Calcium Reactor or Dose
- Thread starter kdblove_99
- Start date
jtarmitage
Active member
Nope. 7.5"x15". Not too bad considering...
funman1
Active member
I have to agree with Unarce and D&K..
You all seem to be under the impression that dosing means that you have to do it yourself every day!?!?!?
2 part dosing is all about getting an automatic doser!!!
I now have both my Alk and CA on separate dosers and am LOVING IT!!!!
My Alk is rock solid at 10 and my CA is dead on at 420...
Once set; there is, no fiddling, no CO2 to refill, no ph probes to go bad and replace, no finding the right size media, etc.......
Bruce who maintains tanks for a living is 100% PRO dosing.
They are point and click!!
If your levels start to go down just a tad (which they will as corals grow and need more), just press a button to up the dosing and presto, levels are back where they need to be and will stay there for weeks or months.
Making the 2 part is literally $1.50 per gallon for CA and $2.00 per gallon for Alk
So my tank burns 80cc's of Alk and 60cc's of CA per day, that equals.
2,400cc's of Alk per month
1,800 cc's CA per month
1 US gallon = 3,785 cc's
Alk cost per month $0.00053 per cc X 2,400 = $1.27 Per Month
CA cost per month $0.0004 per cc X 1,800 = $0.72 Per Month
At just $1.99 per month to keep my levels where I want them in an SPS tank, that's dang good IMO
Yes, dosers are expensive initially, but I will never switch away from them..
I'm SOLD on the dosers; hands down!
I'm not knocking those who have reactors, but they just are not for me.
You all seem to be under the impression that dosing means that you have to do it yourself every day!?!?!?
2 part dosing is all about getting an automatic doser!!!
I now have both my Alk and CA on separate dosers and am LOVING IT!!!!
My Alk is rock solid at 10 and my CA is dead on at 420...
Once set; there is, no fiddling, no CO2 to refill, no ph probes to go bad and replace, no finding the right size media, etc.......
Bruce who maintains tanks for a living is 100% PRO dosing.
They are point and click!!
If your levels start to go down just a tad (which they will as corals grow and need more), just press a button to up the dosing and presto, levels are back where they need to be and will stay there for weeks or months.
Making the 2 part is literally $1.50 per gallon for CA and $2.00 per gallon for Alk
So my tank burns 80cc's of Alk and 60cc's of CA per day, that equals.
2,400cc's of Alk per month
1,800 cc's CA per month
1 US gallon = 3,785 cc's
Alk cost per month $0.00053 per cc X 2,400 = $1.27 Per Month
CA cost per month $0.0004 per cc X 1,800 = $0.72 Per Month
At just $1.99 per month to keep my levels where I want them in an SPS tank, that's dang good IMO
Yes, dosers are expensive initially, but I will never switch away from them..
I'm SOLD on the dosers; hands down!
I'm not knocking those who have reactors, but they just are not for me.
Last edited:
jthao
Super Saiyan
what about this one?? Is this one any good?? I hope so cuss I don't want to have to buy another reactor...
http://www.marinetechnical.com/page12.html
http://www.marinetechnical.com/page12.html
kdblove_99
New member
Steve,
You made that sound so good
Yes, I have been doing it Manually
WHat Doser do you have Steve O? The litermeter III looks to be the best i have seen. BUt if you have something cheaper and as good, I would love that
You made that sound so good
Yes, I have been doing it Manually
WHat Doser do you have Steve O? The litermeter III looks to be the best i have seen. BUt if you have something cheaper and as good, I would love that
funman1
Active member
Well I have 2
My CA is now on my Litermeter I (I got it for like $10 bucks, REALLY!!)
And my Alk is now on "The Sentry" from http://www.reefdosingpumps.com/
Kevin traded that unit to me.
Yeah they sting on purchase price, there are no cheap dosers, Esp' when you need 2 seperately controlled channels
My CA is now on my Litermeter I (I got it for like $10 bucks, REALLY!!)
And my Alk is now on "The Sentry" from http://www.reefdosingpumps.com/
Kevin traded that unit to me.
