Korallin Calcium Reactor C1502 Help

[reefs4life]

Hello everyone...I just got a Korallin Calcium reactor and I have it running already but I had a few questions. First of all, it's being fed by an aqualifter feed pump and I have the CO2 bubbles going at about 1 bubble every 3 seconds. Here are my questions now: How do I know if I'm putting in enough CO2, is 1 bubble every 3 seconds good enough? What should the pH of the water coming out of the calcium reactor be? I tested it with an API High Range Test Solution and it read 7.4...if anyone can please fill me in on how to use this piece of equipment properly that would be great.

 

[Josh]

To be honest, you should be doing it a bit differently.

Each tank is totally different, different animals, different calcium demands, etc.

You should focus on keeping your tank PH above 8.0 during the day.

The needle valve on the solenoid should be gradually turned every few days to a week after you have tested the water. Aim for Calcium 450 Alk 10-12 basically. Do not move too fast, you need to find the right level for everything to run.

The media will melt if the PH in the chamber falls to around 6.7. If it does that you will probably have a problem as it will become mud and kill the tank (and your plumbing).

If you search for the Koralin manual it explains how to do this very well There is a target PH for the effluent but it really is not suitable for every tank. That is where you want to be, but you need to move very very slowly to get there.

Be careful and take your time.

 

[Josh]

You can check this as well:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=449820&highlight=korallin

 

[reefs4life]

Ok thanks, I'll look into it more in the morning. For now I'm just trying to figure out if it's safe for me to go to sleep and not have to wake up to a dead fish tank

 

[Josh]

Ok thanks, I'll look into it more in the morning. For now I'm just trying to figure out if it's safe for me to go to sleep and not have to wake up to a dead fish tank

Absolutely. The media can melt in less than an hour, that could wipe out the whole tank.

If you are at PH of 7.4 on the effluent and it has been stable for a few hours after you made your changes to the CO2 output, you can leave it on overnight. Just get ready to be doing CA and ALK tests a lot over the next couple of weeks.

 

[reefs4life]

Well it's been running for about an hour and half to two now and the media seems pretty good. I set the CO2 to 10 bubbles/min and the effluent drip to roughly 40 drips/min like the document on the link from reefcentral said. I think I should be ok to go to sleep or at least I hope

 

[ming]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/

 

[reefs4life]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/

where could I find pure dolomite? In that article you posted, ming, it says you can add a few teaspoons of pure dolomite to keep magnesium levels up

 

[reefs4life]

Ok I actually found some pure dolomite powder but wouldn't powder dissolves as soon as I put it in the reactor?

 

[ming]

I never had an issue with magnesium becoming low. I use the coarse ARM media if that helps.

 

[Josh]

 

[gatojebv]

When dialing a Calcium Reactor the objective is to get the effluent around 6.7PH at which the ARM media dissolves and release CA to your tank. Depending on the demand of your CA the effluent dripping will need to be adjusted slowly as your testing will show. As you increase the effluent output you will need to increase CO2 to keep the PH level at 6.7. Test every day or every two days until your reach the required levels of CA 420-450 and Alk 9-12. It is recommended to bring your levels CA and ALk and MAg to balance and stable before you start using a Calcium Reactor.