Do I have to have a Calcuim reactor

S

shay2005

New member
I know that it is the best way to add calcuim but can't aford to spend a lot of money on one at this time and dont know that much about them. I can feed the fish or the kids. Ha Ha Ha.

I have been using the calcuim blocks and the 2 part mixes. I would like input on the best brand to use or is important to use the reactor.
 
depends on how many corals and what kind,also reactors are cheaper to run and alot easier.. the upfront cost is expensive though,a diy will cost you about 250-300$
 
IF you are keeping hard corals and don't want to spend the money try Bionic. I used it for about 5 years on my old tank before I built my ca reactor.
 
The short answer is no. However, if you want to run SPS, its difficult to keep up with dosing and its hard to keep the tank stable by dosing manually. If you want softies/lps then there is no reason to even bother though. They dont use enough calcium/alk to cause major tank shifts quickly. Go to the chemistry forum and read about Randy's DIY Two Part. Its dirt cheap and easy to do. It will get you by just fine I think.

BTW Ditch the calcium blocks. Those things are no good. I used them for a while and I just fuxored up my tank levels. If they are the sealab #28 blocks, do not believe what they tell you. They are not really buffered. They will release calcium weather you need it or not and they also release all the other stuff too. A general rule of thumb is dont dose what you dont test, and they supposedly dose all kinds of stuff most people dont test for.
 
I would dose all kalk for your topoff water. I think maintainig alk is as importantant as calcium and the kalk keeps your ph higher and more stable. I dump a bag of Ms Wages pickling lime in a 30g brute container. I mix it up once every couple weeks, it settles in a few hours and use the water on top.
You can keep using the original that settled out by mixing it up. After it doesn't crust over the surface you need to clean out the old and use a new batch. Sometimes I just dump another bag, be careful not to breathe the dust when you dump it, it's nasty.
You wouldn't need a reactor until your corals outgrow what you kalk is adding. Even then I would keep adding kalk. Really simple and only a few dollars to start.
The controlling factor is your amount of evaporation. The more evap the more kalk you can add. If your levels are off now a water change and then adding kalk should get you back on track.
Andy
 
I dose kalk now, but my limiting factor is not my evap, its my PH. My PH runs about 8.4 or 8.5 as it is and im not matching my evap. I find dosing kalk difficult because I cant seem to get a steady drip and I am constantly adjusting it. How do you dose yours??
 
Im not spending all that money on a reactor, I will buy a Ca reactor before I do that. A kalk reactor has one problem... they have to be constantly stirred to keep the conentration of kalk the same and they also must be used with a feed pump of some sort which is also expensive. I think I am going to hook up my kalk bucket to my float valve that I use for topoff and see if I notice an increase in PH. If not I think thats what Im going to try for a while and see how it goes. Using the drip method just plain sucks.
 
I have been lookiing into this for a long time. I know exactly how to build one for probably ~$250. The main cost is the co2 tank and regulator. If you want a controller and ph monitor that raises it up a bit more. Buying one will cost you probably $200+ just for the reactor w/out any pumps, tank, or regulator. A whole system typically costs $400+
 
I have a 60g sump that's about half full. I just dump a 5g bucket into it. I'm not worried about a PH spike, I've never had problems doing this.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6855470#post6855470 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
Im not spending all that money on a reactor, I will buy a Ca reactor before I do that. A kalk reactor has one problem... they have to be constantly stirred to keep the conentration of kalk the same and they also must be used with a feed pump of some sort which is also expensive. I think I am going to hook up my kalk bucket to my float valve that I use for topoff and see if I notice an increase in PH. If not I think thats what Im going to try for a while and see how it goes. Using the drip method just plain sucks.
Click to expand...

Hey Horace, I did the kalk/float vavle thing for a while. I never had a failure, but enough precipition built up on the float to make me nervous.

Now I use a dosing pump which is the best way to go for kalk. But I don't use a reactor either(I'm too cheap) Instead I have the dosing pump pushing ro/di thru a section of 4" pvc that is capped on both ends and filled with kalk powder. The only mixing it gets is when I pick it up and shake it once a day. But even without daily mixing the pH of the effluent stays well above 11.0 With mixing the pH stays in the 12-12.4 range (assuming my pH pen is accurate...)
Probably not the most effective use, but like you noted, it's the pH that seems to limit how much kalk I can add each day. So, I really don't need 100% saturated kalk for my tank. I make up the diff with two-parters.


HTH,

Dan
 
Yeah I have heard that dosing pumps work well too....then you can use a big tank full of satuarated kalk out of a bucket and have it last for a while....Though a dosing pump is also about $100 for a decent one. I can build a Ca Reactor for about $250 or less. If hooking it to my float valve doesnt work I think i will just say to heck with it and run a Ca Reactor.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Saltwater-Aquar...ryZ46308QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here you go horace. I have seen a kazillion people here on RC using these. They usually go for about $35. The limiting factor I see tho it will only dose about 3 gallons per day. But I'm sure if you look arounf you can find one with a larger capacity. Or buy two of these for that price.

Glad you decided to stick around. You are to this forum what the Grim Reefer was to the lighting forum.

Drew
 
Tcottle, yeah I use that for my two part as well when the kalk isnt keeping up. I am strongly considering that dosing pump...thats a damn good price!

Drew,

Thank you very much for the compliments! I definatly do not think I am even close to in TGR's league, but I do my best :P Its a real shame that we have lost him and some of the others out there with a vast amount of knowledge.
 
i had problems with the kangaroo also,but by accident,'didn't read the fine print',i bought an iv pump,it'll dose as much as i want but the problem with it is it'll only dose 9999ml. so i have to reset the dosage every other day.. i have it set to dose 285ml per hour and then it'll sound an alarm when it doses 9999ml.,not a huge problem but it does dose kalk great and i'm still on my first drip set and its been working almost 3 years.i bought it on ebay for 35$. i have my kangaroo just dosing ro-di at 100ml.per hour,mainly because my calcium is so high,490-500.i only dose kalk to raise the ph which never gets above 8.0-8.1
 
I have been reading some of the follow up links and as always I have more questions? What is kalk ?

On DKKA said his PH IS 11 to 12 is this to high ? I have been shooting for 8.5 ?
 
I do not have any SPS and don't see any in the near future. I have shrooms , flowerpot, candycane and always wanting more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Corals for the first time!
Replies
14
Views
3K
griss
griss
jamesthomson2
Can anyone suggest a sump pump?
Replies
1
Views
363
griss
griss
H
Alkalinity/Calcium Balance
Replies
1
Views
2K
griss
griss
L
Adapting a Venturi to old reef octopus skimmer
Replies
2
Views
1K
wvned
wvned
griss
Does anyone remember or have a link to
Replies
1
Views
940
griss
griss
Back
Top