Which do you prefer dosing or Calcium reactor?

[Piper27]

Even if a calcium reactor was controlled by a pH probe and it got stuck on and added too much co2 continuously, it will take a few days to crash a tank. The alk will rise slowly. Plus you will hear the excess co2 getting chopped up and blowing out of the exit line. If anyone leaves their tank for periods of time unmonitored, they should know how to run their reactor with a set bubble count and no controllers. Like stated above, nothing bad can happen.

 

[bif24701]

And yet still not convinced a CalRx is any "safer/reliable" or whatever than Kalk dosed via a timer and peristaltic pump.


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[fishguy597]

On this end they don't really work like that. My reactor is tuned to be always on. Co2 never turns off. Effluent never changes unless I want it to. Yes it was absurdly expensive to set up but the only points of failure would be something turning off or leaking. Which won't fail by putting too much into the water. That or something just really unlikely happening like co2 bottle valve failing and turning it into a rocket spontaneously, or the reactor forming a spontaneous leak. Which are so unlikely you can't really expect them or plan for them


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When I first started using my CARX I ran it this way. I went on vacation and had my brother feeding my fish. Lucky he was able to catch this the next day and shut it off. The effluent line plugged up but not completely. This caused the pH to drop and turned the water into milk. Over a 24 hour period it turned my tank water to milk too to where you couldn't see through it. I lost a few corals and took a while for others to rebound. I wouldn't run a CARX without a pH probe to control the Co2. After that I invested in an apex and never had a problem like that a:reading:gain. I have had problems with probes going bad or getting out of whack . But I have been keeping track of everything I do in a calender book so I know when I have calibrated or replaced probes.

I have never used dosing pumps but the way I see it is everything has a learning curve. For me having a 200 gallon tank I do not want to mess around with changing out jugs when ever they go empty. I have a larget enough CARX to where I only fill it once a year. The probes take 10 min to calibrate. I'm very happy with my CARX.

 

[fishguy597]

And yet still not convinced a CalRx is any "safer/reliable" or whatever than Kalk dosed via a timer and peristaltic pump.


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Sounds like your mind is made up then. Give it a whirl and let us know how it goes.

 

[bif24701]

I probably will get a CalRx when I reach the point Kalk can not keep up. In fact that why I got an APEX. Very surprised that Kalk has been able to keep up with the demand of my system. I'm so satisfied with how well it has done that I've become a strong advice for its use not only because it's easy, safe, and effective but mostly because Kalk simply doesn't get the credit it should IMO.

Anyone starting a reef tank ALK/Cal supplementation system program should start out with Kalk. Won't raise salinity, create an imbalance of chloride/sulfate, or ALK/Cal. Kalk can eliminate chronic low pH.


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[jda]

You don't need an Apex for a CaRx and it will just introduce a few more points of failure. If you can count to ten while watching a second hand on a clock , you can tune a reactor by hand and it will stay steady there until you need to bump it up as the demand increases.

I always saw the buildup of chloride ions as a good thing. Then, people must change water. This is super important for 2-part or kalk dosers since they need to get mag, strontium and some other no-so-trace minerals that corals will use up quickly that are not supplied by the kalk or 2-part. The true coral grow significantly better when these other elements are introduced in balance as well, but water changes are the best other option for kalk dosers and 2-parters unless you want a few more things to test all the time and supplement by hand. Kalk dosers especially need to change water since kalk has all kinds of impurities in it that are not really a huge deal as long as water does get changed.

I will give you that kalk is easy, effective and keeps the costs in check. Other than Hydrochloric Acid, there is no more dangerous substance to have around your tank. I would not label it as totally safe without all of the disclaimers that are in this thread - it can crash a tank in a few minutes if not done well. Folks who don't know any better might read the "safe" part and really make a bad choice. Also, there should probably be a warning to wear a mask, gloves and eye protection when handling it if you are clumsy at all - I rarely did and never had any issues, but it can do permanent damage to your eyes and lungs if you breath too much of the dust.

 

[Bpb]

When I first started using my CARX I ran it this way. I went on vacation and had my brother feeding my fish. Lucky he was able to catch this the next day and shut it off. The effluent line plugged up but not completely. This caused the pH to drop and turned the water into milk. Over a 24 hour period it turned my tank water to milk too to where you couldn't see through it. I lost a few corals and took a while for others to rebound. I wouldn't run a CARX without a pH probe to control the Co2. After that I invested in an apex and never had a problem like that a:reading:gain. I have had problems with probes going bad or getting out of whack . But I have been keeping track of everything I do in a calender book so I know when I have calibrated or replaced probes.



I have never used dosing pumps but the way I see it is everything has a learning curve. For me having a 200 gallon tank I do not want to mess around with changing out jugs when ever they go empty. I have a larget enough CARX to where I only fill it once a year. The probes take 10 min to calibrate. I'm very happy with my CARX.

That is the challenge of using a needle valve or ball valve to control effluent flow. A masterflex pump drastically reduces the risk of that happening so I don't worry about clogged effluent lines. I do agree that the kalkwasser on the BRS pump on a timer is a very safe way to run it and if I were using kalkwasser that's exactly what I would do. Not arguing one is safer than another. Just that with a commercial grade continuous duty peristaltic pump, and dual stage regulator, the common failure points or a calcium reactor are corrected


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[Pife]

I probably will get a CalRx when I reach the point Kalk can not keep up. In fact that why I got an APEX. Very surprised that Kalk has been able to keep up with the demand of my system. I'm so satisfied with how well it has done that I've become a strong advice for its use not only because it's easy, safe, and effective but mostly because Kalk simply doesn't get the credit it should IMO.

Anyone starting a reef tank ALK/Cal supplementation system program should start out with Kalk. Won't raise salinity, create an imbalance of chloride/sulfate, or ALK/Cal. Kalk can eliminate chronic low pH.


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Can we see a picture of your system so we can have an idea of the demand?

 

[fishguy597]

Bpd you have a valid point. I have to admit that that I I use a gravity feed to my CARX. No room in the sump for another pump.

 

[karimwassef]

Kalk drip set by pH with high fresh air flow injection.

It's idiot proof and the only maintenance is regular pH probe calibration and adding kalk/cleaning the outlet.

I do keep the 3 buckets of Randy #2 in case things get out of wack and measure Alk to check.

The only time it failed is when I lost fresh air injection and that caused CO2 to drop and raised my pH so that the kalk drip almost stopped. The damage though was me trying to fix things too quickly and raising Alk artificially without fixing my air injection problem... then things died.

So the system is foolproof, but the fool's actions outside the system are not.

 

[bif24701]

Can we see a picture of your system so we can have an idea of the demand?

Here a few quick shots, a couple top down to better show the size of some of my colonies.

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[bif24701]

Forgot one

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