calcium reactor vs dosing

Started my 40 Breeder SPS with a calcium reactor with effluent chamber. Everything controlled by RKE. Setup was very easy, took a week to dial in to my CA/ALK demand. Great system.

Added the reactor over dosing pumps for the trace elements the media releases when burned. I'm hoping the disloving of coral will aid in better growth over dosing pure CA and ALK. I still dose Mg with a BRS pump though. Even though I added Mg to my reactor media, it just doesn't keep up.

To early to tell if the calcium reactor grows coral better but so far so good.
 
well tonight will try to resurect the calcuim reactor that will be the deciding factor

thanks for all your input. much apreciated
 
Those stories come from people who don't understand ca reactors. They are EASY!
People have different views on CA CO3 reactors. . However, many who choose not to use them or stop using them understand them and alternative methods very well.
 
im sure ppl who use either or understand them.. this is my first atempt with a ca reactor or dosing for that matter. so i have no clue..lol i purchased a tank with regulator.. and an old coralife reactor for 150 bucks. both full of media and what not.. no instructions all i know thus far if from google and some help from a kind reefer whom has pm'd me on the matter out of the kindness or maybe pity. but hae managed to get it some what running or i think its running out of the tank with buckets. this is in hopes i dont make a huge mistake an nuke some of my fav things in the tank.. i know i have to do one or the other in order to have the sps/ lps i wish to stock..its the fear of new things

for 4 years i have only dosed with bottled suppliments if you call dumping a little of this and little of that randomly blindly.. dosing.. im hoping to bea bit more methodical on my new 180..with better sucess rates...or an epic fail.. time will tell i supose.
 
JAustin said:
Those stories come from people who don't understand ca reactors. They are EASY!
Click to expand...

U must know every single person here and individually and personally... A foolish statement... People usually do what works best for them...

Dosing pumps here... If I had a larger more populated system, I would have reactor...
 
I dose with C Balance

I dose with C Balance

I'm a doser, never used a calcium reactor. Friends who use calc reactors have to use Phosphate media, due to the production of phosphate from the reactor.


CaptiveReef
 
I did a couple years Ca Reactor and 3 years with dosing. I was always fussing with the reactor. The bubble rate would drift, the media would clog, etc. Dosing has been easy and reliable. I have never had a tank so stable.
 
It took me awhile to get my geo 624 setup, the regulator was a piece. Untill i finally purchased the aq plants carbon doser the reactor was a pain!!!! with this regulator its set it and forget it!! keeps it electronicly regulated. With the ph probe in the reactor it keeps it set!!! no hassel!! If u have ever been discouraged w your calcium reactor get this regulator and u will have it easy, it will be around $50 per yr to keep your params stable.
 
If you can't use a ca reactor something is wrong with the user not the method. It's a tried and true method. I've done both so I'm not all one sided. The statement isn't foolish. Read the many posts of people not able to properly set up a ca reactor. Once they get good advice it usually works out for them. If you know what equipment to buy and how to use it, you won't have issues, very simple.

No need to get personal pallobi, this is a discussion. I'm not calling people who have failed at ca reactors dumb. I'm only saying if they don't get it right, there is something they aren't understanding. If they knew what they were doing they wouldn't post asking for help. If they switch back to dosing pumps than that's just what they like, not that they are to dumb to operate a reactor.
 
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Calcium Reactor for nearly 4 years. Rock steady parameters for me. I only have to adjust the output as the coral mass grows. I had to purchase a larger reactor because the corals were out-consuming the output of the first reactor. Both of mine have been Geo. A 618 to start and now a 818.
 
If you can't use a ca reactor something is wrong with the user not the method..


There you go againWhat do you think is wrong with the users who find them more difficult and less effective than other systems? Inconsistency, relative complexity of equipment, ph issues , impurities from the dissolving aragonite are all real questions.
Each of the 3 commonly used methods have advantages and disadvantages. You prefer A calcium reactor fine; many use them and that's good if it works for them.

I don't ;and, prefer limewater dosing and a little 2 part tweak . I wouldn't say if you can't keep a reef with self purifying ,ph boosting limewater, there is something wrong with you.
I respect folks choices and proclivities and don't see a need to push one method over another or to insult folks who have a different point of view. It's not at all helpful to a learning discussion. You need to stop doing it .
My experience with my calcium reactor has been less than stellar in the longrun.Last time I went to the doctor there wasn't anything wrong with me.

I used my calcium reactor reactor for years . Corals have never been better since I took it off line and put it on the shelf 3.5 years ago.
 
maybe i should scrap it all and dose milk its suposed to be high in calcium... seriously tho there are alot of methods and im sure they all have thier bonuses.. i didn't wish a debate of the matter just personal opinons from ppl more experiaced with these types of media than i

i am still reading and trying to understand the reactor i have... i didnt have a chance tonight to play with it maybe tomorrow.
 
i use two part and dose by hand daily still scared to trust the dosers lol let alone a co2 bottle with reactor and probes and meters ugh just too much can go wrong , dosers get stuck or mess up and keep dosing power gets interrupted and dosers go nuts who know my hand to the tank works till i get the nerve up to buy some brs dosers and trust the rke to do its thing other than turning the lights on and off and monitoring my temp...lol
good luck hope it works out seems 98% of the people her use one or the other without issue and have great tanks so it should be easy to figure out ..one day i will join you all in the technology..
 
rogerwilco357 said:
i use two part and dose by hand daily still scared to trust the dosers lol let alone a co2 bottle with reactor and probes and meters ugh just too much can go wrong , dosers get stuck or mess up and keep dosing power gets interrupted and dosers go nuts who know my hand to the tank works till i get the nerve up to buy some brs dosers and trust the rke to do its thing other than turning the lights on and off and monitoring my temp...lol
good luck hope it works out seems 98% of the people her use one or the other without issue and have great tanks so it should be easy to figure out ..one day i will join you all in the technology..
Click to expand...

So much for the debate lol. Rogerwilco here is just not trusting any of us. He only trusts himself and his hands of course.
I personally am dosing randy's two part and I am not having any issue stabilizing the parameters.

I think what the topic owner is interested in most is the disadvantage and advantage of each method from our experience and not our personal preference which one is better.

I switched from freshwater aquascaping and had quite some experience with Co2 diffusers, solenoids and bottles, to me they are quite a pain to dial in if you don't have a good solenoid and bubble counter. You also have to calibrate the PH probe once awhile and if you don't you might get different readings which affects directly the reactor and the display tank. With dosers you check for clogs and mix good solutions for dosing. I mix new batch every 2 months I check the clogs everyweek when I do water changes. I also get very cheap powders. But the real reason I am sticking to auto dosing is that I have a small tank about 100G including sump and that I feel like I have better control and flexibility when I want to adjust parameters. I also like the fact that by mixing and dosing I can learn more about chemistry of my tank and pretend I am a chemist :))

Which method to use is really depending on you. I would recommend dosing in general and Randy's 2 part if you are new like me and wish to learn more about your tank. Btw, one of the reason I stick to dosing is because I use Randy's 2 part which makes it less expensive. If I had to dose commercial products I would give it a second thought.

Goodluck
 
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