Yeah they sting on purchase price, there are no cheap dosers, Esp' when you need 2 seperately controlled channels
funman1
Active member
Since I don't have a newer Litermeter III I don't know if you can control the addon module seperately?
I know it can have upto 3 pumps on it (1 Onboard, and 2 remote) But I have no idea if you can set different rates for each remote??
That would prolly be a good Bruce question
I know it can have upto 3 pumps on it (1 Onboard, and 2 remote) But I have no idea if you can set different rates for each remote??
That would prolly be a good Bruce question
kdblove_99
New member
If you could do that. That would probably be the winner!
jtarmitage
Active member
The LM setup is definitely a great way to achieve the same results, but people that dose are typically trying to find a way to mitigate costs, and a LMIII and and additional pump runs about $450 new, which is the cost of a very good CA reactor.
Either way, they both work very well, are both easy to adjust, and will likely cost about the same going forward. I've been dosing(albeit manually) for a long time, and finally made the jump to the CA Rx and am very happy. Could I have been just as happy going with the LM setup? Yes, but then I'd still have to make up the solutions every month. This way, I just sit back and watch.
Either way, they both work very well, are both easy to adjust, and will likely cost about the same going forward. I've been dosing(albeit manually) for a long time, and finally made the jump to the CA Rx and am very happy. Could I have been just as happy going with the LM setup? Yes, but then I'd still have to make up the solutions every month. This way, I just sit back and watch.
Mikey Donuts
Premium Member
I've been dosing manually every day for the last year or so. I was thinking about a Calcium reactor, but after talking to Steve and others I'm going to stick with dosing. I am getting a LM III next month so everything will be automated. The biggest pro I can see with dosing is that it's pretty much set it and forget it. Every now and then I check the my Alk and Ca levels and adjust accordingly, but I never have big PH swings, low Alk, or any problems that can easily occur with a reactor. I mixed up a batch of three part (two gallons of each part) two months ago and I've only used about 20% of it so the hassle of making the mixture has been minimal for me. There's just less that can go wrong with dosing and less to fiddle with IMO.
D&KSac
Premium Member
The rates no. The rate is set off of how fast the pump can pump over a 24 hour period. It doesn't dose your daily amount all at once it spaces it out throughout the day. Unless i just havent figured out how to do that yet. The LM III can do alot. I just havent messed with it since im getting the results i wanted to get out of it.
funman1
Active member
Right, They only kick on when needed to archive the set dosage for a 24hr period.
The question was can I set one motor for 80ml a day for Alk,
and the other motor for 60ml a day for CA?
(Are they individualy adjustable?)
I also make up batches of Alk and CA in 2 gallon batches so I don't need to make them very often, That's over 2 months worth for me.
Like I said not knocking the reactor, they just require too much fiddle for me,
and I've read to many stories where people thought their CA reactor was working fine,
only to find out it stopped, fell out of adjustment co2 valve got stuck open or closed, and by then it's pretty late in the game of catch up.
With Dosers I don't even have bad thoughts when I leave, like "is that thing working?"
I just know that's it always is, there not much to break on them,
and the LMIII has a 5 year warranty if it ever does break.
Don't know any reactors that have that much warranty, or ever even heard of a reactor working that long with out something breaking like a recirc pump or sticky valve etc...
My bottom line; less complexity, means less failure potential.
The question was can I set one motor for 80ml a day for Alk,
and the other motor for 60ml a day for CA?
(Are they individualy adjustable?)
I also make up batches of Alk and CA in 2 gallon batches so I don't need to make them very often, That's over 2 months worth for me.
Like I said not knocking the reactor, they just require too much fiddle for me,
and I've read to many stories where people thought their CA reactor was working fine,
only to find out it stopped, fell out of adjustment co2 valve got stuck open or closed, and by then it's pretty late in the game of catch up.
With Dosers I don't even have bad thoughts when I leave, like "is that thing working?"
I just know that's it always is, there not much to break on them,
and the LMIII has a 5 year warranty if it ever does break.
Don't know any reactors that have that much warranty, or ever even heard of a reactor working that long with out something breaking like a recirc pump or sticky valve etc...
