I actually use a combination of calcium reactor and kalk. Sorry should have been more specific..
I've had a heck of a time keeping stable parameters before getting the controller to keep my calcium reactor ph fixed. Now after I am gone for 10 days or so my alk is basically where it was when I left give or take a point or two. I think thats pretty stable. Before sometimes I'd come and my alk would vary quite a bit in a weeks time. I could leave and my alk would be 3.2 meq/l and come home in a week and it would be 4.4meq/l .
I do kalk top off when my ph is < 8.28 any greater than that I just use RO water. One of the main reasons I do this is to keep from a kalk mishap somehow and overdose my tank. I keep my reactor ph at 6.60 and it seems to be about perfect for keeping up with my tank. At first my ph was a few points higher and wasnt keeping up but I couldn't "fine adust" by drip rate any further without getting it over.. So I just bumped down my ph a point and waited a day or two and tested till I found the sweet spot. Bubble count probably I'd say a little less than 100 drops per min.
I tell you this Neptune is really slick. I don't think I could keep my tank params near as stable without it. From what my ACIII tells me my ph shifts < .2 in a 24hr period. From 8.15 - 8.35 in a typical day. Temp is from 80 - 81. I've had this controller about month now.
Now I read somewhere (I think curt from Neptune was the one that posted this) that if your alk is low then you will have larger ph swings? Is this true?
And one last thing is that this might be my imagination but here recently Ive started to notice my corals really starting to show some good growth and a better general health. I don't know if its because my tank is just a little older (probably 9mos running since I moved to Fla) or the Ca and Alk, salinity, temp etc is now pretty stable.
Thanks Randy you've helped me out soo much :beer:
