calcium reactor question; media issue     8/17/11
Hello I've got a 300 g mixed reef system (incl. sump), with growing Sps and a Korallin 1502 reactor. Korallin claims it is good for up to 400g. I can't seem to dial this thing in properly.
My tank Alk meq/l keeps decreasing from 3.2 now to 3.0.
<What are you using for media? I suggest the Knop Korallith product... DO make sure you are buying this... as there are people who package other material and affix the title to it>
Also the only way for my effluent Alk to get over 15 kH is if I increase bpm to make pH get down to 6.3.
<Too low... about the limit here should be 6.8, perhaps at lowest 6.6>
Do I want a broken stream of effluent or maybe just 3 drops/sec.
<A stream should do it>
My bubble rate is 60/min. I have the Digital Aquatics controller keeping the ph between 6.4 and 6.6 with ARM coarse media.
<I like CaribSea as a company (and WWM sponsor), but not this product in most reactors. Again... switch>
Should I decrease the co2 bubble count so that the CO2 stays on longer and never shuts off or will this eventually weaken the alkalinity of the effluent? Or do I not need to worry about the amount of CO2 getting into the reactor and only worry about keeping the ph at a certain level (@6.5).
Should I increase the bpm even more?
<No; I would not... the trouble here is the insolubility, make-up of the media>
But then it will shut on and off every 10 or 15 minutes also weakening alkalinity,.. I also dose Kalk at night with a PM kalkreactor. I've been trying to adjust the reactor now for a month. What is a good bubble rate and drip rate to go with in others' experience? Thanks.
<Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Korallin denitrator 5/16/10
Hello, I purchased filter 5 weeks ago. It reduced my nitrates to zero within weeks. Fourth week water became super cloudy in filter top and then my tank became cloudy. I was using a real slow drip rate. 1 per second.
I increased it and still cloudy. I took out coral media because it was suggested it was being melted and causing cloudiness. Tank cleared up for two days. Then cloudy but not as bad. Meantime nitrates and nitrates remained at zero. Ph though was behind dropped coming out of filter 7.4 or lower. I purchased ph buffer but it was still falling after two days.
Cloudy water and dropping ph are my problem. Filter works great on nitrates but killing ph. I had inlet in sump for biodenitrator, which worked. They recommended it to come from tank. Which I can do if this
would help?
<I doubt this would make a noticeable difference.>
Marine depot thinks there is co2 bulling up in filter and melting coral and dropping ph.
<Could be the case, but a slow effluent at 7.4 should not bring the whole tank down as bad as it sounds. What size tank is this on? What is the tank pH?>
I can't find any reviews stating having my problem which is even more frustrating. I turned off today. I don't want to abandoned it. I saved up for it forever!
<IF this is indeed causing your issue, there are solutions. One of the simplest is to rid the water of excess CO2 before it returns to the tank.
A little powerhead directed through the effluent stream towards the water surface can work wonders here. Some will even have airstones under the effluent line to accomplish this, but then you have bubbles that can return to the tank to deal with.>
Help!
thanks,
Chris
<Welcome, Scott V.>
Re: Korallin denitrator 5/16/2010
75 gallon tank. with a wet dry 125 filter. pm 100 protein skimmer.
<Some will even run the effluent back prior to the skimmer intake to blow off the CO2. This does work, but does void the warranty with some skimmers.>
Nextreef nitrate reactor with nitrate sponge media...didn't help so bought Korallin.
<Have you called Dave at Nextreef re this? This is a first class company and people. I would give them a ring. The reactors have some differences, but the base function is the same.>
tank ph is 7.8 to 8 from test kit.
<An okay range.>
bought Kent liquid ph buffer to help raise it.
<This will not work long-term if CO2 is the issue, being constantly introduced.>
tank inhabitants are a small snowflake eel. pixie fire hawk and a damsel.
tank going for 2 years. sorry for bad punctuation. typing from cell phone.
<See: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm,
point F.>
thanks for your advice
Chris
<Welcome, Scott V.>

Calcium Reactor Instructions, Korallin  12/25/07 I recently purchased a Korallin Calcium Reactor 1502 from a private seller on EBay. Unfortunately, no instructions were included. Can someone email me a copy or make me aware where I can find these? Michael A. Grande <Email, write or call Marine Depot (.com)... in Orange County, CA... the U.S. Distributor of their line. Bob Fenner>