BBMarlin Posted November 14, 2019 Author Share Posted November 14, 2019 (edited) I'm beginning to look at calcium reactors...I've been researching dual reactors and I've got my eyes on the Geo dual 6". I've never run a CaRx before so I'm curious what you guys experiences are? Should I go with a dual? I plan on having a fairly stocked SPS tank, but I'm definitely not going to over do it this time around and keep colonies trimmed. The 8" version will not fit in my stand so if nothing else I'm thinking the dual 6" so I can have more media and contact time as compared to a single and therefor less maintenance in addition to increased PH (marginal) and ALK with the effluent. Am I on the right track? Edited November 14, 2019 by BBMarlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 I run a 6" geo single on my frag tank (70 gallons) and a 8"x6" geo dual on my display (180). It's funny but the Ph on my frag tank runs higher than my display even though I put the dual stage on to counteract Ph drops. Go figure. I've been very happy with both units. From my own experience I would say run the single if you are space limited and you will be fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted November 14, 2019 Author Share Posted November 14, 2019 5 hours ago, jolt said: I run a 6" geo single on my frag tank (70 gallons) and a 8"x6" geo dual on my display (180). It's funny but the Ph on my frag tank runs higher than my display even though I put the dual stage on to counteract Ph drops. Go figure. I've been very happy with both units. From my own experience I would say run the single if you are space limited and you will be fine. Thanks @jolt. With the dual are you having to maintain it a lot less than the single? I imagine that the demands of your display are probably higher than your frag tank but I'm curious if having the dual will allow me to have half of the maintenance, either with media or other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 In three years I’ve only ever had to mess with the first chamber. Never touched the second. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 I would guess that the CO2 should be pretty well spent by the time it gets to the second chamber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 AWC Implemented! Finished up the water station/stand set up today. Tank Depot didn’t have a matching tank for my 65, so I opted for this 50. I think the 50 will be fine however, it does have a nice large lid on it so at least I can dump salt in without making a mess. Really hoping the water tank Nazis will not call me out for not having matching tanks. 😜 Everything is set up on the Apex for the automatic water change up stairs with the dirty water plumed into the adjacent sink drain, sooo nice! The Apex indeed is loud during the water change, so I will run it during the middle of the night. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 I ordered a Geo single stage reactor today and now I'm looking at regulators. I was initially going to get a carbon doser but research has lead me to a custom built dual stage off ebay from (affinityaquatics). Thought I would see if there was any guidance from you guys (single vs dual stage, carbon doser feeback) before I make another big purchase? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 I have two industrial grade stainless steel dual stage regulators from Alan Le. I love them! The ones affinityaquatics is selling on ebay look nice. I have no experience with other regulators, but would not hesitate to go the same route if I did it again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted November 26, 2019 Share Posted November 26, 2019 I use dual smith gauges. 4 years on a previous tank. 2 years on current tank. The chrome will pit, if you splash salt water all over it, all the time, and fail to wipe it off. https://www.amazon.com/Gas-Regulator-100-Carbon-Dioxide/dp/B0036ZDVNO?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffnt-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0036ZDVNO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 It's a Beaut Clark! Regulator came in today, such a nice piece of equipment. I'm still waiting on the Geo reactor, hope to get that in about a week. Tank is looking great, I was battling some hair algae but that is now finally going away. First SPS frag went into the the tank last week (ORA - Skyline Granulosa) and it seems to be doing quite well on the frag rack. Have a biota captive bred yellow tang in QT which is also doing well, hope to introduce him into the display in about a week. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 That looks like a very, very nice regulator...what did you end up going with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Yeah super nice regulator! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 7 minutes ago, jolt said: Yeah super nice regulator! 21 minutes ago, victoly said: That looks like a very, very nice regulator...what did you end up going with? Thanks! Here are the specs: Matheson 3810 Series Stainless Steel 100 PSI Stainless Steel Regulator w/ full 316L SS CGA 320 CO2 connection Clippard EV Mouse Solenoid Whitey SS 22RS4 Metering Valve with Vernier fine adjustment handle It's overkill I know! This is one part of the build that I didn't want to compromise quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 Did you assemble it yourself or buy a premade item? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 From the ebay guy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 Just now, victoly said: Did you assemble it yourself or buy a premade item? affinityaquatics , nice guy on ebay. He built it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 Had an unexpected package arrive today! I was a little worried it was not going to fit, but lo and behold it does and with barely a few millimeters to spare. Glad I spent extra time on the plumbing to maximize my space in the stand! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 It’s nice when the universe throws you a bone! Are you going to manifold feed it or use something else ?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 It’s nice when the universe throws you a bone! Are you going to manifold feed it or use something else ?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ProIndeed! Initially I was thinking I would run it off the manifold but after talking to the GEO folks, I decided to go with a dedicated small sicce (.5) pump.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 The only thing you have to be carefulAbout with centrifugal pumps is that their flow rate can change with fouling, which means more tweaking of flow rate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 When you get tired of that regulator I will recycle it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 13, 2019 Author Share Posted December 13, 2019 (edited) 300% Over Budget Alright @victolyyou win, not quite as cool as you with the Masterflex but we will see how well this Kamoer pump holds up. My future self thanks you for the advice 😁, my current self is wondering how I spent so much on this set up ...lol My CaRX is now complete! Now the fun starts of setting it up and tuning it. Even with my 1 gallon / day AWC my Alk is still running < 6 and this is just with my LPS coral. Going to need to add some buffer this weekend and start working towards stability with the calcium reactor. Edited December 13, 2019 by BBMarlin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 very nice. i really like those pumps a lot. honestly, I had the masterflex before the kamoers were out, but if i was going to do it again i would have probably gone that way. Please update it once its in operation. The main complaint i have heard about them is related to how they operate after a power outage. make sure and do some testing with cutting power to it and how it responds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BBMarlin Posted December 18, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 18, 2019 (edited) What a mess! 😁 Got the CaRX all plumbed in last weekend, still working on getting it dialed in. Seems to be pretty straight forward so far as far as tuning the equipment to the tank, just need to find the sweet spot between the feed pump volume and the Co2 regulator. Good news is my Alk has risen from 5.8dKH to 8.2 in 4 days. I like things to run around 7.5 or so, I’ll just need to dial things back a bit and see if I can get it stable around there. I’ve got 3 test frags in the tank so far and they are all already growing over the glue that I set them in, this is encouraging. This pretty much completes my build as I imagined it with a nice progression of ideas once I got started. Thanks everyone! Now it's time to get stable and start buying some coral! Edited December 18, 2019 by BBMarlin 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBMarlin Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 (edited) Three Amigos My three test frags are: Pearl Berry (non ORA, RCA frag rack type), ORA Skyline Granulosa, PC Rainbow. (ignore the Christmas tree and the twisted arms in the background holding the orange filter, lol) Edited December 18, 2019 by BBMarlin 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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