Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[swk]

Originally Posted by Jonnywhoop

Aquarium plants carbon doser

Raising my psi drops my ph inside the tank to 6.4, almost teetering into the high 6.3.

At 2.5 psi I'm around 6.6ph


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The dial that controls the psi has a knob that is very sensitive. Just because you get the needle to the right position, you need to monitor after a few clicks of gas go through. A small adjustment either way will cause the pressure to rise or fall with each click of the gate. So, once you get it to your desired psi, watch the dial for movement and adjust from there.

[hkgar]

Glad I got in on this when the thread first started. I am using a 7523-90 that I got for about $250. Long before they became the Ebay rage. Frre market - high demand, low supply equals premium price.

[Jonnywhoop]

Originally Posted by swk

The dial that controls the psi has a knob that is very sensitive. Just because you get the needle to the right position, you need to monitor after a few clicks of gas go through. A small adjustment either way will cause the pressure to rise or fall with each click of the gate. So, once you get it to your desired psi, watch the dial for movement and adjust from there.

Yeah that's what I figured. Someone also suggested that the ambient room temperature can play a roll in the fluctuation as well.

As of now it's been holding. I'll keep you guys updated. But for the most part my corals are starting to open up and color again. First time in a few months since my doser went finicky and I went the reactor route!


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[tkeracer619]

Awesome! Welcome aboard!

Glad your corals are starting to respond. They'll be growing like weeds in no time. A couple pages back I posted a chart that shows how ambient temp effects co2 bottles. It can take a few hours for a single stage reg to heat up and become stable.

[hkgar]

My flow rate is 42 ML/Min and the ph of the effluent it 6.39. The dKH of the effluent is only 20.8. Seems low for a ph level that low. I calibrated my probe a couple days ago and it is reading somewhat lower than prior to calibration.

[tkeracer619]

What media?

Is the tank stable?

[SkyReef]

Apparently, I have a problem with my Masterflex Tubing wearing out prematurely, but was too dumb to know it. Here are the details:

• I have a Masterflex L/S Digital Pump, Model No. 7523-60;
• This pump uses a Masterflex Easy-Load II pump head, Model No. 77201-62;
• I use it to pump effluent from my calcium reactor 24 hours a day, every day;
• It works well, pumping the effluent out to my sump in the precise quantity of mL per minute that I dial up;
• My SPS corals are growing well, thanks to the calcium-alkalinity effluent pumped out daily from my calcium reactor;
• I purchased this machine used, and for as long as I have used it, I have had to change out the Masterflex 96410-24 Tubing every 7-10 days;
• No problem;
• Or so I thought;
• Until I learned from another Reef Central member, who operates the same Masterflex L/S Digital Pump for his calcium reactor, that the tubing is supposed to last much, much longer--up to a year;
• I couldn't believe it when he told me that;
• Yet, for my set-up, after only 7-10 days of running the pump, the tubing ruptures and leaks, and I have to replace a 6-inch span of tubing;
• I thought this was normal, but, apparently, it is not.

Can anyone please tell me why my Masterflex 96410-24 tubing is wearing out every 7-10 days? How long should it be lasting? What can I do to remedy the problem? Thank you.

Here are some pictures:

The Masterflex L/S II Pump:





The Masterflex Tubing, Model No. 96410-24







The pump head on this unit:

[scuzy]

You probably have a clog somewhere that is blocking the tube. I just ruptured mine and found out somewhere there is a calcium build up. But looking at your tubing you are not using pharmed tubing that's rated for longer life.

[tkeracer619]

That specific tubing is rated for about 500 hours of use at 50rpm. That is roughly 20 days so unless you are driving the tube harder than 50rpm something could still be wrong.

Most of us use a Pharmed BPT Tubing instead of silicone. It has a much much longer life.

Since your pump head uses performance tubing it is proprietary and afaik can only be purchased through cole parmer. They do have a pharmed BPT tube though and I would give them a call to discuss a more appropriate tube. That sucks you have to change it weekly!

That said. Check to make sure the rollers and the plastic surfaces inside the head are clean. Any dirt build up or roughness in the rollers will cause excessive wear.

Also check the main shaft bearings. Pull the head off the pump and while open move the drive shaft around. If it is loose at all the bearings inside the pump head need to be replaced. Make sure everything is spinning freely.

An alternative would be to purchase a head that uses precision tubing (LS 17) and buy Tygon Pharmed BPT tubing most of us use from US Plastics.

