Calcium Reactors?

[drwonga]

Hey Guys!

I have a 40 gallon breeder with 1 175watt MH, and 1 125watt (?) HQI MH bulbs. I'm starting to grow some hard corals and was curious if a calcium reactor would be a good investment. I maintain calcium levels now with water changes, but I hear that can be expensive. I was looking at the Korallin 1502. Is this overkill? Thanks!

 

[old salty]

I used to have a reactor on my tank and am now able to maintain Ca with 10% weekly water changes. At $4.90 per water change, it would take quite a long time to add up to the cost of a reactor, media, CO2, regulator, and feed pump.

 

[garyw68]

hey old salty...what kind of salt mix do you use? do you dose your new water with anything before you do the water change?

 

[McCrary]

On a 40 gallon tank I would just use a kalkwasser drip or a 2 part additive. Check your calcium demands often and see how water changes affect your calcium levels as well as how much calcium you use daily. I would be very suprised to find that a calcium reactor would be necessary on a tank that size. But if you have the cash to blow, a calcium reactor would make the dosing easier.

 

[old salty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9026780#post9026780 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garyw68
hey old salty...what kind of salt mix do you use? do you dose your new water with anything before you do the water change?

I use Marine Environment salt and dose absolutely nothing (OK, RO/DI for topoffs, but no additives of any kind.) I don't even use limewater for topoffs anymore. The alkalinity reads a bit low when mixing (3dKH), but oddly enough my SPS have never seemed happier and are showing more growth than ever. I tried dosing a little bit of baked baking soda to raise the alkalinity, but this only resulted in a semi-cloudy, precipitate filled tank so now I just leave it alone. Despite having more growth than ever, my calcium levels do not seem to come down prior to doing water changes. 450 on Sunday evening and 450 the following Sunday morning. It is also the most consistent salt I have used; bag to bag, batch to batch, it always reads the same. It makes reefkeeping much easier for me which is a good thing.

 

[drwonga]

Thanks for the input guys. I suppose I'll stick to my routine for right now I use Instant Ocean...do you think their Reef Crystals salt will make a difference? I'll go through and test the Ca and alk levels throughout the day and find out how much they are using.

 

[old salty]

RC would probably make maintaining proper levels a bit easier than IO.

 

[McCrary]

Old salty- How much SPS do you have in the 125?

 

[old salty]

About 30 pieces; most are about 10-15 months old.