DIY Calcium Reactor from Berlin Skimmers

[dngspot]

I have been working on turning a couple of Berlin skimmers into a calcium reactor. This is how far I am so far.

You can get the full story here http://www.wichitaaquariumclub.com/f...read.php?t=460 The thread is very pic intense and detailed.

[Geoff]

looks very nice!!

G~

[kcress]

No stirring?

Oh wait!! That's what the washer will do on agitate!

[kcress]

Very nice BTW.

I see the suction line. Is that normally going to the Sump? It's just going to draw automatically?

Any concerns about too great a draw?

The CO2 comes into the second tower's pump suction port?

How will you set the CO2 rate? I understand your regulator/needle valve - just what do you set it at?

[dngspot]

Kcress, The suction line is connected to my pump line going back to my tank. That is enough pressure to feet the reactor.
The draw is only as great as the amount you drip back into the tank. I have a valve on the effluent line that will control this.
The CO2 is delivered through a line that attaches to the cluster closest to the pump.
I am using a needle valve it is directly connected to the regulator on the tank. The picture may help.

I have it installed and ready for operation. It took more media after it ran in a closed loop. Next test the tank and start the CO2 injection. I did test for a bit and the bubble counter leaked. For some reason the CO2 proof line is a bit smaller than standard 1/4 inch line. I took off the Guest fittings and installed good old Jaco fittings and that took care of the problem. I tested the bubble counter again and it works great.
For reference my sump is a 75 gallon tank sitting on 1.5 inch tubing the reactor is 26 inches tall.

[dngspot]

I have let the reactor run for 8 hours now at 20 bubbles of CO2 and 40 drips of effluent. The ph is 7.38 in the effluent cup this morning. I adjusted the CO2 to 30 bubbles per minute and will check the effluent tonight. My goal is to get the PH down first, then see 25 dkh in the effluent. Once this is done I will adjust the bubble and effluent flow rates for the tank demand.

[dngspot]

This morning, the effluent was 6.83 ph the tank was at 8.1 like all mornings. I will test the alkalinity tonight. Last night the tank alkalinity was 11 dkh. I am dripping about 55 ml per minute of effluent and 37 bpm of CO2.

[dngspot]

After coming home I found my CO2 bubble count went up. It is now at 57 bpm. Checking my Ph it is at 6.74 and my Alkalinity is at 27 dkh. I am dripping 20 ml which is about 2 drips a second. All of the figures are readings of my effluent. The tank Ph was at 8.2 which is .1 lower than yesterday. The Alkalinity in the tank is 10 dkh which is 1 dkh lower today. The Calcium is holding at 480.

I glued a small Glad Ware cup to the top of the effluent cup, so now the effluent will go into the small top cup then trickle into the larger cup. The reason I did this is so I could install a air stone. Hey folks it does work, in about 10 minutes the effluent Ph in the lower cup went from 6.74 to 7.5.
Here is a pic.

[dngspot]

My Magnesium is at 1250 ppm, ALK 10, PH 8.3 and Calcium is at 480. This is of last night. My ALK may be dropping because I am not dripping enough effluent. I am going to leave the reactor alone for a couple of days and see where the ALK ends up at.

[dngspot]

I have removed the vent line from the left chamber all together. I found myself leaving the valve closed all of the time. Those little black valves do not hold water very well. I have removed the one on the right chamber and installed a Gest valve.
Again the reason for not needing the left valve is any CO2 that develops at the top of the left chamber is blown through the top to the right side. Now only one line is needed. The right side works very well, when I started the units I forgot to turn the valve off to the venturi. It kept pulling air off of the top and sending it through the pump.
I would also like to add for those of you who have the smaller Berlin skimmers they could be used also. I started with two and felt that they where to small for my needs. My aim was not to refill the canisters any more than once every year if possible. With a 210g tank I think I would have been filling the smaller ones every six months. The general design would be the same.
These would be just as easy to build from raw materials too.

[Wiskey]

Looks great! How is it working for you?

Thanks for posting the pics

Whiskey

[dngspot]

It is working great. I changed the large valve on the regulator to a valve I got from Marinedepot. The larger one did fine but was very tight and hard to make fine adjustments.

[dngspot]

Current parameters. CO2 60 bpm, effluent 20 ml about 2 drips a second. Effluent Ph 6.7, Alk 30 dkh. The tank Ph 8.4, Alk 10 dkh, Calcium 480 ppm., and Mag 1250 ppm. I am going to leave it here and watch the Alk in the tank.
The corals are looking better than ever. Another week of this and they are going to be the happiest critters in the world.
2 things have made major changes in my tank, the first and best was the refigium, second Revive, I had a velvet problem that troubled me for a long time. Now right next to the refigium is the third, a calcium reactor. Way cool, I should have done this along time ago.

[dngspot]

The reactor is doing great. The coral growth is beyond my expectation. I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner.
I had a small problem drained my CO2 tank. I was using what I thought was a better regulator. It came from a welder that is about 15 years old and has been out of service for at least 2 years. The diaphragm leaked and dumped the CO2 to atmosphere. I had another that came from my welder and was used a couple of times then replaced with a better flow meter. I installed it on the tank and it works much better. I can regulate to a lower pressure and the needle valve is not so sensitive. Go figure a name brand does not always do better than the off brand.
While the tank was down I painted it, could not stand the red.

[chrischris]

thats cool