shaywood Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Okay, I'm sitting here having worked with a new calcium reactor for about a week. I'm frustrated with the difficulty and adjusting the affluent flow from the needle valve. I have heard discussions about peristaltic pumps on the Forum. Can anyone recommend some links to peristaltic pumps that are halfway affordable? Here's one mentioned on eBay. Would this work with an Apex controller? http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILWAUKEE-MP810-PH-LIQUID-DOSING-PUMP-3-8-GPD-PERISTALTIC-AQUARIUM-MARINE-REEF-/121705183480 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 BRS Pumps are great and if you check out the classifieds at R2R or Nano-Reef you can get those as low as $50. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaywood Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 I've always just used a valve and drip rate. How do I use this to control effluent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Well I guess I should have thought about that a bit more, you would need a much higher ml output for something like that I would assume. Thinking a 1.1ml would be a bit too slow (I was just point out good priced peristaltic pumps as you requested) That Milwaukee may not be what your looking for either as from what I have seen in the past is that it needs to be variable, I'm sure someone around here has a setup and would have a good idea of what pumps would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Cole Parmer makes the best! I do have an Icecap bnib to sell if your interested send me a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 None of the aquarium peristaltic pumps are designed for 24/7 duty. They will burn up quickly. Like mattv says, used cole palmer medical grade pumps are good for this. I'd recommend researching on r2r to find significant amounts of info in thisSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 This is the one i just picked up for my new build variable speed is what you need.Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaywood Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Where did you find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltwater newbie Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 EbaySent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Forgive my ignorance, but why woukd you need a pump with a calcium reactor? Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Forgive my ignorance, but why woukd you need a pump with a calcium reactor? Sent from my SM-G930V using TapatalkYou need something that controls the amount of water that enters (and therefore leaves) the reactor. This is in addition to the water circulating within the reactor itself. Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Ahhhh got it. Do most people use a perstalic pump? Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoDoze Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 A pump to feed the reactor. A pump to circulate the reactor. And a needle valve to control the outflow. The pump to feed the reactor, just runs 24/7, it doesn't need to be controlled. I just have an air line tube run off of the chiller pump to feed the reactor. The needle valve/effluent rate determines how much flow goes in and out. A ph probe on the effluent determines if flow needs to increase or decrease. What difficulty ate you having? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 9 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: Ahhhh got it. Do most people use a perstalic pump? Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk It's a mix - some use a small feed line off a larger return or other pump (chiller feed). Others use a small dedeicated fixed flow pump and some will just siphon from main tank (not generally recommended). Those setups will all normally use a needle valve or similar to control the feed rate and hence effluent flow out of the reactor. The challenge there is that the valves can be hard to dial in and will start to plug - giving you uneven flow and hence unstable all/calcium. This is why you see a lot of folk using peristaltic pumps. Getting one that is designed to run reliably 24/7 however isn't cheap - typically need to go for medical or lab grade equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Ahhh the needle valve plugs... now it makes sense. I was like... Just use a small pump and valve.Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailermann Posted May 25, 2017 Share Posted May 25, 2017 For my 30 gallon Nano, I had a dickens of a time dialing in the affluent drip rate at a couple of drops per second. But my solution was to increase the flow rate to 15 ml per minute while raising the pH to 7.0 in the reactor. Now the flow is steady and consistent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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