Schuran Jetstream 1 Calcium reactor. Some pictures.

[MSHUR]

luis,
i do have some air bubbles bild up on the top,may a 1/4'' or so and returns to rec. loop.

two days ago i was runnning reactor with out co2 for whole nite,and i didnt see any bubble,soon as i turn co2 ...back to bottle of soda:)))

[MSHUR]

luis,
i just took a few pics...if u give me ur email address i will send it over...


mike

[Tagareef]

Mike, still need to know what your effluent ph and rate are as well as the bpm of Co2. Also what is that top layer of media you have over the "coral sand"? That may be part of the problem since it is a finer media and is restricting flow within the chamber.

Those pics really stressed out my DSL!

Luis

[Todd March]

Folks, don't forget, PER SCHURAN, some club soda/bubbles is normal for these units. Like Luis has mentioned however, it shouldn't create a huge layer of gas at the top of the reactor. It should be sucked up by the recirc system...

I think because so many people are used to American style reactors that don't do this, that many are freaking out. DON'T! This is normal for these units. Remember two things: these reactor tubes are fairly small, and the media is very large and slow to dissolve...! These things add up to an environment where the C02 will build up and give you at least a little club soda effect.

Remember that I only run C02 at 120bpm for 3 minutes every 6 hours, and I even I have the club soda effect for an hour or so after the C02 has been on for just 3 minutes!

[MSHUR]

luis,
sorry....i guees files was so big:)))
top layer is mg granuals from growtech. everybody in germany using them and they are big enough not to restrict flow.
effluent ph-6.5
drip rate-80-90 ml/m

todd,
maybe u right,i just sressing myself over nothing:)))
i was running two reactor prior this one and never had this
problem...

mike

[Tagareef]

Mike,

I know the mg granules are popular in Europe, but I've never seen or heard of them being used in a Schuran. They look pretty restrictive to me. With as much Co2 collecting and "fizzing" you have going on, I would expect your effluent ph to be lower than 6.5 at the drip rate. When you restrict this reactor in any way, you are also restricting the recirculation loop. While I was waiting to get the "coral sand" from Aquatic Eco, I tried to use some very coarse Koralith, but had similar results to what you are experiencing. It would be cool if you could resize those pics and post them here so others can give their expert opinions.

Nice BK by the way!

Luis

[MSHUR]

luis,
i know one german dude using it,he is the one who recomeded to me.he also have the same reactor.his name is g.alexander.
he is the one who have a lot of exp. with zeovith.
btw,i use zeovith for 5 month already.
well,accorning my ph controler,my effluent is no lower then 6.5
but,i will double check my ph prob:)))
i would love to post this pic,but i cant resize them:((

thankx,mike

[Tagareef]

Mike, another variable your set-up has that is unique to other Jetstream users is your Biophos mini reactor that you have hooked-up to the end of your effluent line. If you aren't able to find a balance to your Jetstream set-up I would be tempted to install it per factory instructions first. Get to know how it is supposed to work, then add your tweaks later, one at a time to see how each one affects the performance of the reactor. So really, I'm just guessing here, because your set-up is so much different than mine. The last theory I'll throw out there is that maybe when you get your new peri pump all these issues will go away.

Luis

[Tagareef]

Rob, Todd...input?...anyone?

[MSHUR]

luis,
do u think this mini reactor can effect jetstream in any ways?
but again,maybe u right u have more exp. with reactor then i am..:)
i can wait to get my peri pump..:)))
and luis,thankx for all ur inputs,i am sure more people will appreciate all this ...

mike

[Tagareef]

It must have some kind of effect because if you read other people's experiences on this thread you will notice alot of attention has to be given to the location (elevation) of your effluent tube output. The Jetstream is pretty sensitive to little things like this. Who knows what putting a mini reactor on the end of that tube would do. When you get your peri pump, install it after the Jetstream but before the mini reactor. That way you will pull effluent thru the Jetstream and push it thru the mini reactor. If you still have problems, I would really recommend starting over without the mg granules and mini-reactor. Get it to work perfectly with the peri pump first, then add the granules and mini reactor back in one at a time. I think this is the only way you are going to troubleshoot and isolate where the problem lies.

Luis

[MSHUR]

i agree....:)))
i definatlly do this...
maybe its better to mix mg granuals with "coral sand"?
i hope we would get some info from schuran,that would be great..

mike

[Mickey]

Well, I've had the CO2 turned off for two days, bled the reactor of air again, and turned the pump back on. Still have the seltzer bubbling effect. Retightened all fittings and left CO2 off for another night. In the morning I still have the seltzer bubbling effect. Not sure where the air is coming from at this point and based on Todd's comments above, not sure if this is a problem or not.

Can someone let me know?

I plan on draining the unit when I get home tonight, opening all the fittings and check the O-rings on all the unions, add teflon tape to ALL fittings including the unions, reassemble and then add water again. If that doesn't work I don't know what to do.

Mickey

[MSHUR]

mickey!!!

i have exaclly the same situation...but,like todd had mantioned before it is not a problem...
i am just waitting on my peri pump at this point
mike

[woowoodengy]

i want a sj1 badddd they are sold out and i cat wait maybee if i can go to sleep for a month till they get it in stock (yes i am on the wait list) oh yeh i forgot about work oh well does sombody want to sell me theirs
ha ha ha i know i know

[woowoodengy]

tagareef
custom aquatics said that both people called back today for the reactors oh well on the hunt again

[woowoodengy]

ewan can you pm about the pump

[Mickey]

MSHUR - I just can't figure out where all the air bubbles are getting in.

I'll try hooking up the CO2 tonight rather than breaking everything down and try again.

I got the peristaltic pump, but I'd rather try to get it to work without it and then use the pump for something else.

Mickey

[MSHUR]

i can either:(((
but,i was reading alot on www.ultrareef.com...those guys from england recomended highly..
plus, evan and luis have exp . running this reactor with peri pump...

mike

[Jeremy B.]

A peri pump makes all the difference in the world when running a reactor!

Mickey, make sure the fitting on the bottom the reactor where it injects was glued. I had a report from a guy who said his was loose, in which he fixed and the "seltzer" died down when co2 was off. You will not get rid of that bubble effect completely when using this unit, but no worries as mentioned before it will not effect the performance of the unit.

[MSHUR]

jeremy,
thankx for jump in :)))

mike

p.s. off this topic..that panword pump i got from u..is it been reported then it suck air in..i have so much bubble blowing from my seaswirls..?

[Jeremy B.]

Please shoot me an email to try and keep this thread on track. jeremy@premiumaquatics.com :)

[Mickey]

Jeremy: Thanks for chiming in. I'll check that. I did find the other day that one of the fittings on the top of the air/water separator was lose and moving around while I was tightening it, but I just tightened it down and it seems to be fine. I'll keep a watch on it.

I still would like to try to make this work without using the peri pump. My tank is large enough and I have the reactor feed coming from the return line and actually three valves in line to control the flow (each smaller than the other). I'll give it a shot for a few more days and if I still can't get it regulated and steady I'll guess I'll go with the peri pump.

I'll post my results.
Mickey

[jimmy n]

I had all the same issues as some of the previous posters.

1. I started out correct with a litremeter 3 to pull the water through. The liter metre wouldn't calibrate correctly and then it broke. I hooked up a mag 5 and restricted it before the reactor.

2. This resulted in variable flow through the Schuran, CO2 accumulation and big time bubbles.

3. I tee'd the inflow off my return pump and the bubble went away almost entirely.

Teeing off the return pump was the key for my situation.

JME

Jim

[woowoodengy]

still waiting on my reactor

[plankton]

Just setup my Jetstream 1 on my 210G reef, after reading all through this post, and I have 2 of the problems aforementioned:

1) about 1cm of air in bottom mixing chamber
2) about 3cm of air in top air/water separator

I regreased all connectors and unions that had o-rings, am feeding unit off main pump, but I mounted about chest high against a wall (not in stand near sump).

So, how long before the gas dissapates or do I have a leak or some other problem I need to address. I did degass as much as possible when I set it up and added CO2. pH of 6.4 at 43 ml/min and 7.0 at 80 ml/min. Unit has been running for about 4 hours.

TIA

Scott

[Tagareef]

Scott,

The air/Co2 at the bottom never goes away...it's a bubble caused by the black nut attached to the diffuser inside the chamber.

Luis

[Todd March]

Scott, when you say;

"2) about 3cm of air in top air/water separator"

Do you mean at the top of the main reactor tube? Did you purge it of air by taking the recircualting line off until water squirted out the top (left most line at top of reator), before starting the Eheim pump? I know the manual states this, and I have had to do this every time I have stopped/restarted the reactor...?

You said you degassed, maybe this is what you are referring to...?

[plankton]

Todd,

I had to take the return line off as well as the left-most recirculating line in order to inject tank water into the top to fill it; otherwise the water simply went out the main line. I got rid of as much of the air in the top as I could, but as soon as I started the eheim I was back to about 2-3 cm of air again (from air bubbles sitting on the media, etc). Tried stopping and starting the pump a few times to get rid of the bubble in the media, but still have them.

Here is one difference in my setup. I mounted the unit about chest high which means both the feed and return lines have to go up about 5 feet. Any issues?

I shut the CO2 off and simply letting it run overnight to see how it looks in the morning. If I still have alot of air I might try resealing the o-rings, purge and try again.

Scott

[plankton]

OK guys. It's 11:00PM PT, but I believe I found why I was getting so many bubbles even though I followed all the instructions and advice in this thread. The effluent hose!! Because, I mounted the unit waist high and not in the sump I created negative pressure in the air/water separator part of the reaction chamber. And, to my surprise I reread the thread and the manual and indeed the Schuran engineers recommended 'shortening the [output] hose and fasten it in a open tube.' This is in the 'common problems explained section' of the manual. Here's a quick pic of what worked for me. Go figure....

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/410Output2-med.jpg

Scott

[Ewan]

From page one of this thread:

Originally posted by Ewan

Also, from the schuran manual, it mentions that a possible cause for CO2 buildup is having the output line too far below the reactor, creating a siphon. This would cause negative pressure in the reactor... not what we want. I achieved better stability with my effluent flow when I positioned the output line roughly one inch above the top of the reactor. This placed a *tiny* amount of backpressure on the reactor. Importantly, it got rid of the negative pressure. This is actually mentioned in the manual. The effluent line is placed within a large PVC pipe that leads to the sump. The PVC pipe acts as a 'waterslide' for the effuent.



Good pic to illustrate exactly what I mentioned. 3_high_low created a parallel solution with the inverted bubble-counter to act as a siphon-break. He also included pictures in this thread.

IMO, IME, etc, this is the single largest factor that affects the accumulation of gas at the top of the reactor. No other troubleshootings steps should be tried before this one. Period. (with the exception of proper tuning of co2 and effluent)

It's interesting that the manual is very accurate as to the operation of the reactor. This tells me 2 things:
1. The reactors are made to very exacting standards. Consistancy in fabrication
2. Schuran is very familiar with their product, and has tested it very thoroughly.

