Swithing from dosing to calcium reator - help

[Roskoreef]

ok so i set up a calcium reactor... Vertex RX-C 6D. its a 3 chamber with a flow guage and probe spot.

I have it running at 1 drip every 2 secs for effluent rate, and 1 bubble per/second co2 to start. has been constant for 24hrs now. Apex is controlling the co2 and running the solenoid when internal ph probe is >7 (at top of chamber), also shut off co2 when tank is below 8 ph.

The question is how do i stop dosing and increase calcium reactor to meet demands without throwing things out of whack.

ex: Do i increase effluent and co2 as i gradually stop dosing, or do i stop dosing and try and get my ca reactor dialed in...

[Doug]

I have not fired up my Geo reactor yet but when I do, will stop dosing within days and just monitor close for a bit.
I like to run around 6.7 ph in the reactor. If you increase effluent, yes an increase in co2 should keep the ph stable for dissolution. Either can be adjusted for cutting back or increasing, depending on your need. Once my reactor was running for awhile I seldom measured calcium but just alk. Its actually been called a alkalinity reactor. Always found my all to be higher with the reactor. Not sure how I will do it this time as I carbon dose, so all, is suppose to be a bit lower.
I may have to run a higher reactor ph this time but not sure.

[Roskoreef]

another question, if i am using a ph controller, do i need to increase bubble count if i increase effluent amount? i dont think so because ph is remaining constant inside reactor, unless bubble count cant keep ph down i see no reason to increase co2....thoughts?

[Ryanerickson]

If the ph is not dropping anymore then yes up the bubble rate. By the way 7 is a bit high I run my reactor to shut off at 6.4 turns on at 6.55

[sphelps]

To start you need to set your ph controller to the optimal ph for the media, usually 6.4 but it should be stated on the container. The bubble rate doesn't matter as much as the controller will shut off co2 flow when desired ph is met. Just set it high so it does switch off, after being triggered, within a reasonable amount of time. After that simply set effluent based on tank requirements.

[spit.fire]

Originally Posted by Ryanerickson

If the ph is not dropping anymore then yes up the bubble rate. By the way 7 is a bit high I run my reactor to shut off at 6.4 turns on at 6.55

+1 my ph is 6.5 right now, effluent is a broken stream

[Aquattro]

I use bubble count of about 45bpm. Effluent rate is 40ml/min. I don't use pH, just these numbers. alk stays at 9, Ca ~420