calcium reactor question

[clamlvr]

just installed a MYREEF calcium reactor I have never owned a reactor before how do I know I have it dialed in correctly?.
what readings am I suppose to be getting/ taking out of the second chamber if any?
:?:

 

[MiNdErAsR]

You know it's dialed in when your tank alkalinity remains steady at your desired level.

Personally I don't bother with bubbles per minute, nor reactor effluent alkalinity. I monitor tank alkalinity, reactor effluent flow rate in ml/min, and reactor effluent pH.

 

[Leopardshark]

The reactor effluent should be @ 6.5-7ph, but if you´re using ARM media you could set it to 7.5.
The ca in the efluent should be around 600 but I don´t bother in checking it, I just check the alk and ca of my tank which is 13 dkh and 500ppm.
Good luck

 

[clamlvr]

thanks fro the answers. I have one other question. will the reactor raise the calcium in the tank or do I need to add calcium and the reactor will keep it there once I get it to were I want it?

 

[Anonymous]

Leopardshark's comment about ph between 6.5-7 is pretty broad, there's a large difference in effluent dkh between those levels, ph isnt a very good way to see what's going on anyway.


If you really want to dial in the reactor, check out this spreadsheet, you need a few numbers for the formulas, effluent speed, effluent dkh, tank dkh, and tank volume, at least then you'll know how much dkh/ca your reactor really is providing your tank. You can then compare to how much b-ionic or cacl3 you were adding before, there are formula's that convert each of those to ppm out on the net, I may have the spreadsheets from sanjay somewhere, but I'm off to hawaii & korea in a couple hours, so dont expect a quick response!

http://216.130.145.21/pics/reactordialin.xls

L8r mega

 

[Leopardshark]

Actually Megadeath gave you a better response than me, but FWIW I just check the ph in mine, and my alk and ca levels in my tank are great.
When you first set up the reactor you need to do more testing, bubble counting, etc. But when you´re familiar with it, you know that as long as the ph inside thereactor is at an optimum value and the media is dissolving, your done.
JMHO