Calcium reactor questions

[insanefishguy]

I have been recently struggling to get my tank under control. I was thinking about getting a calcium reator but dont know anything about them. First off, where can I get a decent one and about how much am I looking at. From what I have found they run around $350 plus another $100 or so for the co2. Where do you get co2 cylinders filled and about how much does that cost?

 

[edsimmons]

Have you considered a DIY reactor (Way cheaper) and just buy the bottle, regulator and solenoid?

Good Luck
Ed

 

[rickyfins]

My best advice is to get a pH monitor to set it up properly. If you want the easy tried and true directions Joe, talk to Dan!

He really can help alot. I have one setup now and it was fairly simple, it was just getting the time to do it and making sure I took my time.

 

[law086]

For a calcium reactor, you'll need the actual reactor (you can find prices online, anywhere from $150 up to a few hundred), a CO2 regulator, a feed pump, a circulation pump (sometimes this comes with the reactor), a PH controller (to be safe) and the CO2 cylinder. I have an MR2 and got it used here. I think I payed around 400 for everything.

I think my MR2 is OK. Not great, not bad. Good middle of the road. If I was going to get a new one, I'd get a GEO personally. Build quality of that stuff is excellent.

CO2 is pretty cheap to fill. Typically you can get it filled at a beer distributer. I pay less than 10 bucks to fill a 5 pound cylinder. That 5 pounds would last most people a few months.

Best of luck,
Ron