How many people out there dosig B Ionics rather than reactor with success?

[kilo]

And if so are there any limitations as far as corals?

 

[orangekush4]

I use it on my 58 and love it,i had a mrc cr2, i sold it.My tank has about 9 LG sps colonys.The great thing about it is,if you go out of town you can just have the person looking after your tank dos it.I had my brother who cant tack care of himself, look after my tank for 21 days and when i got back all my corals look great.I do dos about 40ml of both parts every day.I dont have any pics becuse my wedows 2000 cant minimiz my pics to load to reefcentral,i wish i had photo shop so i can show you can have very larg sps with b ionic.

 

[kirstenk]

I dose Randy's 3 part. I see no limitations.

 

[jobob]

hey orangekush4 go to limewire dotcom and download it, then u can get a photo shop for free. just make sure u click the box that says i wont do anything illegal.

 

[jobob]

yea i dose with c-balance made by two little fishes

 

[gizmo7718]

I've been dosing B-Ionic for the past year, just recently switched to Randy's 3-part to save money. There hasn't been any corals I have not been able to keep. I admit, I love the "set it and forget it" idea of a calcium reactor, but just can't justify the costs right now, especially since my tank is relatively small (46 gal).

 

[seminolecpa]

I was using B-Ionic in my 58 but my tank demands got too high so I switched to Randy's 2 part. After about a year of daily dosing )about 50ml daily of each) and mixing I finally threw in the towel and bought a reactor.

That said if you have the patience or get a doser you shouldn't have any limitations to what you can have.

 

[XeniaMania]

What about Kent's Liquid Reactor? Sorry, don't mean to hijack or go OT, but I figured it's related.

 

[XeniaMania]

Or Aragamilk?

 

[iCam]

I used a two part additive on my 58g, and dosed kalk with topoff. I had SPS,LPS, and clams but not in an amount that demanded too much calcium.

Although they are rather expensive, if demand for calcium is high, a reactor would probably be easier and cheaper in the long run.

 

[MiddletonMark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6907074#post6907074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by XeniaMania
What about Kent's Liquid Reactor? Sorry, don't mean to hijack or go OT, but I figured it's related.

Does that supply Alkalinity?

From my calculations, these single bottles are the most expensive method of supplimenting.

Compared to something like the 4g sizes of B-ionic, very expensive. Compared to Randy's 2-part, even more so.

 

[jcorso]

I use a two part on my 58 currently dosing 30ml each daily. I plan to switch to Randys three part and am already using the Mag suppliment once my current stock runs out. I figure I can dose for years using the home made recipe before I ever touch the start up costs of a reactor.

I do at some point plan to get a two channel dosing pump.

 

[jman77]

The Randy DIY sup is dirt cheap. I was using BIonic 2 part but I'm moving to Randy 3 part.

 

[XeniaMania]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6907313#post6907313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
Does that supply Alkalinity?

Yes it does, I did some research last night. Aragamilk and Liquid Reactor are almost the same thing. The both provide Calcium and Alkalinity, but don't have the high Ph like kalkwasser. From what I've read, even though the instruction allows you to add them directly to the tank, by nature of how it work, they end up lowering your Ph if added directly, so they still need to be mixed in fresh water before being added. I don't know, I think I'll stick to kalkwasser since Xenia tanks need high Ph.

 

[Horace]

I dont think anyone can say you cant have success with dosing 2 part. However, dosing two part every day can be a major PITA. I have a 75 SPS dominated tank and I am already getting very tired of messing with the tank. I currently drip kalk, and while less work than doing two part, it too becomes a PITA to adjust the drip every day and also monitor alk/ca/ph continually. I have finally decided I am building a reactor. I bought myself the regulator last night.....

 

[calvin415]

I use the set it and forget it method using B-Ionic. Get a dosing pump and then just refill your jugs as needed. For my 40 cube, 2 gallon set last about 3 months.

 

[johns]

Dosing pump and Randy's 2-Part on a SPS dominant 75G. This should be nearly as 'set-it-and-forget-it' as a Ca Reactor.

Although they are rather expensive, if demand for calcium is high, a reactor would probably be easier and cheaper in the long run.

Using something like B-Ionic...probably

Usng Randy's 2-part...I doubt it.

You can get a good 2-part doser for 150 bucks or so. Less than a reactor, I'm sure. I didnt do the actual calculations, but you can make 5 gallons of Randys 2-part for probably around 10 bucks. This is very dependant on your system size, etc, but 5G might last most people a year. If you have REALLY high Ca demands, maybe 4 months to half a year?

How much does replacement media and CO2 cost on a reactor?

 

[david8956]

I use almost 75 ml (each part) of Randy's 2 (3) part daily, can see no reason to go with a Ca reactor.

Randy's 2 part works out to about $1 per month, along with a dosing pump if you want to automate dosing (+ / - ) $200, that's still a long way from the (+ / - ) $600 for a Ca reactor, + supplies for it, + low PH issues, etc, etc.

Randy's 2 part is nice in that you can "fine tune" the Alk part to either 1) raise your ph, 2) lower your ph, or 3) have no effect on your ph depending on how much / what ratio of baked vs unbaked baking soda you use.

 

[Horace]

Man now I am totally rethinking using a ca-reactor. They can be a real PITA to tune as well.. plus they need a PH probe to really work well, be it a controller or just a probe so you can maintaing good effluent PH and tank PH.....HMMMMMM

Where can I get a good two part doser??????

 

[calvin415]

I got mine on ebay from a guy called tanksalot, I think he also owns innovativeaquatics.com. My model is the Ensign II which is a two channel dosing pump, he currently is offering a pair of 1 channel dosing pumps on ebay... Here's the links.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7749041274&fromMakeTrack=true

http://www.innovativeaquatics.com/Pages/products.html

The Ebay model
http://www.innovativeaquatics.com/products/stabilizer.html

My model
http://www.innovativeaquatics.com/products/ensign-2.html