Ca reactor question

[Plato1]

I just bought a used Ca reactor and had a few questions about it and its operation.

1) What should my effluent pH read? I have a pH probe.

2) How many bubbles/min should I shoot for?

3) Will my pH increase or decrease? I've read most people report a stable pH when running a reactor.

4) Is there a preferred CO2 regulator pressure? Should I keep it around 50 bar/5000kPa? It seems like my friend said that's what he kept it at.

Unfortunately, my friend can't remember how exactly to set it up as he had it set on his tank for so long. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Super Len]

1) What should my effluent pH read? I have a pH probe.

It depends on the type of reactor, and other associated equipment. Generally accepted values are between 6.7 and 7.0

2) How many bubbles/min should I shoot for?

Regulate the bubbles/min according to the pH reading of the effuent.

3) Will my pH increase or decrease? I've read most people report a stable pH when running a reactor.

pH will decrease. There is no way a reactor can fully utilize all the CO2; 100% efficiency is impossible. Any CO2 that escapes will depress pH levels of the entire system. Of course, the reactor will buffer carbonate hardness, which reinforces pH levels (at a slightly depressed value relative to a tank without a reactor/CO2).

4) Is there a preferred CO2 regulator pressure? Should I keep it around 50 bar/5000kPa? It seems like my friend said that's what he kept it at.

The pressure of the the input side of the regulator should be 600-900 psi (41.37-62.06 bar) (tank pressure). The pressure of the output side should be around 10 psi (.690 bar).

 

[Plato1]

Hey man, thanks a lot for your reply as it was exactly the info I was looking for. I have another question or two if that I was wondering about. It seems like I've read somewhere on the board that lower than normal pH isn't really going to affect your animals very much if your alkalinity and trace elements are stable. Also, I've heard of some people saying that their pH in their tank actually increase when they added the reactor.

So... my question is this: If my pH is already a little low 7.8-8.1 should I try to increase it some before I add the reactor? As of now all my animals appear very healthy and are growing and budding/reproducing. I plan on maintaining or increasing the alk with B ionic until I can officially run the reactor.

I'm going to measure my alk tonite and then tommorrow so I can figure my consumption rate before I get the reactor going. Should I try to get the alk higher now, or just let the reactor increase it?

If I should increase either, what levels do you recommend before running the reactor?

Thanks again,

Plato

 

[jimmy n]

The best way to run a reactor is to get your tank levels at ideal values and then keep them there with the reactor..

Namely, shoot for alkalinity, I'll bet yours is a touch low. Start your reactor at a bubble count that will get your effluent between 6.7-7.0 and start with an effluent rate of around 30 ml/min. Test your alkalinity. Wait several days and recheck alkalinity.

If it is low, then increase your drip rate, adjusting the bubble rate to keep effluent pH 6.7-7.0.

If it is high, then decrease your drip rate. Again, try and keep the pH of the effluent constant.

Your calcium should fall into place.

Jim