Again, great pic. I meant to take a picture of my "waterslide" to share with this thread.

-Rob

[malegolf]

OK, here I go, after three or four months of reading this thread I got a Jetstream 1. I got this dosing pump http://cgi.lycos.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3873846145&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT and this PH Meter http://cgi.lycos.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3873745164&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT Now I have some questions, do I ad water to the bubble counter on my CO tank? I have a 150G tank with very little load right now, which size tube should I start out with on the dosing pump, and what number should I set it to. How many bubbles should I start out with going through the counter on the Jetsrteam? Do I want the return and inlet hose both going into the sump? Thanks for your help, I sure I will have more questions in the future.....

[Tagareef]

I don't think that pump is going to provide enough flow to your J1. With the largest tubing the ultra low flow model can only deliver 1.8 ml/m.

[plankton]

Yeah, 1.8ml/min (using 1/4" id tubing) is sure ultra slow all right. Recommended flow is between 30-50ml/min, but many folks running 50+ ml/min.

malegolf - you may want to consider justing tee'ing off your main pump. Much easier with a John Guest mini-ball value.

Scott

[malegolf]

Ok, thanks, what do you mean t'eeing off the main pump? The blue line that comes out of the top of the main chamber is the line that the dosing pump connects to right, then what main pump and how do you measure it????? Thanks again.....

[plankton]

Malegolf,

According to your profile you have a Sequence Hammerhead driving an oceanmotion closed loop and Sequence Dart on 2 sea swirls. You could tee off either of these (prolly the Dart) to drive your JS1. I don't know how to drive your Fuge, but you might even be able to take into a low-flow there. Point being that you can simple tap into any positve pressure flow in your tank instead of using a peristaltic pump.

Scott

[malegolf]

I have a pump that pumps to my chiller and my fuge, they are both smaller pumps. Don't I want to measure how much I'm feeding somehow???????

[plankton]

Makegolf - as previously posted what matters is CONSISTENT flow between 30 and 50 ml/min FROM the reactor.

Good luck...

Scott

[malegolf]

I think I will get another pump, thanks but I've read this thread now at least a couple times and the consensus is to use a dosing pump.... Thanks again.

[MSHUR]

tagareef,
what king off conector do u use to conect regulat 1/4' tubing with tubing for the pump....i have a dilema here:)))
i try my pump last nite..it works great!!!
what settings do u have a spped dial?

thankx,mike

[Tagareef]

Mike,

To connect the peristaltic tubing with the plastic 1/4" tubing , I melt the end of the plastic tubing with a lighter until it forms a uniform lip all the way around the end. You have now created a single "barb" at the end of the tubing for more "bite". Then lubricate (SPIT) the end you just melted and insert into the end of the peri pump tubing. I then back that up with a mini tie wrap. The tie wrap is probably overkill since this tubing isn't really under that much pressure...but I don't take many chances anymore when it comes to my reef.

Luis

[MSHUR]

wow!!! i would never though ot this cool idea!!!!
thankx,,,i will try this right now

mike

[woowoodengy]

hey there i have just ordered my perilistic pump today. should be here by the end of the week.got a great deel on it. will post pics when i recive it.
too bad i dont have amy sj1 yet.

its ok the place where i am on the wait list told me today that they will get it in 3 weeks so i cant wait. i will play with my pump to figure it out so when i get the sj1 hopefully it will be plug and play. if not i am sure someone here can help me set it up but i am sure mostley all the info on the bugs is in this thread.

you guys have convinced me about this reactor and me and my pump will be awaiting it's arrivale.:D :rollface:

[Fliger]

OK, I'm ready to set this bad boy up. I know I have pages to read through - but I need some equipment.

What is the best peri pump that will work with this unit, and where can I get it. I'll pay whatever it takes, but obviously, less expensive is better.

I need a new co2 regulator. Is there a better one for this particular unit? Or will the Aqualine unit work? Do I need a solenoid?

Right now all I have is the reactor and media (thanks premium). I just got rid of my old co2 bottle & reg to another local reefer in need.

Recos? Thanks.

[smellfishy]

For everyone using a peristaltic pump are you using silicon tube or something else?

[MSHUR]

silicon tube

[plankton]

What effluent/pH are folks getting now and what about tank pH?

Here's mine and wondering if I'm in the ballpark.

Tank pH went from 8.2-8.4 down to 8.0-8.2 after running reactor a couple of weeks now.

Reactor is running 80 ml/min effluent, with 60 BPM CO2 for 12 hours a day. Effluent pH is 6.8.

Tank alk is running 4.3 meq/l with Calcium of 420. I'm using Oceanic salt now. Haven't lowered pH of reactor because my Alk is high (4.3) and tank pH dropped to 8.0-8.2 (night/day).

Scott

[Mickey]

Scott: Are you running this on your 210G reef? Just wondering because I'm still struggling with getting it adjusted properly.

I have found that air builds up in the air recirculation chamber if the effluent rate is too low or the outlet is too much below the level of the top of the reactor. Right now my effluent rate is about 150 ml/min which is a lot higher than suggested. But if I lower it then the air builds up again. I have also tried raising and lowering the outlet to different heights -- too high or too low and the air builds up again.

I'm hoping to run it for only 12 hours a day because my tank (250 total Gals) doesn't have too many calcium users, but I wanted everything balanced first.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Mickey

[malegolf]

There's an arrow on the little valve for the inlet feeding water to the reactor, which way should it be turned, pointing the direction of the water flow or how? I'm not getting any water to come into the reactor from my sump..... Thanks for you help.

[plankton]

Mickey - Yup, on the 210G. If the flow is much below 50 ml/min and the CO2 isn't perfect then gas tends to accumulate in the mixing chamber. I'm running about 80 ml/min and 1 BPM CO2 for 12 hours a day. Effluent pH is now about 6.7 during day.

A peristaltic or nice variable servo like Cole Palmer would be nice since you could more accurately control the water flow through the reactor, but it is yet another pump to add to your tank.

Scott

[Mickey]

New question for all you Schuran users out there.

I am now almost through my second 5 lb. CO2 container. the first one only lasted a week or so and it turns out I had a loose fitting I didn't notice.

The second one has been going a month or so and almost 24 hours a day while I try to get this thing adjusted and the pressure now reads 0 so the bottle is almost empty.

How long are you finding the CO2 lasts and how big a CO2 bottle are you using?

I know I am using more than usual, because of the 24 hours a day thing and because I need a bubble rate of 120-150 to keep the PH down. My effluent rate is higher than recommended but it is the only way I've been able to keep the gas from building up. It's around 150 ml and very stable. The outlet is now about 1 inch or so above the top of the unit and no gas build up.

Once things are all adjusted I plan to only run it during the day. PH on the tank is still okay.

Mickey

[Mickey]

Originally posted by malegolf
There's an arrow on the little valve for the inlet feeding water to the reactor, which way should it be turned, pointing the direction of the water flow or how? I'm not getting any water to come into the reactor from my sump..... Thanks for you help.

If the arrow is pointing to the tubing then all the flow is going into the reactor. If it is pointing at 90 degrees to the tubing then NO water is going to the reactor. You need to be somewhere in between.

I actually have mine all the way open and I control the flow with a Jaco ball valve fitting where the water comes off my main pump.

Hope that helps.
Mickey

[malegolf]

Thanks, Mickey, actually I didn't have a good seal on the pH checker therefore, the pump wouldn't pump water, system was open..... Thanks a lot.......

[ldrhawke]

I have a Korallin 1502, and was considering replacing it with a Schuran, but did a small mod to improve it's performance and I'm happy now. I haven't read the full thread so my comments may have already been made. I have a Korallin 1502 which I have set up and repiped to work very similar to the way the Schuran works, recycling the accumulated CO2. In fact I have even gone over to the Schuran coarse media. CO2 bubbles continuously move through the media now.

It only required a minor change in the tubing connections and the addition of a needle valve to replace the 1/4 turn valve that comes with the Korallin. The 1/4 turn valve I replaced was the one used to vent the top of the reactor from build up of excess gas. It is too coarse of a control valve and difficult to meter with. I placed a T into the inlet line and hooked the vent line, with the needle valve, back into the pump feed line. If you don't have a needle valve in this line it is difficult to control the volume of gas pulled off the top of the reactor.

If your pull too much gas off the top the pump will lose prime. By being able to accurately throttling back on the amount of gas being pulled off the top, the pump continues to pump the gas bubble through the reactor and doesn't loose prime. It takes a little tweaking to get the amount of gas being recirculated right, but once it is set right, it will continue to pull the gas that accumulates without loosing prime. It now operates similar to the Schuran and uses all the accumulated CO2.

I still periodically, every couple of weeks, need to vent build up of some air bubbles in the top of the reactor because the CO2 is not 100% pure CO2.

I also added a pH controller to turn the CO2 off/on between pH 6.2 and 6.4. The amount of CO2 I use has at least been cut in half and the pH is maintained accurately.

[plankton]

Noticed that the JS2 comes with a pH probe adaptor (that hooks to the full union valve off the Eheim pump), but the JS1 doesn't.

Does anyone know where I can purchase one of those pH probe adaptors?

TIA

Scott

[RedEyeReef]

ldrhawke,
What is the PH of your effluence?

[jimmy n]

For those reading with interest, you really have to pump up the output to get the c02 to dissolve. Otherwise it's not getting mixed in. I run mine 5 hours a day and had to cut back to keep my dkh at 10.

Jim

[malegolf]

I'm running mine about 13 hours a day, CO2 is 120 to 130 b/m. I too am almost out of CO2 after a couple weeks, what am I doing wrong????? I thought i should get at least 6 months or more from some of the previous post????

Thanks for your help.....

[LunarCubes]

Im having trouble locating the variable speed peristaltic pump. I was wondering if I could get something like this (click) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46312&item=4366940309&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW) and then use a pinch valve to reduce the flow? Would that just cause the same problems Im having now with flow dropping off? Thanks...

[MSHUR]

lunar,
dont get this pump..this pumop is useless..
u need better ,stronger pump...like master/flex pumps..

mike

[woowoodengy]

hey guys still waiting on my sj1 they sat it should be in about 1-2 weeks cant wait i already have the peri pump
thanks ewan

[dgasmd]

OK, so I have a very large custom GEO Ca reactor that I wanted to use with the schuran media. After reading this entire thread I came to the conclusion that with the schuran reactor and media you bien a ton of CO2 to get the pH so low to be able to dissolve the media. That sounds pretyt wastefull to me, but if one is going to get 0 PO4 coming out, tat may be worth it in my book.