Let us know how it goes!

[slief]

Originally Posted by SkyReef

Apparently, I have a problem with my Masterflex Tubing wearing out prematurely, but was too dumb to know it. Here are the details:

• I have a Masterflex L/S Digital Pump, Model No. 7523-60;
• This pump uses a Masterflex Easy-Load II pump head, Model No. 77201-62;
• I use it to pump effluent from my calcium reactor 24 hours a day, every day;
• It works well, pumping the effluent out to my sump in the precise quantity of mL per minute that I dial up;
• My SPS corals are growing well, thanks to the calcium-alkalinity effluent pumped out daily from my calcium reactor;
• I purchased this machine used, and for as long as I have used it, I have had to change out the Masterflex 96410-24 Tubing every 7-10 days;
• No problem;
• Or so I thought;
• Until I learned from another Reef Central member, who operates the same Masterflex L/S Digital Pump for his calcium reactor, that the tubing is supposed to last much, much longer--up to a year;
• I couldn't believe it when he told me that;
• Yet, for my set-up, after only 7-10 days of running the pump, the tubing ruptures and leaks, and I have to replace a 6-inch span of tubing;
• I thought this was normal, but, apparently, it is not.

Can anyone please tell me why my Masterflex 96410-24 tubing is wearing out every 7-10 days? How long should it be lasting? What can I do to remedy the problem? Thank you.




[

The Precision tubing you are running doesn't last as long as the norprene pharmed stuff but I think your issue is likely the result of how you have the head adjusted for your tubing size. You likely have the occlusion adjusted too tight which will cause the tubing to wear or break prematurely. That said, the head doesn't support LS17 tubing. Otherwise I would have suggested you run the stuff in the link below. If you can figure out the OD, ID and wall thickness of the stuff you're running, I am pretty sure you can find the comparable pharmed type tubing from the company in the link below.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25534


Here is the manual for that head which explains how to adjust the occlusion.
https://pim-resources.coleparmer.com...l/77201-62.pdf

[scuzy]

Originally Posted by SkyReef

Apparently, I have a problem with my Masterflex Tubing wearing out prematurely, but was too dumb to know it. Here are the details:

• I have a Masterflex L/S Digital Pump, Model No. 7523-60;
  
• This pump uses a Masterflex Easy-Load II pump head, Model No. 77201-62;
  
• I use it to pump effluent from my calcium reactor 24 hours a day, every day;
  
• It works well, pumping the effluent out to my sump in the precise quantity of mL per minute that I dial up;
  
• My SPS corals are growing well, thanks to the calcium-alkalinity effluent pumped out daily from my calcium reactor;
  
• I purchased this machine used, and for as long as I have used it, I have had to change out the Masterflex 96410-24 Tubing every 7-10 days;
  
• No problem;
  
• Or so I thought;
  
• Until I learned from another Reef Central member, who operates the same Masterflex L/S Digital Pump for his calcium reactor, that the tubing is supposed to last much, much longer--up to a year;
  
• I couldn't believe it when he told me that;
  
• Yet, for my set-up, after only 7-10 days of running the pump, the tubing ruptures and leaks, and I have to replace a 6-inch span of tubing;
  
• I thought this was normal, but, apparently, it is not.
  

Can anyone please tell me why my Masterflex 96410-24 tubing is wearing out every 7-10 days? How long should it be lasting? What can I do to remedy the problem? Thank you.



Here are some pictures:



The Masterflex L/S II Pump:











The Masterflex Tubing, Model No. 96410-24















The pump head on this unit:

I have a easyload II head that uses ls17 for sale if you are looking

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by slief

Here is the manual for that head which explains how to adjust the occlusion.
https://pim-resources.coleparmer.com...l/77201-62.pdf

I missed the pic where this head is an adjustable occlusion head! Yes, this is likely why you aren't getting the rated life from the tubing.

[SkyReef]

Thank you, Scuzy, Tkeracer619, and Slief. Your insights are helpful. I considered the troubleshooting ideas you provided.

RPMs OF THE PUMP HEAD

• As for the number of RPMs the head is using, I am not sure; I have the flow rate set at 90 mL per minute, but I don't know what that translates into, as far as RPMs.

