Calcium reactor question.

[Gellisjr1]

Hello.

I do not currently use a calcium reactor or any equipment but have a few questions about the use. At what point is a calcium reactor needed? I plan to go to a 220 gallon system in the near future. I have noticed that people who use a calcium reactor have difficulty keeping the pH level elevated due to the CO2 the reactor uses to melt the media. What is the benefit of using one especially with the added cost of the equipment needed and up keep.

 

[Formulator]

Way more trouble than its worth. Honestly in my opinion the only reason to run a calcium reactor is if you are just a gadget geek who gets joy from complexity in their equipment (which is totally fine and a valid source of joy in the hobby).

You can accomplish the same thing with dosing liquid calcium supplements as part of a 2-part alkalinity and calcium supplement, or with a kalk dripper/stirrer.

You don’t need any of this until you have an established tank with growing corals.

 

[Kfactor]

if 2 part cant keep up or your dosing alot it will add up. i find with my calcium reactor it was very easy to setup and it doesn't low my ph at all .

 

[Formulator]

if 2 part cant keep up or your dosing alot it will add up. i find with my calcium reactor it was very easy to setup and it doesn't low my ph at all .

This guy doesn’t even have a tank yet. I think the last thing a new person to the hobby needs is a calcium reactor…

 

[Reefering1]

This guy doesn’t even have a tank yet. I think the last thing a new person to the hobby needs is a calcium reactor…

Agree with this

the only reason to run a calcium reactor is if you are just a gadget geek

Disagree with this. It's much more stable, continously dosing, cheaper to maintain a high demand system and only has 2 adjustments(flow, and bubble rate). And at a certain point, 2 part can't keep up- you can only add so much liquid to a system before it overflows

 

[X-37B]

The benefit is stability with very low maintenance.
A properly setup Carx does not lower Ph.
Kamoer pump, good 2 stage regulator, set bubble count then let the Kamoer do the rest.

 

[Formulator]

Agree with this

Disagree with this. It's much more stable, continously dosing, cheaper to maintain a high demand system and only has 2 adjustments(flow, and bubble rate). And at a certain point, 2 part can't keep up- you can only add so much liquid to a system before it overflows

Thats fair. But I think for most tanks the demand just doesn’t reach that level and 2-part can be very stable when dialed in with auto dosers.

There are plenty of folks who have calcium reactors for the cool factor, which is totally fine. I’m a gadget geek myself and have thought about it just because I think it would be cool to have a gas cylinder in my setup

 

[Kfactor]

i dont think its about being a gadget freak its more money upfront but in the long term its cheaper if demand is high just my 2 cents .

 

[Formulator]

i dont think its about being a gadget freak its more money upfront but in the long term its cheaper if demand is high just my 2 cents .

Yeah, I can get on board with that. But as a gadget freak/geek myself I do think their “cool factor” is through the roof and I’m sure a lot of people without extreme calcium demands get them at least partially because of this.

 

[Gellisjr1]

This guy doesn’t even have a tank yet. I think the last thing a new person to the hobby needs is a calcium reactor…

I am not new to the hobby. I currently have 3 tanks going They are all smaller and well established. I want to upgrade to a much larger tank. I know two part dosing or All for Reef (currently dosing AFR.) Is going to be much more expensive on the 220. Just trying to educate myself. I have never used kalk or a calcium reactor. So I don't know a lot about them. I certainly appreciate all the info.

 

[Formulator]

I am not new to the hobby. I currently have 3 tanks going They are all smaller and well established. I want to upgrade to a much larger tank. I know two part dosing or All for Reef (currently dosing AFR.) Is going to be much more expensive on the 220. Just trying to educate myself. I have never used kalk or a calcium reactor. So I don't know a lot about them. I certainly appreciate all the info.

Ahhh. Sorry for jumping to conclusions. Your initial post made it sound like you were doing pre-purchase research and I just assumed it was your first tank.