I filled my reactor with 20 bags of the schuran media (yes, 20 was no typo).
http://www.kpdg.com/alberto/750g%20tank/equipment%20re-arrangement/07.jpg

I ran the effluent at a constant stream and started the bubbles to make the effluent below 6.5. I was very amazed at how much CO2 it took to make that thing come at a pH of 6.35-6.4. So much CO2 infact that even dosing about 10-12gpd of kalk my tank's pH was no more than 8.05. That is unheard of for me ever. I must have had a leak somewhere in the CO2 tank because it ran out of CO2 in about 4-5 days. The bottom line of what I am trying to say is that seems like it will be very hard to use this media even with a schuran reactor.

Any suggestions???

[Ewan]

Running the effluent at a constant stream would require a lot of CO2. Cut the effluent back a LOT to say 30mL/min, and set your bubble-rate there also. (30 and 30) Retest the following day. Don't let the media psych you out. :D You don't need to run it as low as you think. As a matter of fact, I'd concentrate on testing your effluent alk. You should aim for roughly 3x your desired tank alk. I rarely test the pH in my reactor.

I run 10 bubbles/min in my reactor right now, after adding low-flow pump. I had some issues in the beginning where I ran 100bubbles/min for short 15 min bursts throughout the day. The only reason I did this is because I needed to maintain a high effluent rate (to maintain stability in my effluent drip... it was erratic at anything under 50ml/min)

Dial that thing WAYY back, and work your way up. Try not to focus on the pH in the reactor. As long as it's <6.8, the media is going to break down. Once it's breaking down, you can go one of 2 routes:

-- Add lots of higher-pH effluent . (ie: higher effluent flow, effluent pH is still relatively high)

-- Add small amounts of very-low effluent (very slow effluent rate, low-pH effluent.)

All things being equal, you're getting the calcium and carbonates to your tank. Usually the second route (low-flow effluent) is difficult for people because of their effluent feed. The effluent line tends to get erratic with time, throwing the stability of a calcium reactor out the window.

I'm out for the weekend, but I'd like to hear how you make out with that reactor. Very nice setup, BTW.
-Rob

[dgasmd]

Rob:

I ahve about 950g of Ca hungry SPS. Very little stream from the effluent line will certainly not cut it. I will get the CO2 refilled today and try it out again. Funny you mentioned the measuring of the effluent as I did that looking for the high DKH some of you were reporting and found it had a DKH of about 30, which surprinsingly enough is what I was getting out of using crushed coral before. I will likely end up using the higher flow effluent with a bit of a higher pH, like maybe around 6.6 or so.

Thanks for the comments and the time.

[Ewan]

Originally posted by dgasmd
Rob:

I ahve about 950g of Ca hungry SPS. Very little stream from the effluent line will certainly not cut it.

!!! Whoa! No kidding. :eek:

Sorry for my over-simplifying the approach! You really do have a very big demand on your hands.

I'm afraid I have very little advice to offer with regards to such a large system. I'm on the very opposite end of the scale.

I do hope you get things working well.

regards,

Rob

[plankton]

Rob,

Just measured my reactor's effluent Ca/Alk and wanna see if it's consistant with what you've been seeing:

Tank: 210G
SG : 1.0.24
pH : 7.8 to 8.1 after adding JS1 (was 8.2 to 8.4 before that)
Ca : 450ppm
Alk : 9.6 (3.43)
Salt : makeup done with 50:50 mix of IO and Oceanic

Reactor: JS1
Effluent Flow= 80 ml /min
CO2 = 4 BPS for only 8 hrs per day
Alk = 18.0 (6.4)
Ca = 640 ppm
pH = 6.31

TIA

Scott

[Ewan]

Hi Scott.

I'm assuming 18.0 is dKH, and the number in parenthesis is meq/L...

Everything looks good, but I'm suprised at the alk from your effluent outflow. I would have expected it to be higher. From my initial setup with my reactor, I ran a very low pH in the reactor (6.3-ish) and had a very high effluent alk.

But looking at the performance diagram that comes with the schuran, (and interpolating slightly) it appears that you're right on target.

Regards,

Rob.

[woowoodengy]

hey guys how much media do you need to fill the sj1 pounds? kilos?

[Jeremy B.]

Right at about 6lbs or just under.

[plankton]

Rob,

Hmmm, I'll try reducing the flow a bit to see if that raises tha Alk (more time to react with media).

PS Also added a degassing chamber to the effluent to see if I can safely raise the pH before it enters the tank without precipitating calcium carbonate.

Scott

[Ewan]

is your system alk currently stable? If it is, there's no further need for adjustment.

Have any pics of your degassing chamber?

-Rob

[plankton]

Yeah, Alk has been stable but a bit low compared to others and when I ran my Korallin 1502 with ARM (which I'm told is softer and dissolves easier).

Here is pic of degasser I made last night. It is a modified hangon airstone-driven skimmer. I capped the bottom to seal it, effluent from skimmer comes in via 1/2" clear drain hose and air from air pump drives airstone via blue hose. My JS1 runs about 6.3 pH right now and the effluent after degassing is above 7.0 Will check again today, but it's only been running for 12 hours. No precipitation yet.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/517/410Degasser-med.jpg

Scott

[plankton]

Rob,

I used the values from my post above and computed my results based on the diagram Schuran publishes for the JS1:

http://www.schuran.com/seawater/diagramm_e.html

And, my results are under. Here are the values from each of the 4 dimensions:

1) CO2 bubbles (BPM) = 80
2) Upgraded KH level = Rx (18.0) - Tank (9.6) = 8.4 dKH
3) Outflow = 80 ml/min or 4.8 L/H (which is needed for #4)
4) # of 1 KH upgraded liters (outflow * uplifted KH) [HL/H]
= 4.8 L/H * 8.4 dKH
= 40.32 HL/H

According to the performance diagram, I should be getting this value with less flow and less CO2. My upgraded KH is low at 8.4 and should be twice that.

PS Does it matter than I only inject CO2 for 6 hours per 24 hour cycle?

Scott

[woowoodengy]

hey rob
just ordered a FREE sample of some tubing that cole parmer said will be ok they are sending 2 sizes thats how i got a FREE sample i told them i did not know the rpm of the pump witch i didnt until i read the instructions they are sending a foot of each i will let you know how it turns out btw what size is your tubing

i should get my sj1 this week they just called me and told me it was in i cant wait do you guys still recomend this reactor over the rest befor i order it

[woowoodengy]

btw thanks jeremy so 3 kilos will do it ?
i will probably order 5 for a refill

[Jeremy B.]

Yes, 3 kilos will take care of one fill on it.

[mattseattle]

just order it! :) i just ordered mine from premium aquatics. now i'm trying to find a peristaltic pump. i don't see any on e-bay right now. if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

[woowoodengy]

can anyone second that do you all love your shurans should i order mine

[malegolf]

I love mine and got my pump from Ebay, from Neomicro, in Cal. It's a remote control Cole Parmer, with an adjustable Masterflex head.

[mattseattle]

thanks! that helps!

[Versus]

Originally posted by mattseattle
just order it! :) i just ordered mine from premium aquatics. now i'm trying to find a peristaltic pump. i don't see any on e-bay right now. if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

cole parmer make good pumps , im going to bid on this for my PICO which i have no idea to setup .. but oh well :) all my corals RTN'd yesterday anyways so its not like im going to lose anything. Plus fish just love with the ph is so high their scales melt off.


the guy selling is neomicro he always has these , as malegolf stated he tends to be a good auctioner. bought a doser from him for kalk
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=78220&item=7506584302&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[mattseattle]

ah oh - we are bidding on the same item it looks like. :)

what do these usually go for?

[Versus]

haha i wont bid , cheap like 54 bucks .. no one knows about em or has use for em really ..

[mattseattle]

thanks, i appreciate that. i'm sure more will be posted soon.

so you just ordered the PICO? receive it yet? post some pictures of it.

I just ordered the Jetstream 1 today. I haven't received it yet though but by next Tuesday I should have it.

[woowoodengy]

they usually go for alot more than that good luck

[mattseattle]

did you order your Jetstream 1 yet?

[plankton]

mattseattle - you gonna put a JS1 on a 55 gallon reef tank?!?

Scott

[mattseattle]

yup - bought it so i won't have to upgrade my reactor when i get a larger tank.

[woowoodengy]

not yet i have till friday to order it i should have the money in the account tomorow i have been waiting so long that i spent the money elswere
now to convince the significant other( oh boy )
i hope that the sj1 is worth it

[mattseattle]

it will be.....

mine was shipped today from Premium Aquatics. I should have it Tuesday.

[woowoodengy]

cool

[woowoodengy]

ok guys i want to see pics of your shurans working lets go for it

[Versus]

Originally posted by woowoodengy
ok guys i want to see pics of your shurans working lets go for it

working? Oh that could be a problem heh. I need someone with a pico to help me.

[plankton]

woowoodengy - Dude, just go back to page 1 of this now 14 page thread. Shesh

mattseattle - I hear you investing for your future tank. You may have to really dial the JS1 back for your 55 gallon tank and either degass the effluent or add (if you haven't already) a kalkwasser reactor as the pH in your tank may go down quiet a bit. These reactors are often run at 6.3 or so and not 6.8 as you would with softer product like ARM.

Good luck.

Scott

[mattseattle]

thanks Scott for the information.

[malegolf]

Here's mine, I love it, works great......

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/malegolf/150%20Gallon%20Acrylic/Jetstream1.jpg

[Fliger]

I'm getting the Reef Fanatic regulator for mine. They have a package with a 5G or 10G CO2 tank, which size would you all recommend?

[malegolf]

Here's my pump.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/malegolf/PumpII.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/malegolf/Pump.jpg

[mattseattle]

hmmmmm - thanks for the picts of the pump. that helps me out in deciding what i need.

[woowoodengy]

MALEGOLF thats great looks awsome i already have my pump so i just got to get the sj1
btw is the sj1 too much for a 90gal i will be upgrading in the future also
will it be hard to tune it on a 90

PLANKTON i wanted to see more pics already setup with all the hoses and ph meters and everything.

also is a 5lb tank enouth for a 90 gal i get them cheep over at a store i know i think its $55 brand new aluminum but i already have 2 20lb tanks that i can use but dont want to they are to big
will a 5lb last for at least 1 month on a 90 gal ligtly loaded (for now) i am hopeing for 2-3 months would love the imput befor i get the 5lb and waist money

[mattseattle]

a 5lb tank will last a lot longer than a month. my last refill on my 5lb tank lasted almost a year.

and the SJ1 will be rather easy to tune to your 90. my 55 is going to be a little more rough but can be doable with a timer and a solenoid on your co2 controller.

is the SJ1 your first calcium reactor?

[malegolf]

No, you can adjust the output to whatever your needs are with the pump. I have a 5 lb tank, it works good for me..........

