calc reactor vs dosing pumps

[Lytehouse]

Reefs.com article:

Article here


Which do you use?

What do you like or dislike?

 

[ghellin]

Following along I am considering getting a calcium reactor right now as well, I already have a CO2 tank, solenoid, and regulator from my planted tanks.

 

[MBryant]

I built my calcium reactor for under $100. Just need the co2 system now

 

[Glazner]

Let me say I am a beginner to the CA Reactor. It is proving a little harder for me to get dialed in then I thought. My drip rate was slow and got clogged up(I think when I moved it and stirred it up).... so had to start dialing it in again, had my CO2 adjustment nob get bumped, blasting CO2, had to start dialin in again, Had a leak in a connector and had to refil the tank. Also it is hard with my set up to make small ajustments ie change the bubble count from 1 bubble to 1 1/2..... I think it will be great as soon as I can get it adjusted better... But I sure like the looks of the comas frag tank with the dosing pumps!! I am interested in hearing from others.

 

[chaderic26]

I use dosing pumps on my tank and have been happy with them so far. The only problem is making sure you have a big enough resivoir of cal and alk to make the maimtenance not as often.

 

[pwhitby]

I (kind of) do both.
I use a Calcium Reactor but check alk/cal every week or so and adjust as necessary.

This works well for me.

Paul.

 

[Lytehouse]

So,
all but 1 of us using, or considering, calc reactors.

I use the Bubble Magus dosing pump to dose alk/calc/mag
Check water parameters once weekly
making adjustments to the programmable unit takes seconds

I like the simplicity
I wonder about the effiency on a large system,
say 300 or 600 gal.

 

[chaderic26]

I have seen some pics of some awesome big tanks doing the balling method but with concentrated solutions of cal and alk to keep up with the high demand.

Imho the way paul is doing it would probably be the easiest way. The calcium reactor could handle the bulk of it with the aquarist making small adjustments weekly or bi weekly.

 

[Lytehouse]

interesting Chad,

how are they concentrating the solution....

less water added when mixing?

 

[chaderic26]

I'm not a hundred percent on that. I know you can increase the concentration of calcium chloride in solution for sure without risking precipitation. There is a way that you can increase the concentration of the alkalinity because I have heard that the esv 2 part is about twice as concentrated as the DIY solution.

Here is a quote from one of the mods Bertoni talking about it:

"The BRS recipes are about half the concentration of the B-Ionic products, but hobbyists don't have the equipment needed to make similar solutions."

Maybe Paul or someone with more chemistry knowledge than me might know the details. I would be interested to know also.

 

[ghellin]

Ok one more question to add to this to those who do use a reactor do you have a second effluent chamber to bring the pH back up a little? Or are you just running the single chamber?

 

[pwhitby]

single chamber.

The flow thru a reactor is very low. You can run it through a container with more crushed coral in it- but it makes little effect.

A good controller is essential for the system, mine runs at a pH of 6.5

 

[ghellin]

Thank you very much!

 

[Triple_B]

I have the same dosing system as Lynn. For the size of tank I have, I think it's perfect. The thing that is really handy is if I do need to bring up the levels on anything I can program it to add a little extra and spread the extra dose out over several days, so I avoid large spikes and don't have to manually add anything.

 

[blakers82]

single chamber.

The flow thru a reactor is very low. You can run it through a container with more crushed coral in it- but it makes little effect.

A good controller is essential for the system, mine runs at a pH of 6.5

Paul,

What is your display's pH fluctuating around these days?

Lynn,

You have a good point about the dosing pumps and ease of use with a controller. It can be a little more work, but my controller keeps things pretty simple with the calcium reactor these days. I haven't always had a smooth time with the reactor, but that's more to do with skimping on the quality of the CO2 system's units (cough find a well built regulator cough).


I'm currently running a dual chamber reactor. I try to check params weekly. Even with the dual reactor and topping off from a kalkwasser reservoir at night my pH hovers between 7.8-8pH. Since it's cooled off I've been opening windows around the aquarium when I can, but I haven't observed any significant rise in pH.

 

[Lytehouse]

seems to be a lot of tinkering with calc reactor.

I hear that alot.