calcium reactor or doser
- Thread starter kba981
- Start date
Runfrumu
Hi
I just bought a calcium reactor today, but I had been dosing 2 part. I was having to add about 6 oz a day to keep up with the demand of my tank, and I have mostly LPS with a couple of clams, so no where near as demanding as alot of other tank.
My main concern was trying to stabilize the tank rather than spiking my alk to 10 in the evening's when I'm home then letting it dwindle during the day when I was able to dose it.
I think in the long run a calcium reactor will be alot cheaper than using 2 part, other than the initial cost, a calcium reactor is fairly cheap to run, and some dosers are just as high as a reactor is anyways. And even if you find an inexpensive doser, the cost of 2-part, even when you use bulk materials will eventually run more than the reactor.
My main concern was trying to stabilize the tank rather than spiking my alk to 10 in the evening's when I'm home then letting it dwindle during the day when I was able to dose it.
I think in the long run a calcium reactor will be alot cheaper than using 2 part, other than the initial cost, a calcium reactor is fairly cheap to run, and some dosers are just as high as a reactor is anyways. And even if you find an inexpensive doser, the cost of 2-part, even when you use bulk materials will eventually run more than the reactor.
bergzy
New member
i'll chime in on the ca reactor plus and minus.
a ca reactor eases the addition of equal ca and alk. a ca reactor, once set up properly and dialed into your tank requirements, is truly a great addition for stable alk levels.
the negative aspect of a ca reactor is that they can be tricky to set up and requires (sometimes a lot of) patience to dial in to your tank requirements.
here is a thread i have been discussing with about ca reactor set up and operation. it took me quite a while to figure out on my own and didnt get the finer points until an experienced reefer and good friend helped me dial it in.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1698313
i use geo and korallin ca reactors on my systems. the geo is definitely easier to use than the korralin.
two part and ca reactors each have their own plus and minus'...just like those who endlessly debate t5 vs mh!
a ca reactor eases the addition of equal ca and alk. a ca reactor, once set up properly and dialed into your tank requirements, is truly a great addition for stable alk levels.
the negative aspect of a ca reactor is that they can be tricky to set up and requires (sometimes a lot of) patience to dial in to your tank requirements.
here is a thread i have been discussing with about ca reactor set up and operation. it took me quite a while to figure out on my own and didnt get the finer points until an experienced reefer and good friend helped me dial it in.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1698313
i use geo and korallin ca reactors on my systems. the geo is definitely easier to use than the korralin.
two part and ca reactors each have their own plus and minus'...just like those who endlessly debate t5 vs mh!
MichaelLitoris
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15641690#post15641690 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bergzy
two part and ca reactors each have their own plus and minus'...just like those who endlessly debate t5 vs mh!
Agree (but just to be clear metal halides rulez, lol)
I personally believe the reactor is the way to go, seems more natural to disolve aragonite than adding chemicals, but then you have to deal with a lower pH.
There are pros and cons on both sides. If you don't have lots of SPS then go with the 2 part solution, it's definitely cheap and easy.
stooges3tx
New member
I have an SPS dominated tank. 6 months ago when my colonies were small and I had little coralin algae due to it being a new tank I had to add 300ml a day of 2 part. That is 300ml each! I was doing water changes weekly and testing constantly. Everything was working well. I then started to see everything growing great but I started to have a really hard time keeping my Alk up. Intro to Mg. Started testing Mg and now..... for weeks I haven't dosed more than 300ml total of Ca and Alk combined. In reality... I had to dose an Alk buffer because I found that my Ca stayed stable because my Ca kept rising when I dosed but percipitated from a lack of Mg. So when I maintained my Mg my Ca actually started to rise and my Alk stopped being drained so fast. At this point I am thinking that a Ca Rx may not be needed It may be just a balance of elements in the water. I may be wrong but I also haven't done a water change in over a month! I have some large SPS colonys and I have been sucessful with everything I have done thus far. Am I living in a dream world that buying bulk Ca Alk and Mg with testing appropriatley and dosing when needed will cost me more than just hooking up a Ca Rx and doing weekly water changes? I highly doubt from the aquarists I have seen, that they take the time to test water correctly to dose Mg.
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