CA Reactor - ARM Media, 6.7 pH, 21 dKH Effluent -- Low?

[DT's_Reef]

My Korallin 1502 effluent is 21 dKH at 6.7 pH (ARM Media). Is this normal?

I'm going to drop the reactor pH to 6.5 and see what happens. I believe I did this in the past and the dKH was 30, which again, seems on the low side.

FWIW, I use a pH controller for the reactor and the probe is calibrated properly. Thanks.

[moonpod]

what's your tanks dkh and Ca? I mean, if it's keeping your levels steady and adequate....

[DT's_Reef]

Originally posted by moonpod
what's your tanks dkh and Ca? I mean, if it's keeping your levels steady and adequate....

My tank CA is 370 and alkalinity is 8.

In the past, when I turn the reactor pH down to 6.5 and increase the drip rate to about 280 dpm, my calcium goes up to about 400-410 and alkalinity 10-11 dkh.

My system doesn't have tons of coralline or lots of fast growing SPS. I'm not sure why I can't get the calcium higher.

[moonpod]

Interesting. I haven't really tested my effluent values, but I added a hawkdl2 Ca reactor and my Ca is about 420 and my dkh around 12. I want to get my dkh a little lower....w/o affecting my CA.

Edit--I've got over 20 clams in my 180, and have really turned it otherwise into an sps tank.

[DT's_Reef]

Yikes! Just tested my calcium - 320. Not good.

I just added turbo calcium to give it a good boost, and am lowering the pH of my reactor effluent to 6.5. I'll re-test the effluent to see where the dKH is.

Hmmm... makes me wonder if the Eheim that runs the reactor is truly running. It hums so I'm sure it's circulating water.:)

I'd consider getting a different reactor, but I don't know of one that fits in my cabinet the way the Korallin does.

[Rfbeauchamp]

DT,

What is you Bubbles per minute?

[DT's_Reef]

Originally posted by Rfbeauchamp
DT,

What is you Bubbles per minute?

About 1 per second. But, since I have a pH controller, it shuts off the CO2 once the reactor reaches 6.5 pH, or whatever value I have specified.

I just changed my media last night from ARM to Korallith. I had originally bought Korallith but switched to ARM because it dissolves at a higher pH compared to Korallith. I tested the effluent a couple of days ago and the phosphate level was around .03-.1. I'm going to test the phosphate level of the Korallith media tonight to see if it has less phosphate. Maybe that's why I've been having hair algae issues.

[PaintGuru]

In general you don't want to use a reactor to raise Ca levels, just maintain. I would use CaCl (Turbo Calcium perhaps) to raise your levels to where you want them, then work on your reactor settings to maintain it.

[DT's_Reef]

Originally posted by PaintGuru
In general you don't want to use a reactor to raise Ca levels, just maintain. I would use CaCl (Turbo Calcium perhaps) to raise your levels to where you want them, then work on your reactor settings to maintain it.

Yes, that's a good idea. When I test and find my CA low, I do add Turbo Calcium, but I have trouble maintaining the level with the reactor.

Probably the easiest solution would be to turn the drip rate up significantly, to about 400 dpm compared to my usual 180-200 dpm.

[crab0000]

Originally posted by DT's_Reef
Hmmm... makes me wonder if the Eheim that runs the reactor is truly running. It hums so I'm sure it's circulating water.:)


You may want to check the Eheim to make sure it isn't clogged. I was having problems with cO2 build-up in mine and finally took it apart and their were very small pieces of ARM clogging the intake of the pump. I cleaned that and the reactor worked much better. It's worth a try.
Steve

[DT's_Reef]

Originally posted by crab0000
You may want to check the Eheim to make sure it isn't clogged. I was having problems with cO2 build-up in mine and finally took it apart and their were very small pieces of ARM clogging the intake of the pump. I cleaned that and the reactor worked much better. It's worth a try.
Steve

When I put new media in the other night, I did disassemble the pump to make certain it wasn't clogged, since I managed to melt the ARM media with a pH too low.

I've never really cranked up the drip rate on the Korallin before because I thought it wasn't necessary for some reason. So, I'm going to test for calcium in a few days to see how it's going. I'm keeping the Korallith media at pH 6.5 as it needs a lower pH than ARM.

It's so helpful to get everyone's input.

[3_high_low]

Sounds good but I'd keep a eye on the alk first, then when that is right work on bringing up the Ca via additive. IME the alk goes too high while trying to achieve 420 ppm Ca.

[jhead67]

I'd have to agree with 3_high_low. I'd keep on eye on your alk then worry about the CA. Once my alk hit a steady 10-12 my CA have always been between 420-500. JMO, WFM.

Turning the drip rate and lowering the PH like you are talking about would raise the alk much faster than the CA.

CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 <——> Ca2+ + 2HCO3-

I use ARM and I never have had to go below 6.9, I drip at 60 ml/min.

[DT's_Reef]

Jhead - wow, that's like 720 drops per minute, way more than what I dose. What size tank do you have?

It's looking like I may just need to increase my dpm, keeping an eye on alkalinity. Thanks.

[Dag]

If you don't mind me jumping in.

My ARM media in my Korallin seems to be hardly depleted after 6 mos. is that normal?