calcium reactor question...

[nobby]

hi guys.
ive just invested in a korralin 3001 calcium reactor, and im not too sure of the setup.
i have 10 bubbles per min off fine as per the instructions, but the effulent line is producing quite a lot of water.
the book says to start with 45 brops of water per min, but i have a small trickle, like a ro unit type of thing.
can the effulent come out too fast??
if so how do i slow it down?

also how long before i start to notice and improvement in the tank ect, does it take a while...

sorry for all the questions but im still learning, and this stuff would confuse einstien!!!

cheers

[Rick O]

Hi nobby,

Your reactor should have come with a valve to control the effluent rate. If not then you will need to get one. Set your effluent drip rate to about 20 ml/min. After that all adjustments should be made to the bubble rate. You should never have to change the effluent rate. From that point on if you just concentrate on the bubble rate it will be less confusing. I started with a bubble rate of 45/min. Let it run that way for a week or two then check your alk and ca. From that point adjust the bubble rate up or down as needed. Continue checking and adjusting every couple weeks until you get the parameters where you want them.

This is what worked for me. I'm sure others will have differing opinions.

JM.02, IMO, FWIW, etc., etc., etc.
Rick

[nobby]

cheers for the reply rick.
i do have a tap tha i can use on the end of the pipe to slow it down, i was just a bit concerned that i may be putting a bit of pressure on the motor if i slowed it down too much.
will try it though and let you know how i get on.
cheers for now
andy

[jimmy n]

Good reply rick.

You definately need to get control of the effluent line. A couple of things that need to be reinforced. Rick said 20 ml/min not 20 drops per minute from the effluent line, make sure you measure with a graduated cylinder or syringe or anything that has ml. I started mine at 30 ml/min and 50 bubbles/min or something close to that. Check the pH of the effluent after 48 hours and aim for a pH of about 6.5-6.7.

Get you calcium and alkalinity to the desired levels (ie 440, 4 meq/l) with additives. Leave your calcium reactor at the above settings for several days/weeks.

Recheck alkalinity:
1. If it has decreased, you should increase your bubble count to drop the effluent pH (taking care never to go below 6.5). If you have maxed your bubble count without dropping the pH below 6.5, then you have to increase your effluent rate and start over.

2. If it has increased, you should drop your bubble count in order to raise the pH of the effluent, as your reactor is running too fast for your alkalinity demand. If your effluent pH climbs above 7, you should slow your drip rate and start over.

3. If alkalinity is stable, leave things as they are and you are dialed in! Recheck alkalinity once a month or less if things remain stable.

Measuring calcium is less critical as this value should rise and fall with alkalinity once an appropriate balance has been obtained.

Hope I helped, and if anyone thinks I'm wrong, chime in! I gleaned most of this information from archive searches of various boards.

jim

[nobby]

hi again guys
i think that im starting to understand this now, thanks to your help, the instructions never explained any of this at all.
so what would you say was the max bubble count you would consider before starting over if alk starts to drop?

the last thing that still confuses me is that if the effulent has a ph of 6.5-6.7 then do i ned to buffer the tank to keep it at 8.2-8.3 where i usually like it to be, or is there some way another reaction takes place to stabilise the tanks ph as well that thicko here hasnt understood yet??
thatks for you time and imput so far, its much appreciated

[jimmy n]

Nobby,

There is no max bubble count, just a minimum effluent pH. You do not want the pH effluent to fall below 6.5 or you can turn the media to mush. The slower the effluent rate is, the less CO2 it will take to drop the effluent pH. The faster the effluent rate, the more CO2 it will take to drop the effluent pH. Just an example, but a bubble count of over 100 bubbles/min is probably getting on the high side, but bubble size can vary from counter to counter so it is not an accurate measurement.

The amount of effluent (ie 20-30 ml/min) is so minimal compared to tank volume that the effect on pH is negligible. For example, on my 100 gallon tank, the pH is 8.0 in the am and 8.20-8.25 in the evening. If you can drip your effluent in you sump prior to contacting the skimmer, this can help too.

Hope I'm making sense.
Jim

[Rick O]

A lot of this depends on your particular setup. The ph of the effluent is only low because of the presence of C02. The C02 will gas off pretty quickly and your tanks ph will be ok. I didn't have a ph test kit that would go low enough to check the effluent ph so I just checked the alk. I believe I was shooting for somewhere around 30 meq/l on the effluent. This has been a while back and I really don't check anymore. Occasionally I check the tank's alk and ca and adjust the bubble rate depending on the results of the alk and ca test.

[nobby]

ok guys, cheers to you all.
i have a much better understanding of how this **** contraption actually works.
thanks for your input.
andy