Reactors or dosing pumps for a 75?

[mpderksen]

Not sure if this belongs in the "beginner's" area.

My previous experience has been with a nano 10g, then a BC29. I have only done softies thus far. Now I'm building a 75g with a true sump. I have always gotten away with water quality through regular water changes (2gal/week for the 10, and 4gal/week on the 29), but going to a mid-sized tank opens a lot more options and complexity. Especially since I want to venture into SPS.

I have a Reef Devil Deluxe skimmer, an ATO, 2 MP10s and a Reef Keeper Lite for the 75 so far. I can add a pH meter the the controller easy enough.

From what I've read, I need to either get reactors for GFO, Caron, Calcium and Kalkwasser, or I can dose with timers and pumps. Or, there is the option so a combination of the two. Yes, in the perfect, dream tank, it seems like reactors is the way to go, but for a 75g, is this overkill?

I'd appreciate some pros and cons. I need to plan my sump layout to handle the powerheads if I go the reactor route, so planning early, even if I start with dosing, is a good idea.

Cheers,

Michael

 

[SGT_York]

Totally dependent on the quantity of fish and types of corals you want. GFO is completely unnecessary unless you have a high bioload and SPS.

Quantity of SPS (or calcium users clams and such) will dictate the cost benefits of two-part/kalk/calcium reactor. If you don't plan on stocking your 75 full of SPS kalk or two part is a much better deal. A calcium reactor is certainly overkill for the first few months when you just won't have the calcium usage to justify it.

I prefer medium bioload no GFO carbon on occasion only, My sump has a shelf at the last baffle where the water cascades over the carbon so no pumps or additional space required.

IMO based on your experience statement all the reactors are overkill, but include their space footprint in your initial plan so when your situation/desire change you can adjust without significant drawbacks.

Water changes don't affect quality too much they are mainly for salt and trace mineral exchange/replacement. Good husbandry more nutrients out of the system then placed into it!

 

[mpderksen]

The BC29 has a typical MediaBasket with a packet of Purigen and ChemiPure Elite. Also some Cheato. I'm coming back from algae problems and having a hard time with pH/Ali stability. Doing it "right" this time, I mostly want to start with a setup that helps that stay stable.

I'm using Reef Buffer and Reef Builder products, and still haven't figured out the right schedule. Softies are thriving, but going to the next level I need to up my game.

Advice on that?

 

[ryeguyy84]

personally I'm a fan of GFO in a reactor. it's easy to use and it lowers your phosphates which is a good thing for SPS. I have a BRS reactor on my biocube, is it completely necessary? no, but it's a lot easier than pulling out the media basket (biocube HQI so I have to remove the light) so I set it up.

A chunk of cheato that is trimmed occasionally is a nice thing to have as well.

as for dosing, you could go kalk or dosing pumps. I went with dosing pumps because I don't really like mixing up Kalk and dealing with cleaning deposits out of my topoff pump. You really won't need to dose until you get the tank setup and start packing corals in.

 

[McGee10]

I don't like the dosing pumps because if the timer fails your done in a very short period of time. calcium reactor if the gas stays on it does not affect the tank because the drip is above the waterline so it gets vented out I go for what i feel is safest in the long run also I can go a longggg time without messing with it. I like the GFO reactors because it removes phos. all the time makes reef keeping easy.

 

[shifty51008]

I would go with 2 brs dosing pumps and a timer if water changes and kalk dont keep up. As for a timer failing i would say that is gonna be a very rare thing to happen so wouldnt worry about that.

 

[rocsec1]

I have both running on my 75. I have a dual BRS reactor for GFO and Carbon, and I use the BRS dosing pumps for 2 part. I control the pumps with my RKL. Works well for me.

 

[ksicard]

I have a 75g sps dominant tank currently and I went with a bubble magus dosing pump the BM-t01 unit and I love it. I would order it again in a heart beat and I find dosing to be easier to adjust and set correctly then a CA reactor. I generally would say that if your tank is under 180 gallons I'd go with dosing pumps.

I prefer a dosing unit over the BRS dosers just because it has a full interface that you don't need timers for and I find it easier to set dosing schedules on it.

Either way you cant go wrong between dosers or calcium reactor but on a smaller tank I'd personally go with the dosing unit.

Best of luck to your new tank.

 

[jda]

It comes down to risk, involvement and cost.

I am risk adverse, so I avoid dosing pumps - there two kinds IMO, those that have failed and those that will. I touch my calcium reactor like once every 3 months and test for calcium and alk about every 2 weeks - they are not any harder to set up than anything else, except sometimes you have to have some patience to wait a day or two to retest things. Calcium reactors will not crash tank - I have never actually heard of a real time when this happened, even though a few blame their reactors for crashes.

You can get a high quality used calcium reactor with a regulator and bottle for $200-250 from most decent local reef clubs. Pumps will depend on your quality and quantity.

You can have great results either way, so do more homework and decide what is best for you.

 

[mpderksen]

I have both running on my 75. I have a dual BRS reactor for GFO and Carbon, and I use the BRS dosing pumps for 2 part. I control the pumps with my RKL. Works well for me.

This is ALL very helpful, and I appreciate the advice.
I got the sump plumbing today, so the cycle should start in a few weeks. I plan on at least 6 weeks of that.

I do like the idea of the dual GFO/carbon reactor, that seems reasonable. I had seen a video about adding Kalkwasser to the ATO.

So what are you controlling with the RKL? Please use small words to match my experience. Lol

 

[shifty51008]

IMO I would get 2 seperate reactors for carbon and GFO as each need diffrent flow rates.

 

[zombiereefer]

i have seen people have issues with the GFO and their sps. imo i would just run a kalk reactor and then a dosing pump for mag if you need it in the future. with time the kalk can drive down your mag. also you dont need carbon i mean if you dont have water clarity issues i wouldnt run it in a 75 until you need it. a good skimmer with the kalk will do wonders. also i wouldnt use the gfo unless your have water quality issues and those sofites and lps might like the water a little dirty