Calcium reactor on Nano?

Kyle Seeley

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Hi, I have a 20 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump. The tank will be sps dominant and I would like to keep parameters as steady as possible. Would it be alright to run a calcium reactor on this size tank? These are the two products I plan on purchasing

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While it can be done, on smaller tanks IMO, it's more economical to use 2 part dosing to maintain Ca and Alk. Often, what deters people are the start up costs of setting up a CaRx.

The reactor and pH controller you listed look like good buys, however the off the shelf CO2 regulator seems to be a cheap single stage (no end of tank CO2 dump protection) with most likely a cheap metering valve that will make dialing in your bubble count with consistency very difficult. Many invest in a $300 Carbondoser electronic regulator or a custom built regulator. In addition, you need to think about a feed pump. While you can run a small powerhead or feed through a manifold, because of inconsistent flow as a result of effluent line clogging, many end up getting a continuous duty variable speed lab grade, industrial peristaltic pump, like a Masterflex or Watson Marlow on eBay for anywhere between $250 - $800. Don't forget about the CO2 tank too!

That said, on my 57 gallon SPS build that I'm working on, I will be running a CaRx. I have a GEO 612 with an SMC420 secondary effluent chamber. The pH will be controlled through my Apex. I custom built my own Matheson dual stage CO2 regulator with a stainless steel Swagelok low flow metering valve. The reactor will be fed with a Watson Marlow 505s peristaltic pump. Essentially, not including the Apex, I'm probably a little under $1200 invested into my CaRx set up.
 
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I agree I'd use a two part. There's no stability concern when using dosing pumps.

Unless you have a very small reactor, they are inefficient (with respect to CO2) to produce a small amount of calcium and alkalinity and so will lower the pH even more than usual (unless the water flow through it can be set very low).
 
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That is all very true! I was back and forth on the Calcium reactor and GHL dosing set up and I think you all just made up my mind! Thank you again for the information!
 

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