Calcium reactor help

[BCreefmaker]

I have a new calcium reactor hooked up to my system. Its a DIY version. I had a few questions on how to run it. I don't have any alk/Ca test kits, Just a PH meter. Is it safe to run the reactor at a super low level? I was told by they guy i bought it off that a medium to high draw of calcium was 1 bubble per second. Can I put it to 1 bubble per 3-5 seconds to add some calcium without testing? will additional calcium and carbonate precipitate out of the water? or is it just like everything else if you cant test for it don't dose it? I have alk/Ca test kits, but they are 4+ year old hagen tests they always seemed pretty inaccurate though. I was looking to keep my calcium and alkalinity levels good for the coraline algae and 3 small sps colonies I have. So far I was just using kalk for top off water, but the sps seems to have slowed quite a bit since the Coraline algae has kicked in.

 

[lordofthereef]

Too much will cause a "snowstorm" in your tank from it precipitating. Personally I would do nothing until you get a test kit. They can be had for 10-15 bucks. It is probably going to take a bit of dialing to see how much you tank is actually consuming so IMO it is really difficult to know if you are setting it to the correct amount. I doubt the setting you are looking to start with would cause you issues, but then again, I am not clear why you want to set it "blindly" at all.

 

[bertoni]

I agree that alkalinity and calcium test kits are required to tune the calcium reactor. I'd also watch the pH of the tank carefully.