Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[Krazie4Acans]

I've heard the stories and seen the pictures people posted. However if my CA reactor drops .5 below my low set point then the Masterflex gets turned off to prevent dumping sky high alk into my tank.

So even if I can't prevent the eotd from happening, or even detect it quick enough to shut off the solenoid to prevent the reactor pH from dropping too far, I can turn off the the effluent going into my tank and save the entire system.

[swk]

Never experienced the co2 dump with the carbon doser. Not saying it can't/won't happen, but I've never seen it personally. Mine performs as advertised.

[soulpatch]

Originally Posted by Krazie4Acans

I've heard the stories and seen the pictures people posted. However if my CA reactor drops .5 below my low set point then the Masterflex gets turned off to prevent dumping sky high alk into my tank.

So even if I can't prevent the eotd from happening, or even detect it quick enough to shut off the solenoid to prevent the reactor pH from dropping too far, I can turn off the the effluent going into my tank and save the entire system.

Though now instead of one piece of equipment working to account for an instance you are reling on your probe to work, the controller to pick that up and properly hit the electrical, the solenoid to not jam, and the masterflex to kill power.

You have it covered in case it happens sure but you have added a ton of moving pieces to ensure no disaster whereas a dual stage would handle that by itself.

[Krazie4Acans]

Originally Posted by soulpatch

Though now instead of one piece of equipment working to account for an instance you are reling on your probe to work, the controller to pick that up and properly hit the electrical, the solenoid to not jam, and the masterflex to kill power.

You have it covered in case it happens sure but you have added a ton of moving pieces to ensure no disaster whereas a dual stage would handle that by itself.

Single point of failure is never an option with my tank. That includes relying on a dual stage regulator to never fail.

Don't get me wrong because I can see every ones point on the dual stage regulator and it's benefit. Even if I was running one I would still have all of the other backup measures on my tank regardless.

Yes I'm relying on the probe to work. I also replace it every year to help insure that it does just that. Yes the controlled outlet for the masterflex could not shut off and still put sky high alk into the system. I regularly test them to make sure they cycle as it should. I also have additional measures in place should all of that fail. These aren't things I added to my system just because I use a single stage regulator. They are things that would be on my system even if I wasn't running a CA Reactor. I have just incorporated them into helping to protect my investment in my tank. Could I still add the Dual stage regulator? Absolutely but I don't think it's required and I would still run all of the other safeguards even if I did.

[soulpatch]

I have a probe, apex, ect all as redundancy but you are a single point of failure as everythig for you relies on the probe.

[gus6464]

A quality dual stage regulator will outlast every single piece of equipment you will ever own in this hobby. If there is a piece of equipment I don't expect to ever fail, it's that.

There is no piece of equipment you can buy for this hobby that is better built than a Victor, concoa, matheson, etc.

[Krazie4Acans]

Originally Posted by soulpatch

I have a probe, apex, ect all as redundancy but you are a single point of failure as everythig for you relies on the probe.

Only the ones that I have described. As I said in my last post I have other measures in place and they do not rely on just that probe.

My original point was that there are ways of making the use of a single stage regulator work safely and with most of us using a controller on our systems most of what we need is already on our tanks.

I think we have derailed the topic enough though so back to the pumps.

[Krazie4Acans]

Originally Posted by gus6464

A quality dual stage regulator will outlast every single piece of equipment you will ever own in this hobby. If there is a piece of equipment I don't expect to ever fail, it's that.

There is no piece of equipment you can buy for this hobby that is better built than a Victor, concoa, matheson, etc.

I don't necessarily dis agree with you at all. Whether we expect it to fail or not it is still a mechanical device and I have yet to see anything mechanical that doesn't fail at some point. Most of the people buying dual stage regulators are buying them second hand and probably have no idea how they were handled. The cost of buying one new is pretty significant and even more so when you add the bubble counter and precision needle valve with fittings.

We all know that there are many ways to do things in this hobby and it just seamed that the last bunch of posts were getting one sided. I wanted to show that there are ways of getting great results without having to get every piece of the suggested equipment that this thread has been talking about.

[vhuang168]

Originally Posted by Krazie4Acans

Only the ones that I have described. As I said in my last post I have other measures in place and they do not rely on just that probe.

What other measures do you have in place?



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[Krazie4Acans]

Originally Posted by vhuang168

What other measures do you have in place?



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PM me if you really want to know, that way this thread can get back on track.

[vhuang168]

I think since you mentioned that you are confident your measures will negate any advantage having a dual stage reg has, others will be interested n maybe will help them decide if they really need a dual stage reg or not.


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[Krazie4Acans]

Originally Posted by vhuang168

I think since you mentioned that you are confident your measures will negate any advantage having a dual stage reg has, others will be interested n maybe will help them decide if they really need a dual stage reg or not.


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I'm game but not if others think it's off topic for this thread (like two PM's have kindly let me know). So PM me and if you want to add it here you are welcome to do so.

[NeverlosT]

I know that we are trying to end the carbondoser talk, but I saw this and thought it might be relevant with all the fear over EOTD (which I think is a great acronym we have coined).

