Rostatos Reefer 450 and Reefer 170
- Thread starter Rostato
- Start date
ofzakaria
Guest
it will be super hard if not impossible to have a flat line especially with CArx...
What matter is not to hit a certain upper limit and not swing down too much. Achieving this is reasonably easy with the khg. Beside that, do not chase flat line, i doubt u can achieve it, neither would it be important in my opinion..
What matter is not to hit a certain upper limit and not swing down too much. Achieving this is reasonably easy with the khg. Beside that, do not chase flat line, i doubt u can achieve it, neither would it be important in my opinion..
Rostato
Guest
Seems to happen right before the lights dim down for the night. About 9-10pm most days.
Another observation. Growth tips on most SPS. Things are already starting to grow faster! Or it’s just the typical growth spurt that I see. I do notice that SPS seem to grow for a few weeks then slow down.
Another observation. Growth tips on most SPS. Things are already starting to grow faster! Or it’s just the typical growth spurt that I see. I do notice that SPS seem to grow for a few weeks then slow down.
ofzakaria
Guest
I had more growth when i started the reactor for sure..
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Rostato
Guest
Yup. That’s right when ph hits it’s peak for the day. I’ll snap a screen shot tonight when it does it if I can’t make it work on a graph.
Rostato
Guest
This is another reason why it's basically impossible to have alk be a flat line. Unless you can keep your ph dead stable as well.
Rostato
Guest
I would love to keep ph stable, but it’s way to complicated
ofzakaria
Guest
Even if ph is dead solid ur alk will not follow a flat line..
Alk swing is due to consumption, its not following ph rather consumption rate. During high ph coral grow faster so more intake. If ph rock solid, coral will still have varying intake based on the metabolism of the coral throughout the day.
Unless you have a dosing schedule that predict the consumption, i do not see how can you flaten the alk...unless if sm missing something here..
Rostato
Guest
correct but the .5dkh drop that seems to happen throughout the day would probably flatten out significantly
ofzakaria
Guest
Maybe...
Rostato
Guest
A little over 3 weeks with the dastaco and here are my thoughts.
I’ll give the bad first, and then the bad.
Bad
1. The manual was very confusing, but not impossible to figure out.
2. They should tell you to read the entire manual before you buy it( and you can’t get a manual until you buy it). There are a few quirks to this reactor that I was not anticipating. Example? The line from co2 solenoid to co2 chamber, and reactor to sump lines have very specific lengths that they need to be or the reactor will either alarm for or simply just not work properly. This made the install very difficult for me, and I needed the help of creative minds on the Facebook group To make it work. You really need this thing to be right next to your sump for it to be a see less install.
3. You must use either triton or dastaco pure media because the ph in the reactor is so low. So no trace elements are entering the tank from the media, but also no impurities going into the tank. So maybe a plus, but I consider it a negative. Now I’m dosing tritons infusion elements. I’ll have to send an ICP soon to see how it’s doing.
4. Can’t use remag. See#3. So now I have to dose magnesium
5. It’s by far the loudest thing on my tank. I’m not saying it’s loud because I don’t mind it, but it’s the thing that “sticks out” sound wise on the tank. Before this, it was my old MP40’s with the old dry side and the QD driver and wet side that were the loudest thing on the tank. The loud part is the peristaltic pump. It kinda grinds while it runs. I guess it’s nice to know it’s working...
6. So far my dkh is more unstable. I’m not sure why, but I seem to get much larger dips In my dkh (in the realm of around .5-.7 dkh) every three hours during he peak daylight times. I didn’t have this issue when using 2 part. I know I’m still tuning it, and I expect it to be better soon, but it’s been tough to keep the dkh from swinging too much. I’m just glad that I have my apex programmed to turn back on my 2 part dosing to supplement when needed.
7. I had to disconnect the light sensor. This measures the intensity of the light and reduces the dkh output accordingly. Sounds great, but when I had it plugged in, my dkh was plummeting almost 1 dkh overnight. So I unplugged it.
8. The low ph effluent made me have to turn up my co2 reactor, so I expect the media to last about a week less than before.
9. My ph is about 1 point lower than it was before adding the reactor. Before it I would peak around 8.4, but now I’m peaking around 8.3.
Good
1. Set and forget. I’ve had zero alarms or issues. It just works.
2. Easy to dial in. Just turn a knob. I’m almost at setting 5 of 10 with zero overdrive yet.
3. Everything I needed except the co2 tank was included
4. Great support. My Eheim pump impeller housing was broken and they sent out a replacement fast.
5. A very active and very helpful Facebook group.
6. Did I mention, set and forget. No ph probe calibration...nothing
7. My salinity is much more stable
8. I don’t have to worry about my 2 part reservoirs running out if I go on vacation. I was dosing so much two part that my reservoirs would only last 8 days.
