Why would you want 2 stage CA reactor?

[Kim]

I am looking at calcium reactors and I am wondering why a 2 stage over 1? I read that a 2 stage will help with keeping pH stable but why is that? I really don't know much about these things.

I am thinking of building one and I don't know if I should go with one or two stage. I would like to build one for a 135 gallon tank and maybe one for my 30 gallon.

Thanks,

Kim

 

[Ray]

I think it has something to do with the co2 having more of a chance to escape before being dripped back into your water
someone correct me if I am wrong

 

[dima96]

the way it was explained to me was that a two chamber reactor inceases the reaction time between the c02 which is carbonic acid in water and the media. by increasing the reaction time you use more of the carbonic acid up and pH should be something like 7.3 with a 2 chamber and 6.5 with a single chamber.

 

[Ray]

Ah thanks Doug I have a 2 chamber so I will go test it and tell you

 

[Ray]

ok 7.6 in mine

 

[this is me]

isnt 7.6 a little too high even for a dual chamber reactor? Mine is somewhere in the 7.0 range coming out of the second chamber. If i remember correctly, a dual chamber effluent has a PH of .2-.3 higher than that of a single chamber. So if you say your PH is 7.6 in the second, that means the PH in the first is somewhere between 7.3-7.4. Isnt this too high to dissolve the Media? I know ARM dissolve at a higher PH than crush coral and other media but even ARM need to be a PH of 7.0 to dissolve.

 

[Ray]

thanks I did turn the co2 up a little after that reading
I need to retune my system

 

[Armando]

I set mine to be 6.6 out of second chamber.