Calcium Reactor - Help

[GoVols]

Welp,
I've been dosing the Red Sea ABC+ power with Colors C & D for about a year and really have no complaints except I have to dose the ABC+ powder by hand and it already has colors A & B built into that product.

I want to go back to a 2 stage cal reactor, just because I want to and I want to run the continuous drip (flow) method for a higher ph.


I do dose 15ml's of both parts of Reef Energy (almost every night) for coral tissue health and organics for the reef.

If I buy the reactor and use the Reborn media and drop the Red Sea colors (trace element) program.
Does the Reborn cal media melt out the right kind of trace elements to keep my coral colors looking great?

I'm going to keep dosing the Reef Energy.

But... I don't want my coral colors to suffer.

Regards, GoVols

 

[GoVols]

Besides Randy
@hybridazn and @2una
Please give me your incite too.

Thanks, Freddie

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The dissolving media will not eliminate the "need" for supplements because it cannot supply any element that is taken into organism tissue (whether the tissue is in corals, algae, soft corals, etc.), it only provides the elements taken into skeletons.

 

[GoVols]

The dissolving media will not eliminate the "need" for supplements because it cannot supply any element that is taken into organism tissue (whether the tissue is in corals, algae, soft corals, etc.), it only provides the elements taken into skeletons.

Randy,
I'm dosing the Red Sea supplement program to my cal's intake.

If I went with the reactor media, should I use the Red Sea supplements test kits?

Or could I just keep dosing to the reef''s, cal intake?

The man made cal reactor media that has no trace elements / melting point is too low for what I'm trying to accomplish.

Thanks, Freddie

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy,
I'm dosing the Red Sea supplement program to my cal's intake.

If I went with the reactor media, should I use the Red Sea supplements test kits?

Or could I just keep dosing to the reef''s, cal intake?

The man made cal reactor media that has no trace elements / melting point is too low for what I'm trying to accomplish.

Thanks, Freddie

If you are happy with the results of the Red Sea additives, I'd keep using them at the same amount you have been.

 

[GoVols]

If you are happy with the results of the Red Sea additives, I'd keep using them at the same amount you have been.

Randy, ....

With a calcium reactor???

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, ....

With a calcium reactor???

Yes.

What method were you previously using for calcium and alkalinity?

Whatever method you were using before might have been adding many of those elements as well, but skeletons are not likely the main sink for many elements in a reef tank with a variety of organisms.

 

[GoVols]

Yes.

What method were you previously using for calcium and alkalinity?

Whatever method you were using before might have been adding many of those elements as well, but skeletons are not likely the main sink for many elements in a reef tank with a variety of organisms.

Randy,

I've been using the Red Sea ABC+ power for almost a year.
It raises the big-3 all at one time and already has Red Sea Colors A & B in that product too.
So I've been dosing Red Sea colors C & D with the Red Sea ABC+ power.

If I went with the cal reactor, I'd dose all 4 colors of their supplements and keep using Reef Energy.

Here's the link to the ABC+ power / do you see anything special in it?
https://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/reef_foundation_program/reef-foundation-abc/

Here's the trace element supplements, that I've been dosing.
https://www.redseafish.com/coral-coloration-program/

Fredde

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Red Sea is a little vague on exactly what these additives add, or even what exactly it is intended to exactly offset, and I have no idea if they did it correctly (or even if there is a single "correct" answer), but the section on the Colors ABCD says it has elements used by both skeletons AND soft tissue.

Your reactor will not supply anything that is in coral soft tissue, and your tank has substantial demands for trace elements that are taken up by organisms other than corals.

So that's why I suggest keeping up the Coral colors even while dropping the foundation elements. Is it perfect? No. Was it before? No.

 

[GoVols]

Red Sea is a little vague on exactly what these additives add, or even what exactly it is intended to exactly offset, and I have no idea if they did it correctly (or even if there is a single "correct" answer), but the section on the Colors ABCD says it has elements used by both skeletons AND soft tissue.

Your reactor will not supply anything that is in coral soft tissue, and your tank has substantial demands for trace elements that are taken up by organisms other than corals.