[woowoodengy]

thanks guys always a help i got the money for my sj1
i will order it tomorrow

jeremy i will call tomorrow in the early afternoon to order it you have one on hold for me my name is ARON P.
i did not notice you where from pa with that big avatar and your pa.com under every post i must be blind thanks for your help

[woowoodengy]

btw where can i get a good regulator with a solenoid and a needle valve

[woowoodengy]

also how can i become a milionare lol

[mattseattle]

do a search on regulators. tons of threads on the various brands and their reliability.

I usually order from either Premium Aquatics or Custom Aquatics.

[reefah]

I see the consensus is using a peristaltic pump to feed this reactor, but how about if I were to use one on my 225g reef? Can I just use a maxi-jet to feed the reactor and get steady effluent rates?

[Versus]

Originally posted by mattseattle
thanks, i appreciate that. i'm sure more will be posted soon.

so you just ordered the PICO? receive it yet? post some pictures of it.

I just ordered the Jetstream 1 today. I haven't received it yet though but by next Tuesday I should have it.

I will post pictures once i have it up and running ( setting up my 120g as we speak , alough still deciding on what pump to use for the return .. not using a chiller so going for low heat and low price :) )


I have had my pico for several weeks now , luckily i live by aquatic eco systems and they have "garage sales" to get rid of inventory they cant personally rma . the good thing is the place is more of a pond / green house / irragation place so when they have their garage sales things get misslabeled and under priced .. an example is I got my brand new pico , minus the 18 dollar MJ 1200 , for 50 bucks heh.

alough i assume once my frags start to grow and become larger i would go through media to fast and will eventually have to buy a jetstream 1 . ( all of my current frags decided to RTN on me , guess its the reef gods way of getting back at me for buying a mislabeled "Fluidized bed filter" for 50 bucks. )


-b

[woowoodengy]

mattseatle i pm'ed you

[mattseattle]

thanks - i responded with interest.

[woowoodengy]

matt pm'ed you again let me know if you got the email address

[mattseattle]

i did *high five* thanks again for the help and info.

[woowoodengy]

cool matt
i have had my pump for over a month waiting on the sj1 soon soon soon
glad to help

[malegolf]

reefha, the only problem is how you you adjust the flow???? I adjust mine to the needs of the tank, like 30 ml/m to 50 ml/m, I don't know if you could speed up or slow down the rate on a maxijet???????

[reefah]

Originally posted by malegolf
reefha, the only problem is how you you adjust the flow???? I adjust mine to the needs of the tank, like 30 ml/m to 50 ml/m, I don't know if you could speed up or slow down the rate on a maxijet???????


Wait, so on this reactor, the feed rate is equal to the effluent rate? If that's the case, I was going to probably use a ball valve on the input side, running a high effluent rate of maybe around 75+ ml/min, with an equally high bpm rate, 24/7. What do you think?

[malegolf]

You just have to set it up and see what your readings are, my bubble rate is down to 30 b/m, my pH is at 6.6 at the reactor. I'm dosing pickleing lime to bring up the pH in the tank right now, it's 7.9 to 8.2. With a 225g you may run it 24/7, my CO2, shuts off at night for 9 hours. Sunday when I tested I was at 450, I will test again this Sunday.

[plankton]

"high effluent rate of maybe around 75+ ml/min, with an equally high bpm rate, 24/7. What do you think?"

- Reefah : You can start with that, test your effluent pH then go from there. Effluent pH should be less than 6.5 to dissolve the larger shruan media. You may also decide to only run the CO2 for 12 out of 24 hours if your tank pH swing drops. e.g. 8.2-8.4 down to 8.0 to 8.2 (or less). You'll also want to pay attention to your tank Alk/Ca just to make sure you are keeping up and not overdosing Ca, etc.

Good luck with the 225. I'm very happy with my 210G.

Scott

[woowoodengy]

matt pm'ed ya

[woowoodengy]

just ordered my sj1 and i cant wait it should be here tuesday its only 1 day to ship to me i am close got my media from aquatic eco sys probably wont get it till wed or thurs oh well the wait continues
now to go get the 5lb tank its local
and to try and rig my reg
i belive pa got more for anybody that is interested
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SCH-JET1&Category_Code=creactor

[swiftwing7]

Would this unit be too much for a 120 gallon mixed reef? Should I use the Pico? thanks

[malegolf]

Nope you can adjust it to your needs....... This unit ROCKS..... Get one......

[Fliger]

Well, one of my favorite premium online vendors now carries some Grotech peri pumps. Does anyone think these would work? See any problems with it? Cheaper than Cole Palmer and can buy it new. Does 1800ml/day.

Grotech line ...

http://www.finsreef.com/home.php?cat=277

This is the one I was thinking ...

http://www.finsreef.com/product.php?productid=16258&cat=277&page=1

Will it work? I was thinking of holding out for the LM3 but can't wait that long.

[woowoodengy]

dude that pump is way too slow it pumps 1800 ml a day that means it pumps 75ml hour and 1.25 ml min you need to pump from 30 to 150 ml a minute for this reactor from what i have heard i get mine tomorrow. but seems good to dose kalk

[mattseattle]

yeah, i think the grotech is a quite slow for the SJ1. The price isn't cheap either. I paid alot less for my peristaltic pump.

[Fliger]

I need to re-read this entire thread. I don't understand the whole peri pump thing and why you need such a tremendous amount of volume. I'm a little slow. ;-)

[mattseattle]

it's a lot of reading but well worth it.

the SJ1 just needs quite a bit of flow in order to recycle the CO2 properly. I think that is what I picked up from reading the thread.

[plankton]

Fliger,

You don't need a 'tremendous amount of volume', just enough to feed your corals calcium and other minerals as well as keep the JS1 from not trapping air. If you run less than 50 ml/min the JS1 tends to trap air in the mixing chamber in the bottom and air/gas chamber in the top. I run about 80 ml/min and after the CO2 shuts off at night there is NO remaining gas in either chamber.

Scott

[tanksalot]

I'm also confused. Why input such a high volume of calcium reactor effluent into a system? Is this what's necessary to meet the demand in some tanks, or is it some characteristic of this particular reactor? Won't the high volume of low pH liquid adversely affect the pH of the entire system?

tanksalot
Stan F.

[mattseattle]

i guess i don't see 50 ml as a lot as i'm currently putting 45 ml in my 55 gallon tank without any adverse ph problems. i do de-gas the effluent via a bubbler though. i run the reactor 24 hours a day and my pH at night is 8.08 and the day it's at 8.30

[plankton]

One of the reasons for buying a JS1 is to feed your mineral hungry tank. I have a 210G reef tank with lots of SPS and about 7 clams and so the calcium/alk demand is very high. But, you are also correct that dumping a bunch of acid will lower the overall pH unless you degas the effluent, add kalkwasser or take some other measure to rid or neutralize the CO2.

Separately, JS1 tend to collect gas as mentioned above if the effluent is much less than 50 ml/min.

Scott

[Fliger]

OK, I think I got it.

But ... my 340 is basically empty. I do not have a lot of SPS and only 3 clams. What I want for now is to keep my levels constant. So ..... until I get loaded up, can I run a basic powerhead instead of a peri pump?

I've never used a ca reactor before but this has been sitting dry for 3 months now.

Any advice as to how to set up with a PH (or if this is a stupid idea) would be great.

[plankton]

Fliger - for an empty tank you could just do small water changes like 5% every 2 weeks or so and that would keep things in check and/or just add kalkwasser to your RO/DI makeup water.

WRT a calcium reactor you can use a power head or just plumb into your main pump (see pictures in prior pages). The only issue with non peri solutions is a flow rate that varies over time. Not a real big deal, but you should be aware that the internal reactor pH may very with the varied flow.

Scott

[Fliger]

OK, thanks much plankton. I do have an AQ2 so I can monitor the PH.

I shouldn't have said empty - it's very full and established. Just empty of SPS. Surprisingly, the clams and stonies take a good amount of calcium.

[woowoodengy]

hey guys just got my shuran jetstream one today and am very pleased with it .

waiting on the media

[mattseattle]

i received mine today as well. i love it...the only negative was all those damn peanuts it was packed in. it took me 10 minutes to get them all off the acrylic.

i'm soaking my media now.... :)

[woowoodengy]

hey matt my media will be here thursday 4/14/15

[smellfishy]

I got my jetstream yesterday and my Watson Marlow peristaltic pump a few weeks ago and also a Neptune Aquacontroller II to help keep things in check. Just waiting for tubing for my pump and a day or so to set everything up. Who said this hobby wouldn't be to expensive to get into?

[woowoodengy]

the lfs smellfishy ha ha ha

[aquajon]

maybe i missed something in the thread,,, but what is the peristaltic pump used for?

[mattseattle]

to draw water through the calcium reactor in a very metered and precise fashion.

[aquajon]

is it necessary though?? i just bought the js1,, and it is sitting at my house,,, unfortunatially i am away for work this week and can not get even get a chance to look at it

[mattseattle]

necessary no - you can run the sj1 in several ways.

i went with the peri. pump just because i wanted easy adjustments that are precise and stable.

[woowoodengy]

ok i set the js1 up last night i set it up with a ph controller for ease of use.
i have a 90 gal not heavy loaded with sps (yet).

i had to turn the bubble count up and sloe the flow to get the ph down to 6.4 - 6.5

i tested befor setup
alk 8.0 dkh (2.86 meq/l)
calcium 300

and 18 hours later
alk 9.0 dkh (3.20 meq/l)
awsom

running co2=90 bubles min
flow rate =40 ml min
ph controller set to 6.4 (is this ok for ph)
i do have bubbles but i am not worried from what i read.
i also had alot of gas biuld up on top solved the problem by putting the output 6" above reactor.

what is the optimal ph to run this thing at?

i may be nieve as this is mt first reactor but i have a question? if you use a ph controller bubble count is not as important is it? you just set it up to lower the ph to desiered level so even if you raise the co2 rate it will turn off when proper rate is achieved is this correct or am i missing something?

btw i would recomend the shuran to anybody this thing kicks butt.

[mattseattle]

so did you put the peri. pump to pull water through it or feed water into it? i have my peri. pump right now hooked up to the output and pulling water through it. i had a little bit of gas build up last night as well. i bleeded it this morning.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I have had mine set up for a week and have a few questions myself I fixed the bubble problem by raising the outlet about 5 inches above the reactor . I just checked the calcium output of my jetstream one and its about 350 how do i go about raising it to about 450 ? more co2 ( I two am using a ph controller set at a high of 6.5 ) or slower water feed to the system ?

The second problem I am having now is that the PH in my tank has dropped to about 7.8 but the KH is at a high of 16 my fault for adding buffer to try and get the PH up .

Magnesium is low to in the tank its at 1140 thats down from two days ago with nothing added except the buffer 9 teaspoons for my 135 gallon tank a a kalkwasser drip with 4 teaspoons in a 2 gallon drip .( two days ago the magnesium was at 1230)

calcium is at a low of 350 in the tank also .

any suggestions?