9. The corals seem to like it. They are already growing a bit faster than before. But there could be other factors or I made up in my head. Either way I’m happy so that’s all the counts.
10. It has an audible (very annoying) alarm with different tones to tell you when something is wrong. This is awesome!
It sounds like a lot of bad, but most of those are just inconveniences that I expected. My salinity is more stable and that makes me happy.
I’ll give the bad first, and then the bad.
Bad
1. The manual was very confusing, but not impossible to figure out.
2. They should tell you to read the entire manual before you buy it( and you can’t get a manual until you buy it). There are a few quirks to this reactor that I was not anticipating. Example? The line from co2 solenoid to co2 chamber, and reactor to sump lines have very specific lengths that they need to be or the reactor will either alarm for or simply just not work properly. This made the install very difficult for me, and I needed the help of creative minds on the Facebook group To make it work. You really need this thing to be right next to your sump for it to be a see less install.
3. You must use either triton or dastaco pure media because the ph in the reactor is so low. So no trace elements are entering the tank from the media, but also no impurities going into the tank. So maybe a plus, but I consider it a negative. Now I’m dosing tritons infusion elements. I’ll have to send an ICP soon to see how it’s doing.
4. Can’t use remag. See#3. So now I have to dose magnesium
5. It’s by far the loudest thing on my tank. I’m not saying it’s loud because I don’t mind it, but it’s the thing that “sticks out” sound wise on the tank. Before this, it was my old MP40’s with the old dry side and the QD driver and wet side that were the loudest thing on the tank. The loud part is the peristaltic pump. It kinda grinds while it runs. I guess it’s nice to know it’s working...
6. So far my dkh is more unstable. I’m not sure why, but I seem to get much larger dips In my dkh (in the realm of around .5-.7 dkh) every three hours during he peak daylight times. I didn’t have this issue when using 2 part. I know I’m still tuning it, and I expect it to be better soon, but it’s been tough to keep the dkh from swinging too much. I’m just glad that I have my apex programmed to turn back on my 2 part dosing to supplement when needed.
7. I had to disconnect the light sensor. This measures the intensity of the light and reduces the dkh output accordingly. Sounds great, but when I had it plugged in, my dkh was plummeting almost 1 dkh overnight. So I unplugged it.
8. The low ph effluent made me have to turn up my co2 reactor, so I expect the media to last about a week less than before.
9. My ph is about 1 point lower than it was before adding the reactor. Before it I would peak around 8.4, but now I’m peaking around 8.3.
Good
1. Set and forget. I’ve had zero alarms or issues. It just works.
2. Easy to dial in. Just turn a knob. I’m almost at setting 5 of 10 with zero overdrive yet.
3. Everything I needed except the co2 tank was included
4. Great support. My Eheim pump impeller housing was broken and they sent out a replacement fast.
5. A very active and very helpful Facebook group.
6. Did I mention, set and forget. No ph probe calibration...nothing
7. My salinity is much more stable
8. I don’t have to worry about my 2 part reservoirs running out if I go on vacation. I was dosing so much two part that my reservoirs would only last 8 days.
9. The corals seem to like it. They are already growing a bit faster than before. But there could be other factors or I made up in my head. Either way I’m happy so that’s all the counts.
10. It has an audible (very annoying) alarm with different tones to tell you when something is wrong. This is awesome!
It sounds like a lot of bad, but most of those are just inconveniences that I expected. My salinity is more stable and that makes me happy.
ofzakaria
Guest
Only point am suprised with is the noise level. I did not think its loud at all.
Which part is generating noise?
One thing to keep in mind, these carx in general were out before alk automation and before ppl started testing all every few hours.
Some ppl now do not like carx cause they want flat line alk.
The ph is what annoyed me the most, but the way i see it its thw drawback that comea with any carx, granted dastaco bit worst casue their ph point is less thwn other regular carx.
As for the media, i personally would not want to run none pure media(dead skeleton based, regardless.
One last thing regarding the requirements and spec they want installation to be at.
How they make this reactor a set and forget is by controlling its operation conditions. So when you want high reliability out of any machine, you are forced to control its build quality AND its operational condition to guarantee the reliability you are targeting.
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ofzakaria
Guest
Really?? I do not hear mine once I close cabinet door..did u look in to the installation tips regarding reducing the noise? There are ways to make it less loud
Rostato
Guest
I didn’t see any. I can’t see how anything else would quiet it down. It’s mounted properly