melev

I tend to prefer to show you pictures of the reef when it is gorgeous, naturally. Not often do I post pictures like these.

Fear not, nothing is amiss. It was more cloudy before I took these pictures, and at this point post photo edit and typing up the blog, it's already a little more clear.

The calcium reactor burned through a lot of media over the past six weeks, pretty much liquefying 80% of the calcium-based coral skeleton (TLF's ReBorn). I had a feeling the pH probe was old and providing a false reading. The CO2 tank was nearly empty, so I've been watching it daily until it ran completely out of gas so the reactor would be around 8.3 again. With the same level as the tank, I could open up the calcium reactor and drain all the fluid into the system without any pH or alkalinity swings. Tonight was the night. Calcium reactor, pH controller and CO2 solenoid were shut off, and the old pH probe was removed.

The reactor was left in the sump and I simply wiped away the white chalky film that lined the chamber, and refilled it with 12 lbs of ReBorn media, then installed the lid and cleaned the effluent tubing. The empty CO2 tank was swapped out with a full one.

Opening up a new pH probe for the first time, I calibrated it in new 7.1 solution. It required a big adjustment on the pH controller's screw to read 7.1 - a full point's worth. Odd. Proceeding, I installed it in the reactor. It still read 7.1...

As the reactor filled up with tank water, the reading never changed. It occurred to me that I should have put it in some tank water just to see if it read somewhere in the 8.1-8.3 range. To do that now, I had to remove it from the reactor which caused all the liquid to exit the now-empty port which created the cloud in my reef. Not a big deal - it's just a lot of calcium sediment.

The pH probe didn't change, so I knew the brand new probe was bad. Back to my stash of backup gear, I opened up the Micro-pH box to find a new probe and new calibration solution (as seen above), as well as the actual controller. Hoping to simply use the pH probe, I calibrated it to the 7.0 solution, then moved it into the water column and it read 8.2. Good. When I tried to install it into the probe port on the calcium reactor, I discovered this probe has a smaller diameter than standard probes. I never even knew there was a different size. Argh. Thinking what would reduce the inner diameter of the tightening nut, I decided I could use the rubber grommet that was in the lid of the storage cap the probe shipped in. Here's two caps; the one on the left has the grommet removed that I used.

Here's the spot with the new grommet. I tightened it down, but the additional grommet was thicker and wouldn't let it seal - which I discovered after the reactor was full of water again. Once more I removed the probe, and this time applied teflon tape to the threads and tightened the nut snugly to maintain the seal.

Filling up the reactor with water for the fourth time tonight, I decided after all this trouble I'm going to retire the Milwaukee pH controller and use the new Micro-pH controller that has been patiently waiting for its day. Naturally it is designed for certain parts that I don't own, so further adjustments had to be made.

The Aquarium Plants Co2 regulator has an elongated plug that didn't fit inside the cover of the Micro-pH controller, but a 6" extension cord was a simple fix. I had to trim off some of the rubber protection so it would fit through the narrow slot of the controller, and then install some new screws in the stand to hang it upon.

Programming the controller wasn't hard by following the steps of the two-page instruction sheet. I've got it set for 6.5 at the moment, and can read the display from the vantage point of my desk now instead of having to enter the fishroom to verify its state. The old one has been with me about four years, and the one before that lasted me 6 years.

I'd expect the Micro-pH Controller to last just as long. I was told it was very well built, so now I'll put it through its paces. Here's the reactor filled up and back to work.

I sure didn't think adding more media was going to be such an ordeal, but these additional steps are not only necessary, they are preventative because you are correcting an area that needs to be running on all cylinders around the clock. I still need to determine how I'll hook up the Icecap dosing pump to feed the reactor, but that's going to have to wait until another day.