Dual stage Ca++ reactors....overrated?

[SuperFudge]

Hi all,

Im beggining to think that they are not all they are claimed to be,

Since running one,ive noticed there is much less dissolution of the media in the second chamber,due to an increased ph,sort of defeating the purpose IMO.


Wouldnt it make more sense to have a larger capacity single stage,so PH is consistent with only one body of water?

I have recently made a large capacity reactor,and i will place the exact amount of media that i have in the dual stage,and similar volume of co2,replace it on the same system,and give you the results.

Any thoughts?

Anyways...just thinking,errr typing out loud,Marc.

[ 12 August 2001: Message edited by: Fudge ]

[titus]

Hey Marc,

IMO, I think if the system demands really that high of an effluent rate to cause a concern of pulling the system's pH low, the system would also have that much of buffering capacity to stabilize it.

In any event, I feel that a properly tuned system shouldn't need the 2nd stage. If I ever daisy chain my reactors, the additional stages would be for extra media capacity, not buffering.

Titus

[SuperFudge]

Sorry Titus,i was unclear in my original post.

I was wondering how well the second chamber actually preforms with an increased PH,(IMO a side effect in most dual stage reactors)as opposed to building the first chamber large enouph to accomodate the same amount of media as a two stage.

I do agree that there are benifits with a second stage if there is the system demand for it.

My concerns are using extra co2 that would usually escape in the effluent.
Even when recirculating,the co2 still builds up at the highest point in the reactor...so IMO this is why its kinda useless,PH starts to rise in the second chamber.
Why not get the same amount of media to dissolve on a single pass of co2?

Or i might just have the "current set up sucks" syndrome [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]


Marc

[titus]

Hello Fudge,

In any event, I still opt for a single larger capacity reactor.

Titus

[Troy F]

I thought the purpose of the second chamber was to raise the pH of the effluent before it got back to the tank. That was the idea when people started adding the second stage.

[SuperFudge]

Could be right Troy,i dont remember.

My problem is i still cant get high enouph alk and Ca++ as i would like,with two chambers.
And soon i will be adding on a large prop tank(cant give it up totally [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]) to that system,and am afriad of the potential drops.

So i figured if the second chamber is doing nothing but raising ph...its not helping me too much [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img].

Marc.

[titus]

Hello Fudge,

You said you just recently built a large reactor. So wouldn't that will handle the prop tank you are about to add? How big is this new reactor you built anyway?

I still fantasize building a 6 ft tall calcium reactor with triple bubble counters [img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]. That's just about as long as acrylic tubes come in.

Titus