Ka Reactor vs Ca Reactor

[harlequinreef]

I guess it comes down to how many times you have to change that pump out over 2 years. If it's more than 5 times, then it would have been cheaper the magnetic route.

The Maxijet 400, that come with the reactor, all have 2 year warranty.

mike, im sure the fact that were running the calcium hydroxide through the pump voids the warranty.

It does void the warranty. I have replaced the maxi jet on my PM stirrer 4 or 5 times in the 3 years I've had it. I use 2 seperate Deltec stir bar reactors at work and haven't had a problems at all (knocks on wood) except for the drain of the reactor being plugged with kalk and flooding all over the place. The PM isn't as easy to service (lots of thumb screws, too small of a hole for new kalk addition) as the deltecs are, but they agitate the kalk more effectively. PM is also nice quality acrylic and I would buy another one

 

[hayabusa2003]

Austin, the deltec model suggests to stir the kalkwasser mix 24x7. Is this how you run it at your work? Curious as to whether running it this way causes any kalk to enter the sump.

 

[harlequinreef]

Austin, the deltec model suggests to stir the kalkwasser mix 24x7. Is this how you run it at your work? Curious as to whether running it this way causes any kalk to enter the sump.

the exit line for the deltec has a very small inside diameter. It just built up with calcium. My apologies, it did not build up with actual kalkwasser paste. We only have them stirring for 15 minutes 10 times a day or so, not 24/7. Running them continuously in my opinion would where them out. In both the deltec and the PM, when the kalk is stirred, the saturated solution does not rise more than half way up the chamber which is why the water input is usually near the bottom of the chamber in most reactors

 

[Phyl]

When my PM reactor stirs it turns my whole chamber white. Does that not happen with yours, Austin?

 

[JohnS_323]

When my PM reactor stirs it turns my whole chamber white. Does that not happen with yours, Austin?

I thinks that's because ours recircs all of the water in the chamber vs. a stirrer which only agitates the media laying on the bottom of the chamber.

 

[harlequinreef]

My PM reactor chamber only gets white up to the pump intake not all the way to the top. The deltecs take alot of stirring to get that white.

 

[billyr98]

My PM reactor chamber only gets white up to the pump intake not all the way to the top. The deltecs take alot of stirring to get that white.

mine does the same thing, maybe an inch above the pump...

 

[MikeNapoli]

I'm waiting for John to draw up one of his fancy pictures before I ask any questions.

It's already incoporated in this drawing:

That should make it clear as mud ;D

John I was just going over this thread and I had to stop and admire your diagram. I wanted to ask you a couple questoins.

What is in the Stock tank that needs 400w MHs?

And, is the Carbon in the sump connected to the Calcium Reactor or just sitting in the sump?

 

[JohnS_323]

Mike, the stock tank is our main frag tank at this point. It's got a layer of egg crate about 6" below the water line and has most of our "extra" corals in it. It's also the tank where we hold club donations prior to raffling them off. We have the 125g Frag tank too but that's only got VHO's over it for now. Plus, it's loaded up with all of our Marco rock that will be going into our display tank next weekend. Once we convert the display over we're going to put egg crate in the 125 and use that as another frag tank. I'm not sure what lighting we're going to use but we have a couple of options indentified.

The carbon in the sump is fed by the same line that feeds our Ca Reactor. I have a PE line coming out one of the ports of the manifold. That feed splits and part of the flow goes into the Ca reactor with the rest going through the carbon chamber. It's a nice setup because it's all connected with JG fittings, so when we want to take the carbon off line, we just remove the Tee and pull the chamber out.

 

[MikeNapoli]

You have a ton of great ideas in your set up.

Thanks again for the diagram. I keep looking at it and it's really amazing. One day i'll get down there to see it in person but until then i'll just admire the drawing.

 

[JohnS_323]

You have a ton of great ideas in your set up.

Thanks again for the diagram. I keep looking at it and it's really amazing. One day i'll get down there to see it in person but until then i'll just admire the drawing.

Thanks! Feel free to continue asking questions about it or to swing by anytime.

 

[MikeNapoli]

Ca vs Ka Question.

My Kalk Reactor has been running for a couple of days now and my Ph is at a healthy 8.2 ... great. But I still didn't add my Ca Reactor. I want to keep my Ph high and I know that my Calcium Reactor is going to lower the ph. Anyone have any ideas on what I should do in this situation.

If my ph was at 8.4 I wouldn't hessitate a second to start up the Calcium Reactor. I'm just afraid at 8.2 the Ca Reactor is just gonna lower the ph back down to 8.0 or even worse, to where it was at, 7.9.

 

[sgarron]

Mike, My PH was at 8.1 with just the kalk reactor. I added my Ca reactor anyway and just kept an eye on it for a couple weeks. It's still at 8.1. I have the effluent from the Ca reactor dripping into the far end of my fuge. It has to get through a huge ball of chaeto before it gets to the return section. The tank PH has remained consistant and my chaeto went from a bright green to a deep green and is growing like crazy, probably from the added Co2. It's been a little over 3 weeks now and I love having my alk at 10 and Ca at 470, and not having to do anything to keep it there.

 

[MikeNapoli]

I built my ph probe cup/holder for the effluent.... and by "I", I mean Ethan at Aquatic Obsessions.

I'll hook it up tomorrow and i'll keep everyone updated as to what my levels are.