Pife
Active member
So to actually help the OP and elaborate on my previous posts, I'd like to explain my two biggest issues with dosing 2 or 3 part in SPS heavy systems.
1. Maintaining balanced dosing can be difficult. I found making consistent solutions tricky. I produce 5 gallon batches and weigh out the CaCl and baked baking soda on a digital scale plus carefully measure the volume of RODI water used in the solutions. Despite my careful measurements the solutions are never perfect and regular testing and adjustments are needed for at least a couple weeks after making a new batch. Plus even though I carefully calibrate my dosing pumps they tend to deviate and need additional recalibration every few months.
2. Adding CaCl as opposed to a calcium reactor adds chloride which increases salinity overtime and creates an ionic imbalance in the tank. This can be counteracted with regular water changes but it certainly something to consider if you dose a lot as I was in my SPS tank.
In addition to to the previously mentioned benefits of adding trace elements at the proper concentrations for coral growth (particularly strontium) these are the reasons I would go with a reactor for a tank with heavy Ca and Alk demands in the future.
That said I'm still dosing in my softy dominate tank and it's working well for me.
How many minutes and how many times a day were you dosing on your tank?