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View Full Version : Need GEO Reactor Setup Advice


gstuman
01/31/2007, 12:17 PM
I just setup my new GEO 618 last night with Schuran media. I'm using a Ph controller to run the thing and need some setup advice.

I'm using a drip rate that is a fast drip, nearly a stream which I have used on my last reactor. I set my controller for 6.5 midpoint and to get it there I really had to dial up the bubble count to around 250 bubbles per minute. This seems excessive. Has anyone elese had an experience like this.

pdkinsel
01/31/2007, 12:33 PM
I have my GEO 612 with a Reefanatics pH controller and GenX media(similar to Schuran media) set for low BPM (around 15-20 BPM). I have my controller set at 6.45 and offset to .05 on the high side, so it opens the solenoid when it gets up to 6.5 and shuts off at 6.45. With having a slower BMM rate, I feel that will utilize the CO2 better and not blast the reactor with CO2. I like to gradually bring the pH down in the reactor rather than drop it drastically and sudden. My solenoid will stay open for 1/2 hour before the controller closes it once pH falls to 6.45.

I have never tried to set BPM at 250, that seems like alot. This is just the way that I found out for myself what works well and have just stuck to this way.

ErikS
01/31/2007, 12:42 PM
It takes a bit before the water in the unit becomes saturated & you see the actual PH/effluent ALK.

I've also noticed that GEO units tend to collect bubbles @ the top until they slime up a bit. After a cleaning I generally need to jiggle them loose to be re-circulated. Once it's slimed it's no longer an issue.

pdkinsel
01/31/2007, 12:43 PM
BTW, you have a 150 gallon and I have only 55 gallon. so you may have to drip much faster depending on you tanks demand of Alk and Ca, etc. I have heard that you do not want the solenoid turning on and off all the time as it may reduce the life of the solenoid. Find the balance in the effluent drip, your tanks demands, and you pH controller settings. Just remember that the pH in the reactor needs to be somewhere around 6.5 to dissolve the media.

I hope this helps.

gstuman
01/31/2007, 01:28 PM
Thanks for the replies. I'll let it run all day and then see if I can match the bubble rate with the use so that the solinoid doesn't turn on and off all the time. I also have to start measuring Ca all week.

Will the larger 618 reactor have a higher concentration of Ca in th effluent so that I need less drips than my old Koralin 1502? Or do I keep the same drip rate?

duhfactor
01/31/2007, 02:14 PM
I currently don't run your type of reactor, so take this advice with a grain of salt.....o.k.?It has worked consistently with the home made reactor I built though, and others I've set up.
1)Measure your current tank CA and alkalinity level.
2)Set the effluent drip rate from the reactor at 60 drips per minute.
3)Set the bubble count to 10 bubbles per minte.
4)(Set your probe at 6.5 ph)
5)Let it run for a day
6)Remember that if you increase your effluent drip rate, your ph will rise, thus needing to increase the bubble count to keep the ph at 6.5. Don't worry about the concentration of CA out of the effluent for now. (with the effluent drip rate being so high right now, you probably can't get enough CO2 in your reactor chamber long enough to lower the ph, plus your dumping tons of CO2 into your display, running a risk of dropping the whole tank ph to dangerous levels. I would check the tank ph if you can)
7)Re-check tank CA daily, and if it continues to drop, increase the effluent drips by 25, and the bubble rate by 3-5 per minute, just enough to bring the effluent ph to 6.5. Continue to do this, making adjustments every other day until the calcium level stops dropping in the display tank.
8)Now, leave the reactor alone, and add CA supplements until you get the calcium level up to your desired amount. Don't use the reactor to raise the level of CA in your tank, because once you get to 400 or so, it will then overshoot your corals demand, and you'll end up having to re-adjust your reactor, chasing the levels up and down.....argh....
9)It's a viscious cycle, but a lower effluent rate, with the appropriate CO2 to get to 6.5 ph may be more effective at maintaining calcium levels in your tank than a high effluent drip rate (less concentrated, and dumps a lot of CO2 in your tank)

Hope this helps..........:D

D

ErikS
01/31/2007, 03:10 PM
5)Let it run for a day
Crucial step, it takes awhile for any bubble count change to affect the PH in the reactor, especially when it's new.