My bottom line; less complexity, means less failure potential.
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Tofumushrooman
New member
yeah after reading this ive been undecided but it looks like im going to have to bother steve and bribe him with beer or something to help me set up a doser... : )
Brian Prestwood
Premium Member
IME
IME
Hey Davey
I've used...
Kalkwasser (approx 3 yrs)
Two part addtives (approx 2 yrs)
Calcium reactors (approx 7 yrs)
I've examined around 10 different designs. I've built approx 15 calcium reactors (5 with external circulation loops, 10 with internal circulation loops).
That said, I'm no expert. I've always kept garden tanks so I've not been as focused on this issue as the SPS only guys are.
My priorities have always been...
Ease of Maintenance
Stable Alkalinity
Minimum Cost
Summary...
IMO - with these priorities, calcium reactors are best for larger (> 75 gal) SPS tanks. Two part is best for smaller SPS tanks and all sizes of non-SPS tanks.
Also, calcium reactors are not a one stop solution. You will still have to add buffer and/or Ca/Mg to stay balanced.
The arguement that two part additives with dosing pumps are more reliable and easier than a calcium reactor is an apples to oranges comparison.
IME - Two part additives with two dosing pumps are no easier to use and no more reliable than a calcium reactor with a CO2 controller and one dosing pump.
Initial costs on the two part are setup are lower than the calcium reactor but, as Steve's (funman1) analysis shows, the lower on-going costs of a calcium reactor make up for that on larger SPS tanks.
Finally, IMO, unless you like tweaking bubble and drip rates, you need a CO2 controller and a dosing pump. There is no such thing as a cheap calcium reactor that decreases maintenance.
On the flip side, if cost is the limiting factor, tweaking drip and bubble rates isn't much more work then two part additives. A calcium reactor is cheaper to operate. DIY the reactor, leave out the CO2 controller and the dosign pump and they pay for themselves pretty quickly.
IME
Hey Davey
I've used...
Kalkwasser (approx 3 yrs)
Two part addtives (approx 2 yrs)
Calcium reactors (approx 7 yrs)
I've examined around 10 different designs. I've built approx 15 calcium reactors (5 with external circulation loops, 10 with internal circulation loops).
That said, I'm no expert. I've always kept garden tanks so I've not been as focused on this issue as the SPS only guys are.
My priorities have always been...
Ease of Maintenance
Stable Alkalinity
Minimum Cost
Summary...
IMO - with these priorities, calcium reactors are best for larger (> 75 gal) SPS tanks. Two part is best for smaller SPS tanks and all sizes of non-SPS tanks.
Also, calcium reactors are not a one stop solution. You will still have to add buffer and/or Ca/Mg to stay balanced.
The arguement that two part additives with dosing pumps are more reliable and easier than a calcium reactor is an apples to oranges comparison.
IME - Two part additives with two dosing pumps are no easier to use and no more reliable than a calcium reactor with a CO2 controller and one dosing pump.
Initial costs on the two part are setup are lower than the calcium reactor but, as Steve's (funman1) analysis shows, the lower on-going costs of a calcium reactor make up for that on larger SPS tanks.
Finally, IMO, unless you like tweaking bubble and drip rates, you need a CO2 controller and a dosing pump. There is no such thing as a cheap calcium reactor that decreases maintenance.
On the flip side, if cost is the limiting factor, tweaking drip and bubble rates isn't much more work then two part additives. A calcium reactor is cheaper to operate. DIY the reactor, leave out the CO2 controller and the dosign pump and they pay for themselves pretty quickly.
D&KSac
Premium Member
To answer the question sorry it was really early this morning when i posted. Yes Steve each pump is indepently set. So you can have different amounts of different things dosed each day.
I also do the same thing i have one gallon of KH and one of CA under my tank on another mixed up so when i run out i just switch it out. While mixing my stuff it takes no longer to just an extra gallon then it does to mix one gallon. From what ive been reading there is also a set up with the LM III that allows you to run an auto top off, off of it. Im eventually gonna get another pump to do my Magnesium with it to and that will be my 3 pumps. But i love that thing.
