2 Part or Calcium Reactor?

[mic209]

Don't know if this has been done before, but what is everybody using to maintain calcium and alk in their SPS tanks....

 

[Znut Reefer]

Voted Cal Reactor.

 

[cmm1970]

120 gallon system. Run for 8 years. Had a calcium reactor, went to two part, back to calcium reactor.

 

[zachslow]

i have a calcium reactor and kalk. i'm switching over to two part this week though. i'm sick of the guessing involved with bubble counts and drip rates.

 

[caribbeanguy]

My question is why not run a small calcium reactor and drip Kalk, when the demand for calcium goes up you can increase the drip rate of the Kalk? Is that a viable solution to the bubble counting and drip rates?

 

[dudley moray]

i just don't trust reactors voted 2 part !

 

[RickMartin]

Ca reactor set and forget it

 

[waxy]

Both, Reactor for when I'm not around.

2 Part for when the params are off.

Kalkwasser to Top off, like icing on a cake.

 

[money_kirk]

I have a 120 sps dominated and dosing 2 part now. Going to switch over to a calcium reactor soon.

 

[luther1200]

I use 2 part and kalk.

 

[soulsigma]

I voted Two-Part because it's not as complex as a cal reactor IMO

 

[jhawkor]

Two-Part.

 

[dan223]

Ca reactor set and forget it

Unless your co2 runs out, or effluent hose clogs.
I say 2 part dosing pumps, set it and forget it, also it doesnt creep up or down like a reactor when media gets used up.

 

[FishyBiz]

I dose 2 part daily on my nano and just pre-ordered a bubble magus doser so i dont have to worry about it.

 

[mcarroll]

So in an automated 2-part scheme, how do folks get away without having to shake up the source containers all the time?

Instructions from all the two-part products I can find indicate to shake well before each dose.

Shaking every day/every dose doesn't seem very automated, and not shaking seems like it would remove some/all of the consistency you might get from2-part "continuous dosing".

What is your solution for keeping your 2-part solutions in solution?

-Matt

P.S. To me it seems like a calcium reactor - where running out of CO2 and media can be visually seen and planned for - would have to be the most "hands-off" dosing method. (YMMV on individual reactor models, of course.)

 

[graveyardworm]

Manually dosing Randy's two-part in a 180 sps dominant, with mostly small colonies. Not much to screw up as long as I do it.

I shake my bottles first.

 

[dvanacker]

The DIY 2 part is designed so that all the chems are in solution. Which means no shaking at all after the initial mix. Some of the store bought ones have more chems in them so they may settle out a bit.

 

[sowellj]

There was a long thread on this a while back. If I recall, the consensus was that people had better results going to a 2 part w/drew's dosers. It was more expensive though. The reality is, either will work just fine.

 

[greennd79]

i dose with bulks 2 part on a litimeter 3

 

[Rodrigo_BG]

2 Parts, izi