.

My numbers are"
Flow rate 40 ml
Reactor ph 6.38
Effluent dKh 16

The co2 rate is 6 bubbles/minute

Do I need to be concerned about the effuent dKh or just that my tank dKh is remaing constant?

[slief]

Originally Posted by hkgar

I have read that the effuent dKh should be between 25 and 35 and the reactor ph about 6.7.

My numbers are"
Flow rate 40 ml
Reactor ph 6.38
Effluent dKh 16

The co2 rate is 6 bubbles/minute

Do I need to be concerned about the effuent dKh or just that my tank dKh is remaing constant?

Everybody uses different guidelines. I don't measure the kh of my effluent. I set my reactor pH to around what is recommended for my media which is about 6.65 so I keep my reactor pH between 6.65 and 6.7. I use my tanks parameters to determine if I need to increase or decrease the effluent rate. Currently I am at 26 ml/min flow with about 1 Co2 bubble per 4 seconds to keep the reactor pH where I want it and my tanks parameters where I am targeting. If my parameters were too low, I would increase the effulent rate slightly and adjust my Co2 rate to keep the reactor pH within my target. If my tank parameters were too low, I would increase my effluent rate and increase the Co2 rate to get to my target. Alternatively, I could probably accomplish the same thing by adjusting the reactor pH but there is a point where low pH in the reactor will turn the media to mush so I prefer keeping the reactor pH constant and adjusting the effluent rate to meet my tanks needs.

[hkgar]

Originally Posted by slief

Everybody uses different guidelines. I don't measure the kh of my effluent. I set my reactor pH to around what is recommended for my media which is about 6.65 so I keep my reactor pH between 6.65 and 6.7. I use my tanks parameters to determine if I need to increase or decrease the effluent rate. Currently I am at 26 ml/min flow with about 1 Co2 bubble per 4 seconds to keep the reactor pH where I want it and my tanks parameters where I am targeting. If my parameters were too low, I would increase the effulent rate slightly and adjust my Co2 rate to keep the reactor pH within my target. If my tank parameters were too low, I would increase my effluent rate and increase the Co2 rate to get to my target. Alternatively, I could probably accomplish the same thing by adjusting the reactor pH but there is a point where low pH in the reactor will turn the media to mush so I prefer keeping the reactor pH constant and adjusting the effluent rate to meet my tanks needs.

Thus my confusion. My flow is 40ml, bubble count 6 per minute and my reactor ph is 6.4.

Your flow is 26/ml and bubble rate of 15/minute (more than 2x mine) and your ph is 6.65.

If my bubble rate was equal to yours my ph would probably drop below 6, unless I pushed the flow rate quite high.