The ReefBox Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 So put reactor back online and with no co2 being added and effluent wide open, the ph in CAcreaftor almost mimics tank ph. When I shut down the effluent to a very fast drip the the ph lowers to down from bout 8.1 to 7.68 and hovers right there with no co2 being added. The solenoid is not coming on until 7.8 so now comin on at all. Any thoughts ? FYI I am feeding the reactor via manifold from the return pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthbound Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Stuck solenoid maybe? You could try closing your needle valve all the way if it's not and see if PH remains stable then. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 That is weird! Residual CO2 that only has an impact when flow is restricted? I dunno... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Do you have a bubble counter of some kind attached to the regulator? To ensure that no gas is entering the reactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Stuck solenoid maybe? You could try closing your needle valve all the way if it's not and see if PH remains stable then. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk Solenoid is closed i use apex to control and verified manually turning off and on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Do you have a bubble counter of some kind attached to the regulator? To ensure that no gas is entering the reactor. Yes bubble counter shows no gas entering. I have verified by manually turning on solenoid and opening needle valve to see bubbles in counter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Don't waste energy trying to find an answer LOL Hook up the CO2 and dial that thing in! Well, that's just me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Do you have a bubble counter of some kind attached to the regulator? To ensure that no gas is entering the reactor. This! If there is CO2 coming in it cannot sneak past the bubble counter. And... Brad has a good point too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 So I have a regulator built by Charles aka wannareef, set at 6 pounds and the needle valve open to effective see 8-10 bubbles per second. The reactor is controlled by my Apex. Set to come on if ph above 7.75 and off at 7.55. I verified the solenoid is work and when off I see no bubbles in the counter. If I shut everything off on Apex and just run the effluent wide open the ph rises to match the tank. When I close it down to steady drip almost stream the ph goes down to between 7.5-7.65 never rises to tank ph thus not turning on solenoid. Hope this makes sense. I have calibrated the ph probe two times maybe being a year and half old it is in need of replacement??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) I calibrate about every 60 days replace probes after it takes more than a minute or 2 to settle. What you explained makes perfect sense, I have no clue "why" What will you do with the information once you find out LOL Get it online and if it keeps the KH steady put it in the chapter of "That was wierd, I wonder what caused that" What were you even doing wasting that precious time, you could be 7 hours closer to being dialed I get the curiosity but honestly I'd work at getting it dialed in and if you have problems then see if this "anomaly" has bearing. If the end game is consistency who cares how we got there (my humor is dry, but you get the idea) Edited January 6, 2016 by reefnjunkie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerk1985 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 My guess would be when you are slowing the flow c down the bacteria isnide the chamber are using up the other and putting off enough could to lower the ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 I'll have to rest my alk, Brad what I'm getting at is my reborn used to melt pretty consistently at 7.55-7-6 with co2. So is it still melting when no co2 being added and the ph is right around those numbers? What I'm trying to avoid is lowering the ph too much and turning all the media to mush and clogging everything up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthbound Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I run my reactor at 6.5 with reborn and have no problem with it breaking down to mush in the reactor, so I would think you are good to go. Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Think I may have found what's making ph so low in reactor chamber......while my tank was down I let reactor sit will media and water in it causing the media to turn blackish grey and smell nasty. I washed all the media in VINEGAR for two days then rinsed with water and put back in the reactor. So I think the media being porous its retained some vinegar and lowering the ph????? Thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 That could be it for sure, cannot say I have ever tried that but it makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 That could be it for sure, cannot say I have ever tried that but it makes sense. Replace media or lower the reactor set points you think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I'd replace it, better to start at baseline then try and tweak the set points only to have them change around when the vinegar stops leaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Replace the media without question. I don't have a PH probe its in my reactor, it's inline from the effluent out of the second chamber and reads a consistent 6.77. You shouldn't risk mush media until your drops around 6.4 and lower. Also worth noting its a good practice to rinse your media in the reactor at least every 6 months. Doing so you'll rinse out all those fine particles and silt like media that will accumulate and restrict good flow through sponges and reactor lines, especially if you run at a drip. I'm at a steady stream so I don't run into that issue like I used to when a dripping rate was sufficient. That vinegar I suspect was your "why" lots of folks use vinegar for carbon dosing. If you can't find or have any (new) reborn I think I have a bag or two until you can get some-text me if needed. As f Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 Replace the media without question. I don't have a PH probe its in my reactor, it's inline from the effluent out of the second chamber and reads a consistent 6.77. You shouldn't risk mush media until your drops around 6.4 and lower. Also worth noting its a good practice to rinse your media in the reactor at least every 6 months. Doing so you'll rinse out all those fine particles and silt like media that will accumulate and restrict good flow through sponges and reactor lines, especially if you run at a drip. I'm at a steady stream so I don't run into that issue like I used to when a dripping rate was sufficient. That vinegar I suspect was your "why" lots of folks use vinegar for carbon dosing. If you can't find or have any (new) reborn I think I have a bag or two until you can get some-text me if needed. As f Always Brad you da man!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 I'd replace it, better to start at baseline then try and tweak the set points only to have them change around when the vinegar stops leaching. Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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