Thanks

[mattseattle]

the way i solved the pH swings was to de-gas the effluent. i got an old glass vase i had that was about a foot or so tall. i put a wooden airstone with an airpump in it. i then drip the effluent into that. my ph has been stable at 8.11 at night and 8.30 during the day.

i'd just do a large water change and get your parameters back in line. that is the easiest way to get magnesium, alk and calc back in line.

as long as your reactor is keeping up with your tank needs you don't need to worry about the calicum output of your reactor. i've been running mine at about 6.5 - 6.6 and it's keeping up easily with my high SPS needs.

[woowoodengy]

well well well,
who ever said that a calcium reactor was to maintain calcium only and not to raise it did not own a shuran my alk has been rising daily and the calcium went from
300 to 370 to 390 my goal is to get it to 450 even and to maintain it there.

what is a good alk to keep the tank at?????????????

i feel like a mad scientist with a co2 tank, reactor, ph controller,and this cole parmer peri pump (anybody need a blood transfusion lol:lol: )

[mattseattle]

well i'd try to keep your calcium around 410 - 420 and an alk of 3.0 - 3.2 and your magnesium around 1250.

remember that a calcium reactor is balanced so once you reach 420 or so the alk should be in balance. that is if your tank was in balance previous to adding the calcium reactor. if not you should try to get it all in balance and once it is the calcium reactor will keep it there.

also 420 / 3.2 is for a salinity of around 1.025 / 1.026 - if you keep your salinity lower then you should adjust your alk/calc downwards to match the salinity.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

i GOT SOME GREAT PICTURES FROM THE JETSTREAM MANUFACTOR JUST CAN,T SEEM TOPOST THEM IN ANYBODY IS INTERESTED OR CAN POST THEM ON HERE I WOULD BE GLAD TO SEND THEM TO YOU ( DARKSILENTTYPE@AOL.COM ) JUST EMAIL ME

[woowoodengy]

ok guys i just learned to post pics (yeah i am a slow learner) but here it goes :D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/737aa420.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/f77ced92.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/1f46a8b8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/5df6e261.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/819a658a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/43faf165.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/b8e492ed.jpg


HOPE THIS WORKS?

[woowoodengy]

good it worked the setup is temporary it will get mounted out of the way when i figure it out all the way

check out the pics on the previous page

[woowoodengy]

hey guys chime in if you can what ph do you keep the js1 at
i keep it at 6.4 but am thinking at raising it
matt keeps it at 6.8 and tells me its working fine
anybody else?????

[mattseattle]

reason behind me keeping mine at 6.8 is i'm not driving the reactor very hard. i'm doing a higher effluent rate and a higher pH versus a lower effluent rate and a lower pH. 6.8 is slowly dissolving the media in a way that is keeping my alk and calc stable where i want it. no reason to waste the CO2 if you don't need to! :) whatever works for your tank is my motto.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

OK just checked my tank and my calcium level is going down my KH is also going down from 15 to 13 today calcium down about 50 but I added kalkwasser so I would think that it should be up mag down to 1170 from 1230 any thoughts

[mattseattle]

yeah, crank up the reactor....

[mattseattle]

or else do a large water change to get things back in alignment. that's usually easier than trying to add additives for everything.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Well I'm running the reactor at 90 bubbles a min and a out put of 67ml a minute I'm getting ready to do a water change right now if I open up the co2 more I end up with a air pocket in the top of the reactor them the outlet flow is very slow until I bleed it off ph in the reactor is 63.6 how do I open it up without more air collecting inside the reactor ?

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

PH is 6.3 sorry

[mattseattle]

i'd run more than 67ml a minute if it's not keeping up with your calc/alk demands. also just keep bumping up the CO2 to keep your pH around 6.3/6.4 - air pockets are ok as that is how it recycles the CO2.

just make sure that your effluent hose is higher than the top of the reactor and that will help with some of the air pockets.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I have my tube about 5 inches above . I am going to up the output to see if that helps I did a large water change hoping that helps as well going to check my settings tonight to see were I am .I don't have a lot in my tank so I'm not real sure where all the calcium is going as of yet I only have two small corals and one yellow tank and one anenomie and about 50 snails . Just starting to get the purple algea growth on some of the rocks .

I was wondering if the water coming out of the tank going into the sump should be exitting in to the sump at a lower level right now with the water the way it is its like having a extra skimmer when it hits the sump lots of bubbles at that point .

[woowoodengy]

hey guy i have been running the reactor since 4/15/05 and wow
calcium went from 300-440
alk from 8.0 - 10.6
i have been dialing it down every day not to go over it is now running at
45 bs
50 ml min
i also raised ph from 6.4 - 6.8

[aquajon]

what kind of overall ph are you ending up with in your tank?

[woowoodengy]

well i drain the output in the overflow and ph is actualy more stable it is at 8.1 in the morn and 8.3 in the eve.
befor the js1 it would be 7.9 in the morn and 8.2 in the eve go figure???????????

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Ok checked my tank calcium at 300 kh at 11 and mag is at 1050 I'm starting to think that something is not working right how long before I should be able to see a change in the coral sand in the reactor it still looks the same to me I have been running mine for 2 weeks now and all my stuff is going down not up .
I think I'm going to let it run for two days without adding anything and see were the tank is at .

P.S I did a large water change last night and it didn't change anything much salt at 1.022 PH at 7.81 I moved to temp up to 77.9 tonight some of the corals seem to like it better .

[mattseattle]

wow - low salinity? 1.022? why are you running it so low? that may be one reason your mag and all is low. if you are running your salinity at 1.022 then your alk and magnesium and all are going to be at those salinity levels. if you bump it up to 1.025 or so then it will be higher.

test the alk of your cal. reactor effluent and see what it is.

it's going to be a long time before you see a difference in the media in your reactor. it's such large media that it's going to take some time for you to see the wear on it.

[woowoodengy]

your ph is low you ned to degas it you can put the effluent line to drain in the overflow or do this


THIS IDEA AND PICTURE IS FROM PLANKTON ON PAGE 13 I DO NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR OTHERS.
ALSO MATT DOES THIS WITH A GLASS VASE I JUST DO IT IN THE OVERFLOW AND IT WORKS FOR ME

Here is pic of degasser I made last night. It is a modified hangon airstone-driven skimmer. I capped the bottom to seal it, effluent from skimmer comes in via 1/2" clear drain hose and air from air pump drives airstone via blue hose. My JS1 runs about 6.3 pH right now and the effluent after degassing is above 7.0 Will check again today, but it's only been running for 12 hours. No precipitation yet.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/517/410Degasser-med.jpg

test your cal, alk, and ph of the effluent and how much bubbles per min are you running? how much flow ml min? and what is your ph?

POST EDITED TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE THANKS PLANKTON

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I am degasing already have been for about 3 days now I will bring my salt up today and see were I.m at the last time I checked the outlet fluid of the reactor the calciun was coming out the same as it went in around 300 . Is here supposed to be a air pocket at the bottom of the reactor?

[woowoodengy]

thye air pocket is normal look at my pic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/43faf165.jpg

the calcium should be alot higher from the eff. you should start by raisin sg and then fiddle with the reactor.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

SG ? I was looking at my meter for salt and it show a safew range of 1.022 to 1.024 is this wrong can I really go up to 1.026 ?

[mattseattle]

if you have a reef tank with sps and such then you should probably go up to 1.025. 1.022 - 1.024 is for a fish only tank.

i run my tank at 1.0255

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Thats good to know thanks . So tell me how do I turn the reactor up to put out more calcium ? more co2?

[mattseattle]

more CO2 and possibly a lower effluent rate or else a higher effluent rate and an even higher co2 rate.

[tomviolence]

had mine for 3 years now and LOVE it. Good choice

[jacas34]

woowoodenegy nice pictures of your setup, I have the identical thing waiting to be setup. Are you pushing water through the js1 or pulling it out? Hard to tell from the pictures. If you are pushing it through, I think Ewan quoted from his manual that the manufacturer recommends against this. I actually think he did this and had leaks because it was designed for the negative pressure thatwould be made by a peristatic pump pulling the water out of the js1. Just wondering because this is my first CO2 reactor too and wondered what was happening with it setup that way

[mattseattle]

i also have the same identical setup as woowoodenegy. my manual says that the outgoing effluent hose should not be restricted and that the only restriction should be on the incoming feed line. i had my peri. pump hooked to the effluent hose and pulling water through my reactor but i was having issues of the gas/water level dropping in the top chamber even though i had the hose 6" above the top. also pulling water through it it's impossible (at least for me) to get the level of the water all the way to the top of the reactor. i would have to remove one hose and suck on it to get all the air out. with the peri. pump hooked to the feed line this has stopped all those issues.

i have had my peri. pump hooked to the feed line for a week or so now and no issues. i think this is the ideal way to run it - at least in my experiences.

I haven't seen Ewan post in quite a while and I actually emailed him a few times without response. I was curious to why he was pulling water through the reactor and not pushing it through with the peri. pump because my manual says the opposite of what he posted.

[jacas34]

good to know. I didn't get a manual with my js1 and the one that premium emailed me was just a picture. I am assuming the first "batch" had a manual that was pretty detailed. Since I am just cycling my tank I have a while before I even hook it up so I will follow to see if he does post. Strange about the manuals, too. Thanks for the info. Jesse

[woowoodengy]

hey jesse
i started out pushing the water through and had to raise the output 6" above the reactor to avoid gas biuld up and never had a problem since. so far its working great i have been bringing home acros and other sps now that i can keep the cal and alk stable.
( my excuse to get corals is that i need stuff to eat all the calcium lol)

my expirience so far is

1. this reactor is eisier than i though to setup.
2. you CAN raise calcium & alk with this reactor.
3. it helps to have a peri pump (alot)
4. YOU WILL HAVE BUBBLES but its normal just co2 getting recycled.
5. you should de-gas the effluent somehow
6. you should run the effluent hose 6" above the reactor.
(let it drain 6" above dont put the hose up and then back down)
7. you dont need a co2 contoller but it helps.
8. you will have almost 1" of air (gas) in the bottem.
9. you should run the ph 6.8 or lower (depending on your needs)
10. you should push the water through not pull but do not restrict the output.
11. YOU SHOULD GET ONE IF YOU NEED A NEW CALCIUM REACTOR!

this is my expirience and it works for me i only had it running 6 days but i have tested different things. some people may have different results and we hope you share them with us .

this is my first reactor and reading this post made me a little uneasy with the js1.
dont be scared its pretty easy to setup and we will all help.
i think that people had other reactors and this is so different from all the rest they where use to the old design but its different to setup. With the bubbles in the reactor and other stuff...
i know i didnt cover it all but its somewere to start. hope this helps someone

aron :rollface: :spin1: :lolspin: :thumbsup:

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Great post I have one more question I have my inlet water to reactor all the way open and my Co2 set so that I have a PH of 6.45 this should be max setting for this reactor to produce max calcium output correct? I'm going to check balances tonight to see were I'm at .

