matty Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) So I'm going to try my luck with a calcium reactor and am wanting some help getting it going with my apex. I have the reactor, media, Co2 and apex, how should I connect the reactor and solenoid and what programming do you recommend? Should I get a second PH probe for the tank or just use the one in the reactor? I'm totally new to reactors and know little about dialing them in. Any help would be awesome! Thanks. Edited August 29, 2015 by matty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwickm Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I just went from dosing to a reactor for the first time and am very happy with the decision! I hooked my solenoid up to the 4th outlet on the EB8. Used very simple programing: Fallback OFF Set ON If pH1_Ca < 6.60 Then OFF I run my reactor at about 6.8 with ARM media. It's not necessary to have a probe in the tank but if it makes you more comfortable, go for it. I do have a secondary chamber connected to my reactor that's also filled with media to help raise the PH of the effluent and absorb any extra co2. That helps keep the effluent entering your sump at a higher ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 Thank you for the reply, sounds pretty simple. I am using the reborn media but I think the ph is similar. Any reason you use the 4th outlet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Hey Matt I will try to write up my set up sometime this weekend too. The apex is a great protection from common calcium reactor issues 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 Very cool, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zwickm Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 The soleined wouldnt power on or off when connected to outlets other than 4 and 8 which work for low wattage devices. Not sure if that's common or just the solenoid I have. Just test on yours. What regulator and reactor did you go with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I'm running 2 PH probes, one in the main tank and one in the effluent "cup", here's my programming it's a work in progress Fallback OFF Set OFF If pH2 > 6.71 Then ON If pH2 < 6.65 Then OFF If pH < 7.79 Then OFF Defer 005:00 Then ON My calcium reactor is a diy 10" that holds 5 tubs of the Cari-Sea medium size media There was an article on reef2reef about calcium reactors and controllers- good read, all the instructions that come with the reactors are pre controllers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I love your CR Charles, what a beast! Well, for what its worth, here is my APEX setup. Hope it can be useful information for someone out there. I have found so many useful things in this and other forums, it is nice when possible to try and give back. So here goes... First off, it is pretty impressive how much safety APEX can add to a calcium reactor. You can control the solenoid, great. But you can also really can avoid some common crash scenarios such as: - Running out of CO2 - Failed solenoid Here was a recent experience I had: APEX Makes Calcium Reactor Safer - Interesting Real World Story http://www.pnwmas.org/topic/35234-apex-makes-calcium-reactor-safer-interesting-real-world-story/ And below here is my current programming, nothing fancy but it does the job. First off - Virtual Outlets These virtual outlets define values for effluent ph of high, low, very high and very low. You can use them in both alarms and to control outlets, without having to edit PH values in several outlets. This makes changing your values simple, only one place to update. CR_PH_LOW Fallback OFF Set OFF If pHCRE < 6.60 Then ON Defer 000:10 Then ON CR_PH_HIGH Fallback OFF Set OFF If pHCRE > 6.65 Then ON Defer 000:10 Then ON CR_PH_VHIGH Fallback OFF Set OFF If pHCRE > 6.90 Then ON Defer 001:00 Then ON CR_PH_VLOW Fallback OFF Set OFF If pHCRE < 6.30 Then ON Defer 001:00 Then ON And onto the outlets The Solenoid is pretty cut and dry: CR_SOL_4_6 Fallback ON Set ON If Outlet CR_PH_LOW = ON Then OFF If Outlet CR_PH_HIGH = ON Then ON If Outlet ReturnPump3 = OFF Then OFF The calcium reactor is fed from a cheap 15 dollar pump that is on an apex controlled outlet. I chose not to do the manifold so that the pump can be shut off in alarm type conditions. For example, if the tank CR PH is very low (solenoid not working), the calcium reactor feed can be shut off separate from the return pump. You could also choose to shut it off if the tank PH is very low, considering adding that as well. Here is the programming CR_FEED_4_5 Fallback ON Set ON If Outlet CR_PH_VLOW = ON Then OFF If Power EB8_4 Off 000 Then OFF If Outlet ReturnPump3 = OFF Then OFF Defer 000:15 Then ON The email alarm uses the virtual outlets to send notification if things are not working right. Here is the programming (CR stuff bolded) EmailAlm_I5 Set OFF If TempSU > 81.0 Then ON If TempOV > 81.0 Then ON If TempSU < 75.0 Then ON If TempOV < 75.0 Then ON If Outlet SW_SumpHi_2 = ON Then ON If Outlet SW_SUMPLO_6 = ON Then ON If Outlet SW_OvFHI_54N = ON Then ON If Outlet SW_SkimHi53 = ON Then ON If Outlet PowerOut = ON Then ON If Outlet SAL_LOW = ON Then ON If Outlet SAL_HIGH = ON Then ON If Outlet CR_PH_VLOW = ON Then ON If Outlet CR_PH_VHIGH = ON Then ON If Outlet PH_VLOW = ON Then ON Defer 000:30 Then ON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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