Effluent flow rate...

[Miller]

We setup our CA Reactor over the weekend. So far so good, taking it slow dailing it in so that we don't end up with the reactor pushing our ALK to high and the PH to low.

The effluent flow rate and I are not getting along very well right now. I have a measuring cup mark with ML on it (small one that only goes to 150ML). Well I get it adjusted to about 50-60 ML per minute, then check it 10-15 minutes later to see if it is till the same and all it good. Then some amount of time later (hours) I go back to check the flow rate and it looks like it has slowed down. So I measure it again to see how much.....then I end up with about 30 ML per minute.

My effluent leaves the reactors second chamber then has to climb about 5 inches up and about 10 inches over to dump into a 30 gallon barrel I have plumbed into the system. Is the vertical distance the cause of the slowing of the flow? I could change were the effluent entered the system so that it would go down 5 inches to the sump but it would have to travel across 3+ feet.

Let me know what you think.

 

[marine mike]

I would guess that most reactor pumps would be able to handle that rise without a problem. Mine goes up close to a foot after it leaves the chamber. I would look instead at what you are using to adjust the flow rate at the end of your tube. Some type of valve or other restrictor to adjust the rate? I would probably point to that as being the culprit in allowing the flow to deminish like that but not sure why it would be doing it. Does it continue to slow like that even further if you leave it alone or does it settle out to 30 mls a minute? I would suggest starting it a little high and letting it settle to what you want.......when I set mine up, the person who helped said that you should always allow bubble counts and drip rates to settle for 10 min. or so and then assume you are at the final number. Just a thought.

 

[JohnK]

I've found this to be quite frustrating over the yrs, weather gravity fed, Teed off a pump with a needle valve for control - the effluent rate never seemed to hold steady for me.

Simple soluton that's been working great for me for quite a while now - Use a cheapo aqualifter pump. It's a steady 50-85 ml / min and doesn't slow unless the line gets clogged (which it does every few months, but thats easily fixed by replacing 2' of RO line). If you do this, just be sure to place the pump so that if one of the lines pops off it won't cause a flood (I have mine attached above my sump so it a line comes loose it will only leak into the sump).