[mattseattle]

what size tank do you have?

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

135 gallon with about half live rock and two sumps first a mud sump them through the skimmer into the second sump then through the heater/chiller back into the second sump through the carbon bag back up to the tank .

[mattseattle]

and what about livestock? is it heavily loaded?

on an aquarium that size i'd set the SJ1 to about 60 ml a minute and keep the pH at about 6.2 / 6.3. That may take quite a bit of CO2 though.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I'm not worried about the co2 cost I have that covered just want the max amount of calcium out of the reactor so I can go down from there .I have two clown fish very small one anenome two small corals soft and one polip coral small . one yellow tank

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Couldn't I just adjust the co2 till the ph was around 6.3 but still keep the wide open inlet ? or will less water in make more calcium out

[mattseattle]

it doesn't sound like you have anything in your tank that would require a calcium reactor. i don't see any sps or anything listed on your tank. why are you using a reactor? if you don't have any sps or anything then i wouldn't even bother as you don't need the calcium / alkalinity.

[mattseattle]

you could keep adding co2 but that isn't the most efficient way to use a calcium reactor.

[woowoodengy]

hey matt whats up,

i agree whith matt you dont have anything in your tank requiring calcium.
if the reactor is running and keeps everything stable that means you are running the reactor to your setup i would just add calcium with some sort of calcium till you get it to where you want to be and leave it alone. if you want to raise it with the reactor
i would run the reactor at a ph of 6.3ph and high bubble count and a effluent over 50 as long as you can keep the ph below 6.3 let it run a day or two and see if you cal goes up.
if it does not raise effluent and co2 and keep your ph below 6.3

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I know you would think I would be able to keep a good calcium leave without a reactor but I can't and I'm going to add more corals and want to get the corline algea to grow but first need to get my leaves to a satisfactory leave .Can you think of anything that would keep my levels down .I asked my local salt water fish store if they could think of anything that would keep levels so low and they said add calcium advanced and buffer with a kalkwasser at night . I finally was adding way to much chemicals to the tank and still couldn't keep a good level .

A little history about what I have tried started low on the chemicals ended up at a piont that I was adding 20 teaspoons of calcium advanced 20 teaspoons buffer and 4 teaspoons of kalkwasser daily to keep my levels at a level of 420 calcium and 13 kh became a problem with time and mixing and checking everyday to still not having the levels I need to add what I am wanting to add .Talked to my local fish store they said you can't be adding that amount of chemicals to keep your tank up . So I did a large water change ordered the best reactor I could find and started over and this is were I am at now . Still trying to keep my levels up .

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I have a R.o unit that fills a 55 gallon plastic container and had my water check both RO and Tank water for metels and no metels detected so its not a metal in the water problem . But they did tell me that I have zero ammoina and zero nitrates and that isn't normal . ( water sent out to a water treatment facility to be checked )

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I'm just trying to have a great looking tank that I can relax infront of and chill .But its been a problem for me for long time now .

[mattseattle]

and what test kits are you using to test your alk and calc?

if you don't have sps then it's either coralline or halimedia or another calcium based algae using up your algae. i had halimedia in my tank for a while and it was using a lot of calcium. i finally ripped it all out and that solved my issues.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

OK check it out heres what I have

1. 135 gallon fish tank
2. 2 super actinic blue lights fr27t12/vho
3. 1 artinic white
4. 1 50/50 artinic white
5. 2 ice cap model 660/009 250v ballasts
6. teco heater chiller
7. etss super skimmer
8. jts 1 reactor
9.test kits many marine aquariums calcium test , salifert magnessium test , no2 , no3
10 . pinpiont ph in tank
11 pinpiont ph controller hooked to jts1
12.2 sumps first a mud sump ,second regular
STOCK

1. large yellow tang
2. rose anemone
3.2 percula clown fih
4. 2 engineer goby
5. red tree octo
6. metallic green star polyps
7.pulsing xenia
8.green brittle star large
9.2 queen conch small
10. 1 small cucumber
11. 10 trochus snails
12. 50 astrea snails

SUMP

1. 3 mangrove sprouts
2 green algae plants

and that is everything I have

[mattseattle]

i don't know - could be a bad test kit - verify it with someone else if you haven't done so and if you have i am totally out of ideas. maybe you should post it in the chemistry forum and ask the experts.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Its cool I went to the forum and it seems that I am not the only one having this issue . But today my mag is 1500 my KH is 13 and my calcium is 300 so I;m going to add kalkwasser today to bring calcium up to 450 and see if it stays there thanks for all the help

[sean_nj]

You need to add a lot kalkwasser to bring Calcium from 300ppm to 450ppm, which will definitely raise the PH. It's better to add some Calcium Buffer or make your own Calcium buffer from Calcium Chloride or some cheap deicer.

And I just wonder why you need JS1 for you tank? You do not have any SPS in your tank. The calcium level should not change a bit in your tank even without the JS1.

You may check the PH of your tank. If the PH is too high, the Calcium will precipitate out no matter how much you add. But your Mg is high enough, which suggests that the PH is not out of the range.

If you do not raise SPS and still want high Calcium, you should try Oceanic Salt. The calcium of newly mixed salt water is at least 480ppm, sometimes as high as 560ppm. You can use half the salt you currently use and half Oceanic to do the water change. You do not need JS1 at all.

Sean

[Mickey]

DarkSilentType -

I suggest you read some of the articles the Randy Holmes-Farley has written(sticky in the chemistry forum). Sounds like your levels are way out of whack. If you add enough Kalk to bring your Calcium up, you will further through things out of balance because your alk is already at the high end of the range. Kalk will increase both - that's why it in excellent way to replenish Ca and Alk in a tank - it adds both in the right amounts. It should NEVER be used to raise levels, only to maintain levels.

I agree with an earlier post that adding some Calcium Choride will boost your Calcium without affecting your Alk.
then you should leave things be for a while and let the tank naturally come down to normal levels. The Alk, Calcium and Magnesium will all be used up in proportion and should get back to normal levels BEFORE you start using the reactor. These will only come down if you have some consumers in your tank. Otherwise, I suggest a series of water changes and check your levels. Keep doing water changes every couple of days until the levels get back to normal.

Once a tanks levels are out of whack, often through using additives without taking into consideration all of their results, it is harder to get things back in line, but imperative that you do so or it will only get worse.

Good luck.

Mickey

[Fliger]

Whoever it was that recommended Steve L. to get a peri pump from, THANK YOU!!!! I erased my PM's and don't remember. He came through and found me one. $135 shipped and it's in "like new" condition. Sounds like he came through for several reefers so I trust him, and he offered me a full refund if I'm not satisfied.

Reactor going up next week!!!

Regards,

David

[MSHUR]

david,
i got peri pump from steve as well....he was recomended by ewan...
thankx to ewan..its a great pump...
this pump solved all my problems, bubls,flow....i am gladlly thankx to ewan:)))
u will be very please with this pump,
good lucl!!!


mike

[mattseattle]

hey Fliger - I think it was me that recommended him to you. I'm glad it worked out for you.

Ewan is missing in action. I've emailed him a few times and no response.

[subywankenobi]

Can someone please PM me Steve L.'s contact information? I have a PICO and am now in the market for a peri. If this guys has so many satisfied customers, I'd like to join the list!!

Thanks

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

MICKEY

Thanks for the info been doing water changes using red sea salt not real impressed with it so going to change to oceaniac salt for better calcium . The balances are back to a normal level calcium still a little low but I think thats the red sea salt it seems low before I even put the water in the tank . I'm going to start shopping for SPS next week .THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL The SUPPORT

[mattseattle]

unfortunately you are going to have similiar problems with Oceanic. I used to use it. The calcium is rather high in Oceanic and alkalinity is low. Also, magnesium is rather high for the salinity you mix it at.

You can add additives to it to make it balanced but it's work.

At 1.0255 I was getting calcium of 500+, magnesium around 1500 and alk around 7 or so.

I'm afraid this won't solve that issue either unless you balance it before you do water changes.

I'm using Kent salt and it's balanced.

If I were you I'd do a search for Oceanic and read through a few of the threads.

[subywankenobi]

Originally posted by subywankenobi
Can someone please PM me Steve L.'s contact information? I have a PICO and am now in the market for a peri. If this guys has so many satisfied customers, I'd like to join the list!!

Thanks Nevermind, I just won an auction for this cole-parmer pump this morning........Cole-parmer peristaltic pump (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7510977194&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:MT:6)........unfortunately I didn't get it for the $50 or $60 some of you paid, but it is brand new and should match the flow rates I'm looking for for years to come.

[mattseattle]

you got a decent deal.... not sure who paid 50 or 60 but they got a damn good deal.

i bought one from Steve and paid more than 60.00 for it.

[Fliger]

Yup, it was you - thanks again!

I need to buy a new co2 tank - should I go with a 5 or 10 lb? I was thinking of this combo from Reefgeek.

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/co2_supplies/104537.html

Yes, no, maybe?

Thanks!

David

[mattseattle]

on your size of tank i'd go with a 10 lb bottle....

[tanglovers]

Hi,

We just ordered our Schuran Jetstream one, I want to use a Peristaltic pump.

Does anyone know where I can order the one like Ewan and Woowoodengy use? What make/model is it?
What else is needed to hook this pump up that is not included.

What CO2 regulator and solenoid do you recommend?

I also need to get and hook up a CO2 check valve right?

Thanks!

[subywankenobi]

Originally posted by tanglovers
Hi,

We just ordered our Schuran Jetstream one, I want to use a Peristaltic pump.

Does anyone know where I can order the one like Ewan and Woowoodengy use? What make/model is it?
What else is needed to hook this pump up that is not included.

What CO2 regulator and solenoid do you recommend?

I also need to get and hook up a CO2 check valve right?

Thanks! Try this one here.....

Masterflex pump (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=78220&item=7512256418&rd=1)
It is not the one they use, but it has a range of flow rates that should be well within your needs. Looks like it also comes with 2 heads as well.

Check out reefgeek (http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/co2_supplies/104538.html) for their regulator and bottle package. It's a top notch regulator whether they give you the Reef Fanatic or the M3 reg.

[Fliger]

Originally posted by woowoodengy
ok guys i just learned to post pics (yeah i am a slow learner) but here it goes :D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/737aa420.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/f77ced92.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/1f46a8b8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/5df6e261.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/819a658a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/43faf165.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v663/woowoodengy/b8e492ed.jpg


HOPE THIS WORKS?

This is exactly the pump I received. Now comes the fun part. I have to admit, I'm pretty intimidated to set this thing up. I've never used a ca reactor before, and now I have a ridiculously elaborate system.

I have the JS1, the peri pump, the tank & M3 reg (coming Monday), the media. Now I think I need tubing. Can anyone tell me what tubing I should use and where to get it? Is that it? I did order 8' of co2 line from reefgeek coming with the regulator.