From Carbondoser.com:
"...The problem of "dumping" is completely eliminated with this regulator. Dumping is always a problem with ALL OTHER regulators which utilize a needle valve. Simply because, a needle valve relies on the pressure on both sides of it for it's accuracy. So, even though you have it set at a certain "bubble rate", once the pressure in the cylinder (or the outside atmospheric pressure) changes, so will the amount of co2 that passes through the needle valve. This is why it is physically impossible for any and ALL other regulators that rely on a needle valve to ever be consistent. Our regulator does not have a needle valve, but instead, it has an electronic valve that opens and closes in a fraction of a second, (each "opening and closing" equates to a bubble) and, due to the fact that it is "electronic" the "bubble rate" can NEVER change. Once it is set, it can never vary more than +/- 1/1,000=of a second."

Anyhow, hopefully that lets folks that have one sleep a bit better. We know it is awesome to have a sweet analog 2 stage unit as well. Different strokes for different folks.

I am looking to enter the masterflex club here shortly, I am at my wits end with my effluent needle valve getting restricted and my effluent delivery ebbing and flowing. I am going to read up, but it sounds like most folks use the units to "pull" effluent from the unit rather than "pushing" water into the CARX. I think I'll experiment with both unless folks have a big reason to go one way or the other.

Thanks all, what a thread!

[soulpatch]

That doesnt do anything for the carbon doser eotd discussion. The pressure changes with their reg and impacts bubble rate whether they say so or not. Opening amd closing may help but open amd close a water hose handle amd change thw water pressure.

Quoting from the site ans taking thier word as fact is not a rebute

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[tkeracer619]

Sure, it effects the carbon doser but no where close to what it does when you have a needle valve.

It's simple. A carbon doser blips the gas to create a bubble. A needle valve allows free flow gas. If the pressure increased 20psi the Carbon Doser still blips once per whatever whereas a needle valve just dumps the bottle. Sure they are bigger bubbles but it isn't free flowing the gas which is the real problem. We're talking a difference of a week plus vs 10 minutes.

People in the planted tank scene have never really liked the carbon doser. It has always worked great on a calcium reactor. It's super easy to adjust and while not perfect it will keep your reactor from turning to mush at the end of tank dump. By the way folks, if you're bottle pressure is dropping you have about 30% co2 left (*at 70deg). Spend the $10 and refill your bottle, it's cheep.



All that said, I have a two stage with a parker needle valve, a carbon doser with a 2 stage reg, and a carbon doser with a single stage running on this setup. I also have a dual stage reg sitting in the box that I was going to swap the 3rd carbon doser over to. If it was THAT big of a deal I would have done it months ago . The jury is still out on the two stage with needle valve for this setup as far as I am concerned. I have used the Carbon doser for something like 8 years with this setup and I am confident when I recommend it.

[2wheelsonly]

Do you still need a feed pump? I searched through about 75 or so pages and could not find a plumbing diagram which is very unfortunate.

Simple plumbing diagram would help 100000%

Feed Pump (mj1200) --> Calcium Reactor Input --> Calcium Reactor Output --> MasterFlex input --> MasterFlex Output --> Sump

Like that?

[scuzy]

Masterflex is the feed pump.

Masterflex -> calcium reactor --> tank


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[jduck]

Sump --> Calcium Reactor --> MasterFlex --> Sump

Some of us pull the water through Reactor instead of pushing

[MrineLfRlz]

Ok in a few weeks im starting my calcium reactor equipment buying spree but need to do it on the cheap when it comes to the masterflex pump so i dont want to spend over $500 for one or less if i can get one. So please give me a run down of the part numbers i need to look for, i will definitely get a digital one.
Then i will need advice on the correct attachments tubes connectors exc... so i hope i can get the advice for all of that stuff here as well.
Thanks in advance for the help you all.

[soulpatch]

If you want to go for less then $500 then look into the spectrapure ultra precise ATO they just released. You are looking at 269 with 5 year waranty.

If you want to stay masterflex and a digital one you will likely need to search for a bit to get the unit, head, and parts for less then 500... They come about but can be hard to find at times

[swk]

Originally Posted by MrineLfRlz

Ok in a few weeks im starting my calcium reactor equipment buying spree but need to do it on the cheap when it comes to the masterflex pump so i dont want to spend over $500 for one or less if i can get one. So please give me a run down of the part numbers i need to look for, i will definitely get a digital one.
Then i will need advice on the correct attachments tubes connectors exc... so i hope i can get the advice for all of that stuff here as well.
Thanks in advance for the help you all.

Check the first 5 pages of this thread. All the info you're asking for is already all laid out, even with links.

[MrineLfRlz]

Im finding alot of the 7523-30 digital ones up for sale under $500
with the easy load head.
I know there not brushless but i can deal with a loader unit being that it will be in the basement along with the other systems equipment and noise anyways.

[hkgar]

When I started with using Masterflex - about 3 years ago - you could find almost any of the pumps on Ebay for less than 300

[MrineLfRlz]

For my reactor choices im looking into getting one of these two types.
http://www.aquacave.com/my-reef-crea...m-reactor.html
or
http://www.aquacave.com/super-reef-o...m-reactor.html
My system volume is around 250g but wanted to get a oversized one for future expansion and i would rather have more then enough then not enough.

[MrineLfRlz]

Originally Posted by hkgar

When I started with using Masterflex - about 3 years ago - you could find almost any of the pumps on Ebay for less than 300

What did you settle on for a pump for the start?