Arm Coarse Media for reactor. What changed.

[Graffiti Spot]

The higher mag stuff looks like it was made from coral skeletons and crushed and repressed with dolomite in it probably. That way you don't have to mix the two yourself and they ratio of calcium magnesium and alk is all in balance. Just an educated guess...

 

[chicago]

Caribsea,, got me a quick reply.. it is NOT dolomite but rather Calcite. Here is what they suggest when using this product....

"The current media that we produce is the one you are questioning. It is a calcite that is indeed a bit higher in magnesium. We quit producing the coral finger media several years ago. You will need to turn your CO2 up a bit. Each reactor and system will be different but I suggest you adjust your pH to .2 more than what you were using with the old media and adjust from there.'

 

[chicago]

As a follow up I asked why the change and they informed me that Calcite has better results and also it is illegal to import the finger skeletons.. ..

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Huh, thats wierd. Is calcite going to supply the corals with all the other elements just like melting skeletons would? I guess it depends on where they got it from.

 

[Softhammer]

I’m sure calcite is ok but I am fortunate enough to live near the gulf so I have the kids load up a bucket when at the beach with shells and what not and use that in addition to left over coral sand. I also recycle my dead coral skeletons. Nuisance Montipora trimmings bleached out and then soaked in de-chlor until odorless has worked great for me for many years.

 

[chicago]

from Caribsea...

The trace element breakdown is a bit more appealing with the newer media. We ceased selling the coral fingers simply because they became illegal to import.

 

[lapin]

Huh, thats wierd. Is calcite going to supply the corals with all the other elements just like melting skeletons would? I guess it depends on where they got it from.

Maybe
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/10/chemistry

 

[2una]

Its fine - I use the ARM xtra coarse version which is just a bit larger than your jug of coarse

this was smaller than fist size a year and a half ago

I don't dose mag but i find strontium will sit on the low end with it, might just be my tank drinking it too tho

 

[Breadman03]

from Caribsea...

The trace element breakdown is a bit more appealing with the newer media. We ceased selling the coral fingers simply because they became illegal to import.

That makes it sound like they are being impacted by the Indo ban.

 

[chicago]

nice mother colonies.. wow... or should i say large frags... LOL

 

[BZOFIQ]

Two Little Fishes ReBorn contains the "coral fingers' you're after.

Currently out of stock at BRS but it would appear that the Marine Depot still has it.

 

[rossco]

I use #15 sized crushed coral which is identical to Reborn, just need to rinse it. I buy it by the full bag from my LFS. I think it is 40 pounds, for a dollar a pound. It fills my Geo 818 up twice.

 

[jda]

Shells can be hard to dissolve - they also do not often contain a balanced concentration of calcium and carbonate. They are inconsistent, IME. Calcite and aragonite act the same way for me... and so did dolomite when i had to add it to man-made calcium carbonate.

Aragonite substrate can work fine too. It can plug up lines and get compacted as it melts (reverse flow can help this), but in the early days, ARM was just a larger sized substrate particle.

 

[chicago]

I would stay away from shells.. over the years I have come to understand that they are high or contain more phosphate then other available media

 

[JMetaxas]

It looks like Caribsea's new product simply just needs a lower pH to dissolve.

Does anyone remember what WWC uses in their Ca Reactor?

 

[lapin]

Big boy stuff. Dolomite

 

[chicago]

wow..now that is a nice big boy...

 

[jda]

Before any hobbyist goes and uses straight dolomite, I will reiterate on of my key points about farms/shops not being the same as a hobbyist tank. While vendors move out a lot of water when they sell frags (as well as massive water changes), the high levels of magnesium probably do not have a chance to accumulate like they would in a hobbyist tank.

I took a trip down the man-made reactor media highway (AquaMedic) which was pure calcium carbonate. It had no strontium or magnesium (or other traces), so I had to use some Dolomite in with it. If I used too much Dolomite, the magnesium level would slowly rise in the tank and could have gotten dangerous.

In short, if you are not moving out water or watching your tanks as much as WWC, then don't try to be too much like them - study and learn, but understand that a hobbyist is not a retail shop.

 

[chicago]

JDA.. right on... thanks

so I guess the question now is... Calcite for calcium reactors.. the good and the better?

 

[Breadman03]

I was just checking around and found the ReBorn is out of stock “everywhere” right now, essentially at the same time as last year which makes me wonder if it might be a seasonal thing.