Do I need anything else? I do have an AQ2 that I can use for ph. But should I get a dedicated ph monitor for this?

I was thinking of setting up a bucket to figure this out in. Is that ridiculous. Sorry to sound like a complete moron, but I feel like one.

Thanks,

David

[DanielMar]

David,
Your running your gas pressure a little high. I set it wrong too until I really looked at it. I think the book asks for 10 psi or so. Check the meter with unit off. And turn off/on and check a few times. I have run mine too high and blew it out the seals. Looks like you may be running 20. When it ran a week then it "stabilized"/ learned how to set the rate of bubble. Also, I have the Schuran Jet II and I dont get the air gap at the bottom of the media area like you do. Maybe your entering too many (fast) bubbles at once? Or, you need to up your flow of water thru reactor unit speed. I only run mine 1 1/2 hr night. Make sure you check calcium level you dont want to mess your pumps up.
I used vinyl (white/clearish) tubing from Orchard-working fine for my return line. I placed the unit in basement and the tank pump pumps it upstairs-contradicting the instructions. But, I use a recirc pump not peri. Man is my clam(s) growing fast 3/8 to 1/2 inch in 1 month.
Daniel

[mattseattle]

Daniel,
The PSI of 20 is not what is going to the reactor. The needle valve controls that. You need a PSI of between 10 and 20 for the needle valve to remain precise.
Also, the air gap at the bottom is the mixing chamber. That is the way it's supposed to be.

As far as tubing I'd use CO2 tubing because over time other tubing is going to break down and become brittle.

[Tagareef]

woowoodengy's set-up is correct...the only difference is that in my system I found that "pulling" the water thru the JS1 via the peri pump resulted in a more consistent flow.

Also, on the JS1, you will always have a the "air gap" at the bottom of the chamber. It is due to the black plastic nut that attaches the diffuser inside the reactor.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Hello all I am still having issues with mine and I know that I'm not crazy . I did a week of water changes lost my clown fish ( he will be missed ) everything else is looking great my anenome is larger by the day .checked my levels everything was great right on target last week .let the system run for oneweek added nothing . calcium down so low the test won't even try to register it . reactor running at 6.32 bubbles in at 200 a minute water out at 67 ml a minute .mediam inside reactor is getting smaller but calcium output is no different from the water levels going in . I did a large tank cleaning before I did all the water changes and found lots of hard deposits of chemicals on the rocks after cleaning everything up found lots of purple algae growing on most of the rocks and a large build up in the pumps and the skimmer and the tubing almost like rocks forming everywhere rebuild and clean everything . Still dont seem as if the reactor is working for me .Now I'm going to look for someone in the ST LOUIS area that may be able to come to my house and see if I'm just stupid . If anyone knows of a company that is honest and does this type of maintance let me know PLEASE .

[Ewan]

Also, make sure that peristaltic pump tubing is used in the peristaltic pump. Regular silicone airline is not the same thing. I orderd 10' of the stuff, and you only need a 6" section at a time (enough to go through the pump head). 10' is literally a lifetime supply.

I use item number 51225K14 from www.mcmaster.com Good stuff. It's mentioned several pages ago in this thread, but I still get many messages a week about it. I figured it was worth repeating on this thread.

Also my PM box has been full several times in the last while, so I apologize if I've missed anyone's message.

FWIW, I haven't touched my jetstream since the day I set up the peristaltic pump. I just cleaned some dust off it last week ;) It's been working like a champ, and the numbers have been exactly the same, even despite a big growth spurt in my clams.

-R.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

ewan
was there a reason you changed your set up to a peri pump?

[DanielMar]

Originally posted by mattseattle
Daniel,
The PSI of 20 is not what is going to the reactor. The needle valve controls that. You need a PSI of between 10 and 20 for the needle valve to remain precise.
Also, the air gap at the bottom is the mixing chamber. That is the way it's supposed to be.

As far as tubing I'd use CO2 tubing because over time other tubing is going to break down and become brittle.

Matt,
Actually I was not referring to the psi too high at the gauge I meant to the reactor-gas (co2) flow may be excessive. I still disagree with the area of gas below the diffuser area. The pump shatters the gas to fine bubbles for a reason. Not to go to/thru coral media in large bubble form. If you could see mine working it looks like fine bubbles passing through the media.
Daniel

[DanielMar]

Originally posted by Tagareef
woowoodengy's set-up is correct...the only difference is that in my system I found that "pulling" the water thru the JS1 via the peri pump resulted in a more consistent flow.

Also, on the JS1, you will always have a the "air gap" at the bottom of the chamber. It is due to the black plastic nut that attaches the diffuser inside the reactor.

Hey Tagareef,

My reactor has three of the exact same diffusers and I have no gas area ever with mine. I believe maybe the "thru unit flow" is too low?
Not sure. Just know mine has never done this. Always had fine bubbles fragged by the Eheim and makes a quiet slurping sound from the recycled gas at the top of reactor.
Daniel

[Tagareef]

I don't even know why the bubble at the diffuser nut is an issue...there is now way for that bubble to dissipate. If the nut were flush with the bottom of the reactor tube there would be no bubble...it would escape. It's not a flaw of the JS1...it's just the way it is. Who cares?

I've had this reactor for 10 months and since installing the peri pump it's pretty much a "set it and forget it" reactor. The only maintenance I do is refill the chamber and clean the ph probe every 2 months. The drip rate is set at 90mls and a ph of 6.3. I don't count bubbles any more, I just check the ph.

[Ewan]

Originally posted by DARKSILENTTYPE
ewan
was there a reason you changed your set up to a peri pump?

Yes. That's what the bulk of this thread is about.

The nature of this reactor causes the feed to drift easily. The main benefit of a calcium reactor is rock-solid stability for Ca and Alk for your system. If your effluent rate is drifting over a matter of days, or weeks, then you simply cannot have stability. Instead, you're perpetually dialing in your reactor. This is far more troublesome than daily dosing of 2-parts, etc.

Unfortunately, I managed to have only brief periods of success with many other methods, which I spent a LOT of time documenting in this thread. I found permanent stability when I employed a scientific-grade peristaltic pump.

Now if I hold a little b-ionic cup under the effluent outflow with my stopwatch for 1 minute, I will have a reading that is EXACTLY the same as last December. Stability is key... otherwise you're wasting a ton of time.

If I had known that I would end up with a peristaltic pump for this reactor in the first place, I still would have purchased it. The cost is somewhat high when you factor in the pump, but the quality is amazing.

-Rob

[dgasmd]

Have any of you experience some weid algae in yor tank since you started to use the Schuran media??

[mattseattle]

nope - no weird algae or anything with mine.

[malegolf]

Show us a Pic????????

[DanielMar]

Algae will come if gas from reactor does enter tank. Schuran recommeded the effluent from reactor to be entered into protein skimmer intake.
Sorry I mentioned anything else. Maybe I should only talk about peristaltic pumps.
Daniel

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Daniel Mar

How did you get the air out of the bottom chamber ?
I don't see how this would be possible . Would like to know how you blead yours to get the air out .

[DanielMar]

Originally posted by DARKSILENTTYPE
Daniel Mar

How did you get the air out of the bottom chamber ?
I don't see how this would be possible . Would like to know how you blead yours to get the air out .

I think what could be happening ( I may be mistaken) is the amount of Co2 entering the chamber unit is too excessive or too low of flow "throughput" the reactor. Experiment-shut the gas off and watch the unit after 20 min, and the check it. Then slowly start the bubbles (1 every 2 secs. then watch) and then increase it gradually after 10 min run time increments. This may get you the correct settings.
Hope this helped.
Daniel

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

I am starting to notice a green film starting to grow to the media inside the reactor is anyone else having this happen . Should I find a dark spot for the reactor set up?

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

DANIEL MAR

You are correct I shut off the gas flow and turned down the inlet flow and let the reactor run and about 4 hours, later the air pocket at the bottom was gone set the bubbles to about 2 every second if that and the system is running at 6.53 PH no air pocket at the top either and it doesn't look like a soda fountain anymore . I haven't checked the calcium output yet but it looks good . If I look real close I can see the little bubbles coming through the reactor chamber but all the big bubbles are gone .

Thanks

[dgasmd]

Originally posted by DARKSILENTTYPE
I am starting to notice a green film starting to grow to the media inside the reactor is anyone else having this happen . Should I find a dark spot for the reactor set up?

I am using the same media and I had the same thing happen to me. shortly after that, the media turned brown from too much algae growing inside the reactor. Mine sits in the garage and with the doors opened all day long, it gets exposed to sunlight. I recently covered it with a black film that is removable, so I hope to avoid having this in the future.

I must say that for the amounts of problems and degree of difficulty this reactor seems to present, I can't still see what is so good about it. I don't mean to degrade your equipment, but I am trying to justofy in my own mind as to why I should think of this reactor as really good :confused: :confused: It takes a ton more CO2 to run, it accumulates CO2 inside, it is nearly impossible to feed properly, etc. It just seems more problems than any other reactor I have seen so far with the exception of the Korallin. These are noattacks by the way, simply trying to understand it better by bringing out some valid questions.:( :(

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Well I'm no expert but I 've had mine for about a month and have had nothing but problems . Just check my calcuim out put out of the reactor and its seems to be 440 calcium coming out . Try to bleed yours like DANIELMAR said a few posts up . I did and solved a lot of my issues with the reactor . Uses less CO2 now and no air bubbles at all . Hope this helps

[Fliger]

Originally posted by dgasmd
I am using the same media and I had the same thing happen to me. shortly after that, the media turned brown from too much algae growing inside the reactor. Mine sits in the garage and with the doors opened all day long, it gets exposed to sunlight. I recently covered it with a black film that is removable, so I hope to avoid having this in the future.

I must say that for the amounts of problems and degree of difficulty this reactor seems to present, I can't still see what is so good about it. I don't mean to degrade your equipment, but I am trying to justofy in my own mind as to why I should think of this reactor as really good :confused: :confused: It takes a ton more CO2 to run, it accumulates CO2 inside, it is nearly impossible to feed properly, etc. It just seems more problems than any other reactor I have seen so far with the exception of the Korallin. These are noattacks by the way, simply trying to understand it better by bringing out some valid questions.:( :(

I'm setting mine up next week. It will be my first ca reactor. Your point seems pretty valid, it does seem like there are lots of issues. Then again, so few people have these in the states (or at least that post here) it's hard to get sound advice. Hopefully having the surgical pump will alleviate some of these problems.

I wish some of the others that were running it successfully would comment on ... "It takes a ton more CO2 to run, it accumulates CO2 inside, it is nearly impossible to feed properly, etc."

Otherwise, I'll be setting it up soon and LYK.

