CA Reactor Parameters

[StephenA]

Ok, my reactor has been running for 2 weeks now. The tank pH is 8.0, the pH of effluent from the 1st chamber is 6.7 and it is 7.0 from the 2nd chamber. My CA is 490 in the tank and my dKH is 18. Which worries me! I'm running about 1-2 bubbles a sec on my bubble counter the effluent is at a slow trickle. Is a dKH of 18 that bad. In the past I could never keep it above 8.

[matt]

It's pretty high. What kind of media are you using? What's the dkh of your effluent?

Reactor ph of 6.7 sounds about right for most reactors; maybe turn down the C02 and the eflfuent drip rate a bit; this should keep the ph about the same. Also, I bet your tank dkh stabilizes a little lower after a while; are you using a salifert kit? Checking in the morning?

Sounds like your reactor's working!

[StephenA]

I'm using CaribSea A.R.M.

I have a Salifert CA. I had to use the Tetra for dHK because the salifert only goes to 17. And yes I checked it in the morning.

I'll check the dKH on the effluent and let you later.

Thanks

[Bigreefer]

How long are you running the C02?
I was using a pinpoint controller which ran the co2 too long. I found that if you run the C02 on a timer for 2-4 hours a day ending 2 hours before your lights go out, The PH is higher and the Calcium stays about 420.

Jason

[StephenA]

Right now I'm running it 24/7. I don't have a controller yet, that's the next thing on the list to buy.

[matt]

I'm not sure what kind of reactor you have, but you really should be able to keep the CO2 going all the time. It's much better to keep a stable reactor ph; it's not like if your reactor ph goes up to 7.0 from 6.7 your tank ph will also rise. In fact it's more likely the opposite; has to do with effluent dkh. If your calcium and alk are rising, just dial back the reactor a little by slowing down both effluent and CO2 flow.

[StephenA]

just dial back the reactor a little by slowing down both effluent and CO2 flow.


That's what I did on mine Matt.

Do I really need a $350.00 controller?

[matt]

I've never used one. My reactors are really stable; lots of media and a reliable circulation/input-output set up, so I don't need one. If your dkh is really high and your tank ph is 8.0 in the morning, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just try to keep the reactor ph around 6.7-6.8 and adjust the drip rate of the output to match your calcium load.

[Bigreefer]

it's not like if your reactor ph goes up to 7.0 from 6.7 your tank ph will also rise


If you stop adding C02, the PH in your tank will go up as the c02 gets used up by photosynthesis.

[Bigreefer]

This is a good artile that recomends a controller.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/index.htm