OCCLUSION ADJUSTER

• As for the occlusion adjuster, I was not paying attention to that, before;
• According to the manual for the pump head that Slief provided, the occlusion adjustment should be set at 4 for nominal performance, 5 for increased pressure/vacuum with reduced tubing life; and 2 or 3 for "longer life with less pressure and vacuum";
• I couldn't tell what the occlusion adjuster was dialed to because the marker line was not visible until I started turning the knob in different directions for a while;
• Ultimately, I got the marker line to display, and I suspect the occlusion was set too tightly, at 5 before; and
• I am resetting this occlusion knob way down, to 2 or 3, to see how it performs and how long it lasts--hopefully, it will still pump fluid correctly at the looser occlusion setting of 2 or 3.

SWITCHING TO PHARMED TUBING

• I'd like to try Pharmed tubing, if I can find the right size;
• Slief suggests that I figure out the dimensions of the 96410-24 tubing and switch over to US Plastics Corp Pharmed tubing for longer life, and I agree;
• According to the Cole-Parmer website, at https://www.coleparmer.com/i/masterf...hterm=96410-24, the dimensions of the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing are as follows:
  • The tubing size is 24;
  • Hose Barb Size (in) 1/4;
  • Tubing ID (mm) 6.4 / 0.25 (in); but
  • According to the Cole-Parmer website, "The outer diameter and wall thickness of Masterflex tubing is proprietary and we are therefore unable to share this information";

• Yet, I physically measured the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing, myself, and came up with:
  • OD: ~ 12 mm; and
  • Wall Thickness: ~ 2.4 mm.

• Thus, I am looking for Pharmed tubing with the following approximate dimensions:
  • ID: 1/4";
  • OD: ~1/2"; and
  • Wall: ~1/16"

• Cross-referencing the specs of the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing with Pharmed products, it seems that the Masterflex tubing dimensions fall roughly in between the sizes of the PharMed-Tubing Model 57320 and 57321;

• Pharmed 57320 tubing is:
  • ID: 1/4"
  • OD: 3/8"
  • Wall: 1/16"

• Pharmed 57321 tubing is:
  • ID: 1/4";
  • OD: 1/2"; and
  • Wall: 1/8".

BOTTOM LINE

I could order both products, Pharmed 57320 and 57321, to experiment and see which is better. Your thoughts?

[slief]

Originally Posted by SkyReef

Thank you, Scuzy, Tkeracer619, and Slief. Your insights are helpful. I considered the troubleshooting ideas you provided.

RPMs OF THE PUMP HEAD

• As for the number of RPMs the head is using, I am not sure; I have the flow rate set at 90 mL per minute, but I don't know what that translates into, as far as RPMs.

OCCLUSION ADJUSTER

• As for the occlusion adjuster, I was not paying attention to that, before;
• According to the manual for the pump head that Slief provided, the occlusion adjustment should be set at 4 for nominal performance, 5 for increased pressure/vacuum with reduced tubing life; and 2 or 3 for "longer life with less pressure and vacuum";
• I couldn't tell what the occlusion adjuster was dialed to because the marker line was not visible until I started turning the knob in different directions for a while;
• Ultimately, I got the marker line to display, and I suspect the occlusion was set too tightly, at 5 before; and
• I am resetting this occlusion knob way down, to 2 or 3, to see how it performs and how long it lasts--hopefully, it will still pump fluid correctly at the looser occlusion setting of 2 or 3.

SWITCHING TO PHARMED TUBING

• I'd like to try Pharmed tubing, if I can find the right size;
• Slief suggests that I figure out the dimensions of the 96410-24 tubing and switch over to US Plastics Corp Pharmed tubing for longer life, and I agree;
• According to the Cole-Parmer website, at https://www.coleparmer.com/i/masterf...hterm=96410-24, the dimensions of the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing are as follows:
  • The tubing size is 24;
  • Hose Barb Size (in) 1/4;
  • Tubing ID (mm) 6.4 / 0.25 (in); but
  • According to the Cole-Parmer website, "The outer diameter and wall thickness of Masterflex tubing is proprietary and we are therefore unable to share this information";

• Yet, I physically measured the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing, myself, and came up with:
  • OD: ~ 12 mm; and
  • Wall Thickness: ~ 2.4 mm.

• Thus, I am looking for Pharmed tubing with the following approximate dimensions:
  • ID: 1/4";
  • OD: ~1/2"; and
  • Wall: ~1/16"

• Cross-referencing the specs of the Masterflex 96410-24 tubing with Pharmed products, it seems that the Masterflex tubing dimensions fall roughly in between the sizes of the PharMed-Tubing Model 57320 and 57321;

• Pharmed 57320 tubing is:
  • ID: 1/4"
  • OD: 3/8"
  • Wall: 1/16"

• Pharmed 57321 tubing is:
  • ID: 1/4";
  • OD: 1/2"; and
  • Wall: 1/8".