[DanielMar]

Got to tell you guys. First you cannot have the unit in the light/sun areas. Then you must start the gradual increase of bubbles. Make sure you run the unit with NO bubbles for a few hours first then g r a d ually increase the bubble rate in increments until you get a good fine bubble pass-through the media. Do the bubble increase and wait a hour before increasing the rate for the next increase.
Daniel

[Todd March]

The secret to the Schuran is unless you have a really big tank with loads of corals—like 350+ gallons—you really cannot run it 24/7... I know some have done this, but I have gotten excellent results running it on a digital timer for only two sessions of CO2 being fed, 25 minutes each, 12 hours apart...

Like this, bubbles and CO2 build up are no issue and it uses very little C02 for my 100g system...

My effluent rate is around 30-50 ml/minute and the CO2 is around 120bpm when it's on... With these settings I get high ALK and good CA...

I love my Schuran—it's been so problem free for me... But as the instructions that come with it say, you need to at least turn if off at night unless you have really big tank with a really big coral/coralline load...

Trying to run this reactor 24/7 like most American CA reactors is just asking for trouble in my opinion; it's just too powerful... I love using the digital timer as it gives me great control to "dial" the Schuran up and down very easily, something traditional reactors gave me a much harder time doing...

I much prefer punching in a few more minutes into a digital timer's keypad rather than fiddling with the effluent or CO2 rates...!

ALSO: the coralline growth in my tank has been phenomenal, which I think might be due to the high strontium content of the larger coral media...

[woowoodengy]

i too love my reactor it is different from all american ones. this too is my first cr and i only run it while lights are on about 11 hours. i run 45-50 ml min and 45 bbls per min. i have no more bbls in the reactor and the air pocket in the bottem is almost gone.

my alk and calcium is steady at 10.2 dkh and 430 cal i love it.
my reactor is next to my tank and under halids and not even a hint of alge. where did you guys get your media ??? i got mine at aquatic eco systems and no alge what so ever.

the trick to this reactor is the peri pump you could not pay me to run it without one if you dont have a good peri pump youd better get one. if you paid this much for the shuran then spend the extra $$$ and get a peri pump.

[woowoodengy]

ok i wanted to split this post up to make sure you guys read it

when you set the shuran up let it run without co2 for some hours and keep bleeding the air out (the media is big and holds alot of air)
then turn on the co2 and run it for a while and bleed it again i did this for the first couple of days to make sure all the air that may be trapped in the reactor is gone and raised my effluent hose i have no more problems with any air or co2 biuld up anymore.

and i dont have big bbls just micro bbls of co2 and by the morning after co2 has been of all night i dont even see any micro bbls.

[DanielMar]

btw I only run mine 2 hrs a night for 480 ppm and 13 dkh and no peristaltic.
Daniel

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Do you turn the whole system off or just the CO2 input and let the pump on the system run 24/7 or turn everything off the reactor and the co2 ?

[DanielMar]

Originally posted by DARKSILENTTYPE
Do you turn the whole system off or just the CO2 input and let the pump on the system run 24/7 or turn everything off the reactor and the co2 ?
Reactor/gas is off but water flow still moving through unit(not reactor pump only tank pump). Remember water "sours" if stagnant for long periods.
What I meant by "system" was your recirc tank pump. I have my tank pump push tank water continuosly thru the reactor with the reactor OFF during the day. I run mine 2 hrs at nite 8-10 pm only(huge reactor)
The peristaltic/tank pump should run constant water thru it, not the reactor pump. Hope I clarified. Now I'm confused
Daniel:D

[woowoodengy]

well i run the peri pump 27/7
and the ehiem on the reactor 24/7
i just run co2 11/24

[Ewan]

This entire conversation has occurred twice in this thread already. :D

NEVER stop the flow through the reactor. When folks talk about running the reactor for x hours (or minutes) a day, they're talking about the CO2. A timer and solenoid are used to do this. And the recirculation pump on the reactor should be run 24/7. NO EXCEPTIONS.

I only run mine for 6 hours a day. I fixed the pH drops by breaking that 6 hours up to have the co2 to turn on four times a day, for 1.5 hour intervals. It works out fine for me. When I needed to do some additional tweaking to the reactor, I would just add a couple more minutes to each on cycle. Time is the easiest factor to control with a reactor, afterall.
-Page 2


I've actually got to turn my reactor up a bit today after 6 months of stability. I've got a T. Crocea that's putting on some serious shell growth in the last month, and my Ca/Alk is taking a hit because of it. Not to worst thing in the world to happen. ;)

Of course, with a timer, all I have to do is add a couple of minutes to the co2 on cycle, and note the alk today and tomorrow. The timer method is very easy. As Todd mentioned above, it would take a very large tank to require 24/7 CO2 addition.

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

Thats Ok now I'm confused too . Turned off the CO2 all night left the pumps on both of the them the pump that came with the reactor as part of the reactor ( recirc pump) and the one that sends water to the reactor but my air pocket at the bottom is back. So I turned the Recirc pump off and let the reactr run for a hour air pocket still there at the bottom . From what I have read here I should be running my reactor for a limit of time but the PH in the reactor goes up and isn't this a bad thing if it gets higher that 6.5 which will happen if you turn the CO2 off at all . So how long does it take for the PH to come back down to 6.5 after you turn the CO2 back on your reactor . And why would the air pocket at the bottom come back if the PH is at 6.5 .If I turn the water flow up then the PH also goes up past 6.5 if I turn the gas up to match the flow to get the PH back down to 6.5 then the air pocket at the bottom gets larger .Have you found any way of not getting the air pocket at the bottom to return and keep your PH at 6.5 all the time ?

[Ewan]

Originally posted by DARKSILENTTYPE
Thats Ok now I'm confused too . Turned off the CO2 all night left the pumps on both of the them the pump that came with the reactor as part of the reactor ( recirc pump) and the one that sends water to the reactor but my air pocket at the bottom is back. So I turned the Recirc pump off and let the reactr run for a hour air pocket still there at the bottom . From what I have read here I should be running my reactor for a limit of time but the PH in the reactor goes up and isn't this a bad thing if it gets higher that 6.5 which will happen if you turn the CO2 off at all . So how long does it take for the PH to come back down to 6.5 after you turn the CO2 back on your reactor . And why would the air pocket at the bottom come back if the PH is at 6.5 .If I turn the water flow up then the PH also goes up past 6.5 if I turn the gas up to match the flow to get the PH back down to 6.5 then the air pocket at the bottom gets larger .Have you found any way of not getting the air pocket at the bottom to return and keep your PH at 6.5 all the time ?

You're spending major attention on minor things.

The pocket at the mixing chamber (bottom) is not important. It does NOT affect the performance of the reactor whatsoever. Many people have already said this.


dgasmd,

I have had phenominal success with this reactor, and I know of many people that have had great success with it too. Only a very few are posting to this thread. Perhaps this is giving the negative impression.

In the first few pages of this thread, there are many people that had some minor setup problems, and fixed them and moved on. Unfortunately, the bulk of the last 10 or so pages has turned in to a peristaltic pump thread, and the final few pages are questions that are answered in the first few pages.

If there any specific questions that don't pertain to either
a: basic calcium reactor tuning
b: gas in the bottom mixing chamber
I'd be happy to lend a hand.

There is alot of good info in the first part of this thread, though. Especially links for calcium reactor tuning, fixing erratic effluent flow, and gas buildup in the top chamber (gas separation chamber). Initially, I did think that this reactor used an excessive amount of gas. Now that I've got it tuned properly, I'm using 10 bubbles/min, for 8 hours a day. This is compared to 50 bubbles/min 24 hours a day with my old reactor. not bad.

Reactor feed is tough, and needs to be prepared for. There are 2 ways to deal with this. First is to use a pump such as a peristaltic pump (absolutely no hassle whatsoever). Second, is to run a high efflent flow rate. This causes one to use a high co2 rate for shorter intervals, in order to gain a sufficiently low pH in the chamber. I think an aqualifter pump woul also work very well. The pump simply needs to overcome the backpressure of the reactor. Restricting the outflow is not recommended, so feed is tough.

This is certainly the theme of pages 2-5 of this thread.

It's a great unit, but it does take some understanding. Possibly more than most reactors, but it is built to last. I'm not trying to sell anyone one, just help those who already own one.

-Rob

[Tagareef]

Rob,

Thanks for trying to this thread back on track. Couldn't have said it better myself.

The JS1 is a great piece of equipment. Once you get to know it and understand how it works in YOUR system it truly is a "set it and forget it" calcium reactor.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/5135Basement-0106.jpg

Reactor:
Runs continuously 24/7
100mls per minute (fed into the input of my gravity fed skimmer)
Effluent ph 6.3 to 6.4
I don't count the bubbles (especially the big Co2 bubble at the bottom of the reactor!):D

Reef:
Calcium: 430
Ph: 8.0 (night) to 8.3 (day)
KH: 8.0

Luis

[DARKSILENTTYPE]

what is the link to a good peristaltic pump ? or the name of one model number make .....etc

[240reef]

Wow, I sure am glad I went with a K2R reactor. I really wanted the jetsrteam but it seems a lot of hassle.

[mattseattle]

yeah, it baffles me why people are having issues with the jetstream. i haven't had a single issue with my jetstream 1.

[subywankenobi]

Hey guys, I just bought a PICO unit and still haven't set my system up yet. I am slowly piecing everything together.....just received my peri pump last week!! I have a couple questions.

Since the PICO doesn't have a spot to plug in a pH probe like the Jetstream does, can anyone recommend how I can set up my system to monitor the effluent pH?

I really don't want to have to buy 2 pinpoint monitors (1 for the effluent, 1 for the tank), but it looks like you guys all have 2 probes and this will be what I have to do.

Some of you say you run your CO2 for a certain period of time per day. Do you control your CO2 with a pH controller or simply off a timer for a set period twice a day?

I appreciate the help.

Here's a picture for those who haven't seen the PICO:

http://www.schuran.com/bilder/produkte/jetstream_pico.jpg

[woowoodengy]

you dont have to use a controller but most of us do.
all you have to do is check your effluent for the first couple of days till you get it tuned in the right way. when you get it tuned just use the timer with your reg solenoid to your needs.

i hope you show pics of the pico running i am sure we all would like to see it as well as if anybody has the jetsream 2 in action

[Aaron]

ewin,
The product number 51225K14 does not come up on mcmaster.com

others have recommended the food-grade neoprene size 16 equivalent product number 52035K14 and costs $.78/ft

[mattseattle]

you can also call cole-parmer and ask them to send you samples of the tubing. it's free that way and you are sure to get the correct size. just tell them what head you have and how many ml per minute you want min/max and they'll send it to you.

that is the way i did it.

[Fourseahorsemen]

I have a question for those that have been running one of these. I have had my unit running for a few months and the media is definitly breaking down in the chamber but my probe in the effluent drip cup never reads below 7ph. Can this larger size media dissolve at this ph or is my ph controler not working properly? I recalibrated it and replaced the probe, but still it reads between 7 and 7.5 effluent.

[mattseattle]

i run mine about 6.9 or so and my media has been dissolving just fine.