Will I need a doser or Calc reactor?

[steallife904]

As i am in the process of setting up my upgraded tank which i plan to be a more sps tank i wondered if i was going to have to get a doser or calc reactor at some point to be successful? Or can you get good results with just dosing calc and alk as needed? If doing it manuely would it be best to check levels like every other day to try to keep things consistent or once a week??? Asking this question because i have spent a ton already and really dont want to spend that much more right now to get either of those items (sure i will in the future).

 

[power boat jim]

A heavly stocked sps tank is easier to keep with a reactor. I recently got a larger reactor for my tank since dosing became a pain.

 

[ajcanale]

If there are SPS corals present in your tank, then eventually yes, you will need some means of replenishing elements as they are used during SPS growth, specifically ALK and Ca. IF these levels, specifically Alk, are not maintained, health will decline.

If you have only LPS and soft coral, you can probably get by with just water changes, and occasional dosing when needed, i.e. once or twice a week. If you only have soft corals, then there should rarely be an issue as the only demand will be coming from calciferous and coralline algae.

 

[steallife904]

in my current 72gal i have lps and some sps (no soft) and have gotten by with waterchange and dosing weekly or so... The new tank is 140 gal and i plan to add alot more sps. so it seems like i will need to either get a doser or calc reactor at some point. maybe a xmas present. Next thing will be figuring out which to get on my 140, a doser or calc reactor.

 

[tmz]

For an sps tank constancy in alk with adeqaute calcium is critical ,IME. Three common ways to do it are: two part dosing; a CaCo3 reactor and/or calcium chloride(klak/limewater dosing). I prefer calcium chloride for it's self purifying attributes and pH raising effect.

 

[Dapg8gt]

You can usually do it in stages to save some coin, like starting with kalk(super cheap and easy) till the demand gets to high for it alone and then add your choice of the two options. Fwiw I made a set of Drews dosers for $75( Google diy Drews dosers) that I used for 2 years straight and are still ready to go =).. Now I run a calcium reactor just because it was a pain to refill my 2 part jugs every 3 weeks.

I can only speak for myself but life seems to get in the way sometimes when it comes to our slice of the reef and having a daily task as critical as dosing cal/alk will imo lead to issues if you either forget to do it or get to busy or better yet leave someone else to do it while your away.. When you think of it in affordability or purchase price a set of dosers is a lot cheaper than a full sps tank crash/loss due to alk.

My reccomendation is have kalk as your option till the tank grows out of it and in the mean time find a deal on the method of choice you want over the long haul..

 

[steallife904]

ok i will look into Kalk for now. Do i need a kalk reactor or just mix it with ATO water? im thinking around xmas time though i will get a doser.

 

[dadummy]

mix it in ATO, start off slowly, amount of kalkwasser added will depend on evaporation rate and demand. Have some two part handy so if levels get low you can bump them back up until you find the right amount to keep parameters stable.

I have been using kalk and/or two part for years, never used a doser or reactor. Some may say its a drag dosing everyday, in reality how long does it take to open up a couple bottles and pour some liquid out of them. I usually dose in the A.M. before work and I am an up at 5:50AM and out at 6:10am kind of guy. If I do miss a dose can do it in the evening.

The main reason I manually dose is if a reactor or doser fails , which does happen I would be one ticked off mofo if a tank crashed because of it. Manually dosing I know how much of what I put in and when.

 

[tmz]

I've been using kalk(calcium hydroxide) as the sole source for calcium and alkalinity in a packed sps dominant system . There are quite a few others with similar experiences. I haven't needed any two part to bump it in several years to mainatian 9dkh. Point is tanks don't always grow out of it but if one does it's easy enough to pick up any slack with two part dosing.

I use a still reservoir(32 gallon brute can) and a perstaltic pump with a timer that breaks a preset daily dose,20 liters in my case, into 150 equal increments spaced evenly over twenty four hours.

This way not too much is dosed at one time and a a set amount each day provides constancy irrespective of the variable evaporation rate governing an ato.