So that's why I suggest keeping up the Coral colors even while dropping the foundation elements. Is it perfect? No. Was it before? No.

Thank You!!!

I just wanted your blessing before I pulled the trigger on the cal reactor and used Red Sea's supplement program at the same time.

Freddie

 

[HolisticBear]

Thank You!!!

I just wanted your blessing before I pulled the trigger on the cal reactor and used Red Sea's supplement program at the same time.

Freddie

Hey Freddie, will you try to manage Mg with the reactor or dose manually? Since Red Sea's Colors don't supply Ca/Mg/Alk, they admit to including Sr, K, I, Br, Iron, + others. Will you try to manage the big three with the reactor or just Ca/Alk?

 

[GoVols]

Hey Freddie, will you try to manage Mg with the reactor or dose manually? Since Red Sea's Colors don't supply Ca/Mg/Alk, they admit to including Sr, K, I, Br, Iron, + others. Will you try to manage the big three with the reactor or just Ca/Alk?

Going to mix mag media with the cal media inside the reactor and dose pure mag to pickup the slack, if need be.
Hybird's got the mag media to the cal reactor's media / ratio

 

[rocknut]

Funny timing: I’m doing the exact same thing. I’m hoping to have my switch to a calcium reactor complete in a few weeks. I’m planning to keep my normal dose of energy and colors unchanged, as I’m only dosing about 60% of the recommended anyway. I’ll be watching to see how your switch goes!

 

[GoVols]

Funny timing: I’m doing the exact same thing. I’m hoping to have my switch to a calcium reactor complete in a few weeks. I’m planning to keep my normal dose of energy and colors unchanged, as I’m only dosing about 60% of the recommended anyway. I’ll be watching to see how your switch goes!

Yeah,
I've been dosing the colors below the cal's intake too.

Could be awhile for myself. Still talking things over with @geo

 

[GoVols]

Yeah,
I've been dosing the colors below the cal's intake too.

Could be awhile for myself. Still talking things over with @geo

LOL
I think he fell asleep in our PM

 

[rocknut]

If you haven’t already bought your media, I went ahead and bought the 44 pound box of Reborn from BRS - figure it was $35 for 8 pounds, or $99 for 44 pounds, so the big box seemed like a good deal. It arrived today and I filled up my reactor and a 5 gallon bucket with the leftover media. I think I basically bought a lifetime supply!

 

[GoVols]

Update:
Welp,
My two stage GEO cal reactor has been up and running for almost two months now and I'm a happy reefer for making the move.

I did go overboard on the cost for a custom two stage Green Leaf Aquariums regulator but it gives me peace of mind and they are a wonderful company like GEO.

I continual to dose the Red Sea colors program for tissue trace elements but only about twice a week. I don't want too many trace elements in the main display that could cause an algae issue.

Over all my reef is very stable / happy with good coral growth / colors and the ph has never been below 8.0 in the morning.

I did research a lot of articles and came away with two things from some of Randy's writings that helped me out in stabilizing the calcium with the alk.
1) Keep your display water at .35 ppt (not 1.025 sg)
2) Shoot for an alk at about 9 dkh

Randy can correct me if I'm wrong but those two things are working for me.

I must also thank @2una @geo @hybridazn and Randy for their wonderful incite and guidance during this successful process.

Per GEO,
Were running the large Reborn media with 10% Zeo Mag in stage one and the small ARM media in stage two.

Regards, GoVols

 

[jsker]

Good to hear!!

 

[bubbaque]

I know your still dosing the Red Sea colors but if you search "farmerty" and look at his thread. He doesn't do water changes or dose trace elements and his corals look great. He just relies on his calc rx to supply whatever his corals need.

 

[GoVols]

I know your still dosing the Red Sea colors but if you search "farmerty" and look at his thread. He doesn't do water changes or dose trace elements and his corals look great. He just relies on his calc rx to supply whatever his corals need.

Thank you and I may totally drop the colors program too.

But... (lol) I'll always preform my weekly water changes