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- Today on BRStv Reef FAQs, we answer
what's the easiest way to setup a calcium reactor?
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Hi, I'm Ryan, your host on at BRStv Reef FAQs,
and today, we're setting up a calcium reactor the easy way.
Easiest is a bit of a loaded question
because everyone will have an opinion on that.
This is just our opinion, and to us,
the easiest means the average reefer can do it
with reliable, readily available equipment.
I'll note this isn't the cheapest way to set up a reactor,
that's entire other FAQ that I'm sure we'll do as well.
For those of you don't know, the calcium reactor
is just using carbon dioxide to melt old coral skeleton
into calcium and alkalinity into the tank,
presumably at the same ratio
that the new coral skeleton will use it as well.
There are absolutely other benefits,
like dosing other elements bound up
in the old coral skeleton, most notably strontium.
This video does assume that you know
the basics of how a reactor works.
If you don't, we have some in depth videos on the concept
and even some step-by-step how to's
with some of the reactors out there.
Calcium reactors are often presented
as these complex devices that require all sorts of tuning,
but in reality, that's nonsense.
All you need to do is set it up to dose
a consistent strength of solution of calcium and alkalinity
and then adjust how much you dose each day.
This is how you do those two simple things.
So step one is getting a stable concentration
of calcium and alkalinity, meaning 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, the potency of the solution
and amount of dissolved calcium and alkalinity
inside the reactor is stable and the same,
which inherently also means what's dosed to the tank
is the same strength 24/7 as well.
Turns out, maintaining a stable strength solution is easy.
A stable pH in the reactor
creates a stable strength solution.
This may vary a bit with media types
and reactor designs or size, but Randy did an Investigates
where he clearly demonstrated with the Vertex reactor
and Two Little Fishies ReBorn media
that there was a stable concentration at each pH point.
Meaning in those examples, if we set
our reactor's pH controller to a pH of 6.4,
the solution inside the reactor
should have an alkalinity of around 40 dKH.
At 6.5, it drops to 35, at 6.6,
it drops to dKH of 29, 6.7, 25, and 6.8, 22 dKH.
That pretty much covers the entire range
that most reefers would keep it in,
and you can see the amount of calcium and alkalinity
in the solution clearly has a very close relationship
with the pH inside the reactor.
Part of making it easy is just giving clear direction
as to which of those pH's to pick,
and for the sake of clarity, I'm just gonna say
that most reefers should peg the pH at 6.5,
which will produce a pretty concentrated solution.
The reason we recommend a more concentrated solution
is because you can dose nearly half as much.
Biggest benefit to dosing half as much solution
is it'll make the dosing pump tubing last twice as long,
pump motor roughly twice as long,
and when it spins slower, it's also a lot quieter.
We also have a Reef FAQ planned to show
how dosing half as much of the lower pH 6.5 solution
actually results in a higher pH in the reef tank
than dosing twice as much of a higher pH solution like 6.8,
which I think a lot of calcium reactor users
will find interesting.
Okay, so how do you peg the pH as 6.5 in the reactor?
That's as simple as using a pH controller
to open and close an electronic solenoid on your regulator
using an aquarium controller or pH controller.
Many reefers will use this as a good excuse
to pick up a full controller like the Apex.
The full Apex has two B and C ports.
You can monitor the pH of the reactor and the tank
at the same time if you pick up an extra probe.
The ApexEL has one B and C and will work well
just in the reactor, but you can also
upgrade a module for the tank at a later date.
However, you can also get a standalone controller
like the Milwaukee pH Controller,
which is currently only about 130 bucks.
I'll say for those of you that are not technology junkies,
setting the pH on a simple standalone controller like this
is as simple as turning a knob.
Not as precise, but the ease of use
will be attractive to many.
In either case, set the controller
to maintain a pH of 6.5 in the reactor,
and you now have a stable concentration
of calcium and alkalinity in the reactor.
As a precaution, it's then wise to tune your regulator
to a bubble rate that matches that goal as well.
Basically, just tune the needle valve on a manual option
like the Tunze Regulator and Solenoid Kit
with the knob on the CarbonDoser
until the solenoid is open most of the time.
Doing that step will provide some backup redundancy
in case the controller or probe were to ever fail.
Okay, step two is just adjust how much
of that stable concentration you dose to the tank.
Meaning I dose 10 milliliters a minute
and the levels are dropping,
turn the flow up to 15 milliliters a minute and so on
until you find the right dose.
Not much different than any of the two-parts
many of us have used at one point.
In fact, just like two-part,
there are easy-to-use calculators
like JDieck's calcium reactor setup help
where you enter a few fields and it tells you
the exact flow rate to use.
The calcium reactor calculator
is an awesome tool for any reactor user.
One note here, at one point,
the reefing community commonly believed
that tuning up the flow rate of the reactor
would decrease contact time in the reactor
and because of that, decrease the concentration
to calcium and alkalinity in the reactor,
and that was part of the complex equation.
Turns out while that's kinda true,
it's just not something that most reefers
should spend a lot of time thinking about.
Randy did a BRStv Investigates on the topic
and found that even after cranking up the flow
from 5 millimeters to a minute
to 100, or 20 times the flow rate,
the potency only dropped like 15%.
Rather than get lost in all that science,
it's just easier to test and dose a bit more if needed.
To control the flow rate, there are two options.
First is some kinda needle valve to adjust the flow rate.
However, I would not call this the easiest option
because they have a tendency to get
partially or completely clogged over time.
The biggest change to the calcium reactor world
in the last decade has absolutely been the entrance
of the FX-STP Continuous Duty Dosing Pump from Kamoer,
continuous duty being the key word here.
All the other dosing pumps in the reefing hobby
are rated to only be on to minutes to hours a day.
With the Kamoer pump, not only is it continuous duty,
meaning it can be run 24/7, but adjusting the flow rate
on the reactor is simple as turning a knob.
More calcium and alkalinity, turn it up, less, turn it down.
It's also accurate, calibratable, and important components
like the pump head and tubing are replaceable.
You can certainly start with an inexpensive needle valve
for adjusting flow, but I think a vast majority of reefers
will gravitate to the Kamoer FX-STP as budget allows.
Continuous duty dosing pump
is just a game changer for calcium reactors.
That, and I think the existence
of these calcium reactor calculators.
Once you know that they exist and try one out,
it's really about as easy as tuning your two-part dose,
arguably easier in some ways.
(upbeat music) We did a video on using
the calculator to tune your reactor,
so you can check that out right here.
While the calculator's been around for a while,
it's worth checking out double so
if you're interested in the concept
of pegging the pH and a continuous duty dosing pump.
Thanks for watching, see you all next Wednesday
with the next release of BRStv Reef FAQs.