BOTTOM LINE

I could order both products, Pharmed 57320 and 57321, to experiment and see which is better. Your thoughts?

Wall thickness is critical. As such, you will want the 1/16 if that is what your tubing measure out to. That said, did you measure the ID? I ask because the hose barb is usually thicker than the ID to make a good seal. If the 1/4" is the measured ID, then you want the:
Pharmed 57320:
ID: 1/4", OD: 1/2"; Wall: 1/8".

When you get the tubing, you don't need to adjust the occlusion terribly tight. Our reactors don't require much pressure and as such, the tubing will last longer with the occlusion not being terribly tight.

[swk]

Seems like it would just be easier to spend the cash and find a new easyload head that accepts the proper LS17 pharmed tubing.

[SkyReef]

Originally Posted by swk

Seems like it would just be easier to spend the cash and find a new easyload head that accepts the proper LS17 pharmed tubing.

Thanks, Swk. You might be right about that. I'll look into that option.

Originally Posted by scuzy

I have a easyload II head that uses ls17 for sale if you are looking

Thanks, Scuzy. I might be interested in buying it. Can you PM me the details and price? Thanks.

[SkyReef]

Originally Posted by slief

Wall thickness is critical. As such, you will want the 1/16 if that is what your tubing measure out to. That said, did you measure the ID? I ask because the hose barb is usually thicker than the ID to make a good seal. If the 1/4" is the measured ID, then you want the:
Pharmed 57320:
ID: 1/4", OD: 1/2"; Wall: 1/8".

When you get the tubing, you don't need to adjust the occlusion terribly tight. Our reactors don't require much pressure and as such, the tubing will last longer with the occlusion not being terribly tight.

Thanks Slief. I didn't measure the ID because I didn't have to measure it. Masterflex published that info for me. If I don't simply buy a different pump head, I will get the tubing you recommend.

[SkyReef]

Hey, all. For the Masterflex LS 15 pump head, what, if any, U.S. Plastics PharMed tubing would one order? Or is the Masterflex LS 15 pump head doomed to have no U.S. Plastics Pharmed tubing available for it, requiring one to purchase only Masterflex tubing fgor it? It's not the LS 17 model, but will it work well?

[scuzy]

Can't tell you most of us use ls17

[tkeracer619]

As Slief stated wall thickness is critical. It is actually the only dimension that matters in our case as long as the tube is not too small or too big. Too much of a pinch and it will split the tubing, similar to what you are experiencing now. Too little and it just won't work.

How are you measuring the tubing you have? Do you have a set of dial calipers? If not and you don't mind could you drop a small chunk in the mail to me?

Since you have an adjustable occlusion head and ls24 has a 1/4" ID and a ~1/2" OD the Pharmed 57321 may work. Since I have zero personal experience with performance tubing and the pharmed ls17 equivalent works so well there has not been an overwhelming demand to get this tube set figured out. You could be our guinea pig

With LS24 you get 2.833 ml per revolution so at 90ml/min your right at around 32rpm. Since tube life with nominal occlusion is based mostly on RPM you would be looking at 680hrs continuous use max. So you may be able to stretch the tube out to once per month.

I lost my tubing chart that I created by talking with a Cole Parmer engineer many moons ago in a computer crash, I did post the info in this thread but am not sure where . If I remember correctly the rated hours for the pharmed type tube is somewhere past 10k hours at a high rpm. Off the record he told me that if running under 50rpm the tubing could potentially last years. I still recommend quarterly tubing changes because it is cheap. I would see what you can make your current tube do but would strongly suggest figuring out what it would take to go to pharmed BPT in the meantime.

[swk]

I ran my last tube for 13 months and it looked fine honestly. Normally I shoot for every 4-6 months. But I have a 10-600 rpm drive and run it pretty low.

[solitude127]

what are the dimensions of the masterflex pump that you use?

[swk]

Originally Posted by solitude127

what are the dimensions of the masterflex pump that you use?

Who? Me?

[solitude127]

just anyone who uses these pumps. I know there are different versions but was trying to see what the dimensions of the different versions are.

[swk]

Google is your friend here. Specs are available for all models online