calcium reactor the way to go with large well stocked tank?

[outy]

Im getting a 1.5 dkh swing daily and ive been adding baking soda to manage alk and calcium chloride to keep my levels in line in 230g TWV. I also use kalk with my ATO

its a pain to constantly add additives daily and I dont like the dkh swings im getting. I want to start growing more SPS and want things stable.

Is a calcium reactor my best bet? I could see doser's working great for smaller volumes of water but at 230g Im thinking a reactor is teh right thing to do.

thoughts?

 

[polywise]

I strongly suggest getting one. Buy one that you can control the PH in the reaction chamber, and has some form of a flow meter.

 

[BBLINKS]

Dosing

Dosing

I HAVE BEEN DOSING FOR LITTLE OVER 9 MONTH USING BULKREEF SUPPLY 3 PART, I USE THE AQUAMEDIC STATIC DOSING PUMP WHICH IMO WORKS WELL WITH THE SET UP. IN THE BEGINING I TESTED MY WATER QUITE FREQUENTLY JUST TO DIAL EVERYTHING IN, AFTER THAT IT HAS BEEN EASY BREEZE. THE ONLY THING I WOULD CHANGE IS GET A LITRE METER RATHER THAN STATIC DRAW DOSER. PROBLEM WITH THE AQUA MEDIC DOSER, IT ISN'T 100% ACCURATE(+-0.5ML), IF THERE IS A POWER OUTAGE, YOU WOULD HAVE TO PHYSICALLY RESTART THE DOSER WHICH TURNS ON ALL THE PUMPS AT THE SAME TIME. AS WE ALL KNOW ITS NOT GOOD TO DOSE EVERYTHING AT THE SAME TIME ESPECIALY WHEN ITS ALL GOING INTO THE SAME SUMP.:eek2:

I GUESS WHAT I THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER WOULD BE SPACE, DOSING TAKES UP A LOT LESS SPACE THEN CALCIUM REACTOR, REACTOR PLUS CO2 TANK IS NOT FEASIABLE TO FIT UNDER MY TANK. MIXING THE ADDIDITVES ARE VERY SIMPLY(ALL THE INSTRUCTION ARE ON BULK REEF SUPPLIES.) i CAN ALSO FINE TUNE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE ELEMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE MY SPECIFIC NEEDS. ON THE OTHER HAND A WELL TUNED CALCIUM REACTOR WITH KALK CAN ALMOST BE HAND-OFF MONTH AT A TIME.

CHOICE IS YOURS.:hmm3:

BEST OF LUCK.

RICH

 

[outy]

thats to much mixing on a 230g system, i wont do a dosing pump.

im going through 7tbs a day for baking soda and this tank is going to be up and running a long time. I like the eaze of a cal reactor

 

[dahenley]

i would say to look in a aquarium plants co2 regulator. its 180$ for the one with gauge, but if you already have a gauge, you can buy just the box for 140 i think??

they are the best, and are on my list of next purchases. there have been too many times that i have come home to a white CA reactor.... i have never heard of a bad comment on a AP regulator. other then the initial price. but its not too much more then the standard regulator and it will be the last one you buy! -

just another opinion. plus its electronic and you can dial in your bubble count and know it wont change due to pressure in the tank!

 

[Paulairduck]

when you get into dosing on larger tanks you will be using a lot of 2 part. My 300 gallon filled with sps required 400 ml of both calcium and alk a day. I also had issues with calcium precipitation on all my pumps. meaning they required cleaning every month, not fun.

I switched from a GEO 818 reactor and I liked the reactor better and it was cheaper in the long run to use on a larger tank filled with SPS.

 

[outy]

I didnt know it would cut down on the precip, that alone makes it a winner in my book.

aquarium plants co2 regulator is the way to go but I cant afford it this time, when the RF regulator goes ill spring for that one. everyone raves about it

 

[crvz]

i've been more than pleased with my reactor over the years. As long as you do water tests regularly to ensure it's properly dialed in, you'll be in good shape.