TheClark Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 CR Setup My setup is a typical calcium reactor. Solenoid, dual stage regulator, 5lb tank. Old school downflow. I have a PH probe in the tank, and one on the effluent line. The Event I was at home depot yesterday on lunch break, APEX texted me 'CR_PH_VLOW' aka calcium reactor ph very low. My reactor PH had deviated .5 lower from where the solenoid was supposed to shut it off. It appeared my solenoid had failed, and not shut off the CO2, Apex shut off my feed pump to protect the tank and sent the text. What Actually Happened Two things led to this event: 1) The effluent flow had visibly slowed down, yet the CO2 bubble count remained steady. This caused the PH to drop (same CO2, less water) 2) The solenoid failed to close. Safeguard 1 failed. So the PH decreased because the flow decreased and the same amount of CO2 was applied. Safeguard 2 kicked in and turned off the feed pump. The Fix Tried: - Swapping out spare CR feed pump, same problem. - Tested at connection before reactor connection, same slow flow issue. Turns out the 1/4" line that feeds the reactor was clogged. Replaced the line for a quick flx. Also I fiddled with the solenoid, it is working again now but up for replacement Why tell this story? Just because it is a good positive story of automation saving some headaches. At a minimum my reactor media would have been turned to mush, worst case SPS damage (ugh... I do see a milli pretty upset today, losing flesh, could have been worse). APEX has saved my bacon more than once. If you have an apex and a PH probe you can do something similar and many other cool things. Controllers can also tell you when you are out of CO2 if you don't happen to notice by the PH of the effluent. It is really a handy tool for a calcium reactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Good save! I love my Apex, I might be picking your brain though on the new setup, I want to automate everything I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Good save! I love my Apex, I might be picking your brain though on the new setup, I want to automate everything I can. Thank you! Absolutely, love talking apex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cor4eyh Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Exact reason why I purchased my apex, it's a Jr but it does all I need it to so far CR Setup My setup is a typical calcium reactor. Solenoid, dual stage regulator, 5lb tank. Old school downflow. I have a PH probe in the tank, and one on the effluent line. The Event I was at home depot yesterday on lunch break, APEX texted me 'CR_PH_VLOW' aka calcium reactor ph very low. My reactor PH had deviated .5 lower from where the solenoid was supposed to shut it off. It appeared my solenoid had failed, and not shut off the CO2, Apex shut off my feed pump to protect the tank and sent the text. What Actually Happened Two things led to this event: 1) The effluent flow had visibly slowed down, yet the CO2 bubble count remained steady. This caused the PH to drop (same CO2, less water) 2) The solenoid failed to close. Safeguard 1 failed. So the PH decreased because the flow decreased and the same amount of CO2 was applied. Safeguard 2 kicked in and turned off the feed pump. The Fix Tried: - Swapping out spare CR feed pump, same problem. - Tested at connection before reactor connection, same slow flow issue. Turns out the 1/4" line that feeds the reactor was clogged. Replaced the line for a quick flx. Also I fiddled with the solenoid, it is working again now but up for replacement Why tell this story? Just because it is a good positive story of automation saving some headaches. At a minimum my reactor media would have been turned to mush, worst case SPS damage (ugh... I do see a milli pretty upset today, losing flesh, could have been worse). APEX has saved my bacon more than once. If you have an apex and a PH probe you can do something similar and many other cool things. Controllers can also tell you when you are out of CO2 if you don't happen to notice by the PH of the effluent. It is really a handy tool for a calcium reactor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I totally agree that if you have a lot of mechanical equiment a controller of some sort is very helpful. Apex helped us too when the solenoid went out. Right now though I am very happy with my low tech reef system. I don't test, I don't dose. I don't have a calcium reactor. I just do a 4 gallon water change twice a week with red sea coral pro. I am moving up to once a week now that I'm adding more lps and a few sps now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Yes, I understand, it's not for everyone.... Me? Technology runs through my blood, half the fun for a tech-head reefer is stuff like this 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 +1 for APEX love, would not do it any other way. nice read 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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