Calcium Reactors

[heedicus]

hello all,
just curious to what the deal is about calcuim reactors. from what i understand they maintain a ph, alk, and calcium level by saturation water from the tank in calcium rich something then dripping it back into the tank. is that pretty much it? what generally do they cost? are they really that useful??
the reason I ask is i have a 50 gal with corals ect and will in the next 3 years or so get a big 300 or up in my living room wall so would a calium reactor benefit either of these applications?
thanks
tren

[dougchambers]

Hello Tren,

I see that no one else has jumped in so I will give you some information I've found. Take it for what it's worth...

A few people in the club are running Ca reactors. I am in the final touches of installing a DIY reactor that is 6" OD and 14" tall in our 75RR. The primary reason for a reactor is to get away from the daily maintenance of adding calcium and Alk to the tank. My motivation is to make the tank more stable and drop some of the maintenance so I can actually go out of town once in a while.

Depending on who you talk to, 75-100 gallons seems to be the break point of where it makes economical sense to integrate a reactor. Of course that all depends on your loading and maintenance routines.

Here are some rough numbers. You can spend a lot more and potentially less;

Regulator set w/ solenoid and needle valve: ~ $129
5lb CO2 Tank: $69 @ Norco w/ first fill included
Recirculation Pump: $29
Reactor: $159 - 359
Bubble Counter: $15-30
Feed Pump: $15
Media: $15-30 depending on reactor size
Patience while dialing in the settings: Significant

We should have our unit running this weekend. I'm just waiting for a couple of parts that should be here Wednesday. My total DIY cost with everything will be ~$250.

Good luck,

Doug

[deucejimmo]

You forgot the alkalinity test and the PH monitor. The selenoid is not needed because you arent trying to control the amount of Co2 in the tank water . Your not using it as plant food.

[dougchambers]

Jim,

Good points on the Alk and pH testers. I would strongly suggest investing in a good digital pH meter! I use mine all the time and it has made dialing in my reactor much easier.

I have the solenoid installed just to kick the CO2 supply out if there is a power outage.

We've had our reactor up and running about 1.5 weeks now. I finally got it to settle down after re-plumbing my CO2 injection point and getting rid of the massive leak in my bubble counter.

The latest problems I have are with the effluent line becoming clogged and stalling the reactor. I moved my needle valve to the feed side of the reactor and it is working much better.

Good luck Tren! IMO Ca reactors are a bit difficult to get dialed in, but should be worth in once it's there. At least that's what I keep telling myself. That reminds me, I need to go check the effluent tube again...

Doug

[heedicus]

Thanks doug,
From what I have heard they are harder to get dialed in but I am interested in getting one. I just need to finish getting the stinking sump finished. Hopefully soon, I have all the pieces together except the actual sump. Was going to use a 20gal tank but now that wont fit under my current temporary stand. So i cant decide whether to wait till I get my permanent stand and use the 20 then (6 months away) or go buy a 20long and use that.
Has anyone had any luck using a 10g for a sump? it just seems not have a whole lot of volume in case of power outage or any screw ups.
Anywho,
thanks
tren

[kgross]

A 10 gallon sump can be large enough, just depends on how much water you tank will lose when the power goes out. And how low you can run the water level in the sump and still pump it out.

Kim

[dougchambers]

Tren,

If you plan to put a skimmer in the sump, don't forget they take anywhere from 4-8" of water which can throw off your volume for makup when the power goes out. I know on my 75 with a Durso, I get ~ 7-8 gallons. It really depends on how you setup your overflow.

Doug

[heedicus]

well the 10 is out,
I just got a 30x20somethingx13 =)
so that shall be the new sump. my current skimmer is a cpr backpak so it doesnt require too much. I would like to upgrade eventually but the cpr pulls out enough gunk as is=)
Well my overflow is rated at 1600 gph and return pump at 1200 gph but i figure that will probably bump back quite a bit with the split on the way back up to the tank. I realize thats a whole lotta water but i can ease it back if need be. Here may be a dumb question but...
my overflow once the level gets dialed in doesnt HAVE to constantly empty 1600 gph right? the way i figure it once the level has an equilibrium then however much is coming in is going back down, thus no problem, right?????

Anyone have any tips for when you first start the sump overflow thing? i would like to spill as little water as possible=)
thanks
tren

[kgross]

Tren,

The overflow will only drain as much water as you pump into the tank, that is why they work so well. To size the overflow you need it to be able to handle at least as much water as you plan on pumping into the tank. so your 1600 gph overflow will not have any problems keeping up with your 1200 gph pump. Now as to setting up the sump/overflow system without any water on the floor is actually pretty easy. Start by setting up the sump and return plumping without starting up the pump or putting any water into the sump. Then put the overflow on the tank, you might have to lower the water level in the tank when you first put it in. You want to manually fill the overflow with water and start the syphon without loosing water from your tank. Once you have the syphon ready, you can start puting water into the tank and allowing it to overflow down into your sump. As soon as you have the sump atleast 2 or 3 inches deep you can start up your return pump. Once the pump is running you might have to continue putting water into the tank, to keep enough water going down into the sump to keep the pump from running dry. As soon as the pump can run without running out of water in your sump you will know the minum water level you need. At this time stop putting more water into the tank, and shut off your return pump, and wait for the system to drain into your sump. If your sump starts to overflow you will need to start the main pump back up. If it does not overflow, your sump is large enough to handle all of the water in your plumping. To determine the max water level in your sump (without overflowing on powerloss), with the pump turned off, fill the sump to the top with water. Start the main pump and allow the water levels to stablize and then take a marker or piece of tape etc and mark the sump. This is the maximum safe water level you can run in the sump with no chance of water on the floor due to a pump or electrical failure. I hope this makes since.

Kim