Apex and Calcium Reactor Programming

Confuse · Jun 27, 2014

I'm starting to mess with my calcium reactor and I'd like to get some thoughts on how to program my solenoid.

Below is what I came up with based on some threads....And my running the CaribSea Arm Media Coarse

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If pH2 > 06.50 Then ON << This is where I want the pH at
If pH2 < 06.40 Then OFF << This turns off if it goes below 6.40
If pH < 07.79 Then OFF << This turns off the solenoid if the tank pH drops too low
Defer 005:00 Then ON << After turning off, waits five minutes to turn on again (not sure about this part)

Other possible pH values
6.55-6.65PH or 6.4-6.5

Any thoughts or suggestions are highly appreciated!

Confuse · Jun 27, 2014

Bump! Anyone? I feel like tackling this tonight.

Confuse · Jun 28, 2014

Bumpity bump!

Confuse · Jun 30, 2014

You're killing me SCR!

SchnitzelReef · Jul 1, 2014

Looks good to me. Have you turned it on yet? My apex programming is not complicated, it's very basic. It's pretty much on/off programming. The hard part is learning how to adjust the water flow and the co2 regulator.

xmas_one · Nov 20, 2014

Damian, what did you wind up going with on this? I'm setting one up on a smaller system and wondering if it might be worthwhile to have the apex control the effluent with a dosing pump to make things a little more precise.

SchnitzelReef · Nov 20, 2014

xmas_one said:

With the right reactor U don't need a dosing/peristaltic pump. I saw the thread from RC, didn't think it was necessary. What's your reason for wanting it? Are u having issues with your calcium reactor?

xmas_one · Nov 20, 2014

I haven't set it up yet. It will be on a 35g tank, I figured running the dosing pump would allow for better control on a smaller system.

rayray · Nov 20, 2014

Confuse said:

That looks ok, but a little risky for me.

What i did was buy a stand alone milwaukee pH controller. I manually dialed it to turn on when pH > 6.7. This pH controller, the solenoid & dual-chamber carx recirc pump & feed pump,were all 4 plugged into a power strip that was plugged into the Apex. That apex channel was simply on if pH > 7.7, fallback off.

This dual safety system has never failed. Im uber paranoid because carx, kalk, top off, heater & chiller can all quickly crash a system. Ive never had a crash. Did i mention my kalk reactor, top off, heaters chillers all have dual safties as well?

rayray · Nov 20, 2014

SchnitzelReef said:

I have both. Carx raises alk & ca at the same time. With 3 part you can raise alk, ca & mag independently. In case you want to tweak one independently.

SchnitzelReef · Nov 20, 2014

rayray said:

That's not what he was talking about. People are using variable speed peristaltic pumps to feed their calcium reactors. Supposed to be easier to tweak or something. Not sure if it's worth it. Used variable speed pumps go for a couple hundred on eBay.

SchnitzelReef · Nov 20, 2014

xmas_one said:

Probably right. The legit ones are expensive.

Confuse · Nov 21, 2014

xmas_one said:

Dan, I did set this up and it's working pretty well. The pH consistently stays around 6.49. As far as controlling the effluent with a dosing pump, I don't know. I have the reactor feeding from my manifold. Per Nick's and Crystal's suggestion on a previous thread, I stopped focusing so much on the effluent drip rate so long as it drips. Sometimes, my 40 drip per minute rate would clog and I'd have to open up the valve more. Now it just flows without restriction.

Tangwich · Nov 21, 2014

Where's omar when you need him. lol

Six2seven · Nov 21, 2014

To the OP, I would say give yourself a wider range. 6.40 is melting your media pretty hard. I keep myself in a range of 6.49-6.80. My reactor stays pretty stable at 6.78 and my alk almost stays at 9.85. It will take about a week and a half to drop to 9.52 and then I have to tweak it a little. It's a tweak I'm willing to deal with. I actually never mess with the bubble count. I rather open and close the effluent a touch.

Apex and Calcium Reactor Programming

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