calcium reactor vs. dosing

[Craig Skinner]

WOW! Lions, Tigers and Bears OH My! So much to learn!!!! Loving every minute of it though!

Thank you all for your insights and opinions, they are much needed!

My Reef Savvy tank will take a year to built or should I say I will have to wait in line which is fine, gives me the time to learn and study what I will need for my build!

This Forum is fantastic and so are it's members, so glad I found it and joined!!!

Craig...

 

[Greybeard]

A year? Ugh. Took me 7 months to plan, purchase, and set up my new system... Planet Aquarium had the custom glass done in 10 weeks.

Enjoy the process... and keep your learning cap on!

 

[Craig Skinner]

Thanks graybeard I will.

I won't settle on anything less than a Reef Savvy Tank for this build, gotta have 1 or maybe 2, lol!

I am thinking of maybe doing a small reef tank, say a 30 or 40 gallon cube aio just to stem of the long wait and learn from it, we'll see.

Craig...

 

[renato120]

Initial cost of calcium reactor is expensive. Dont buy cheap equipment if you go with the Ca reactor.
I started with the dosers. I couldnt keep sps's corals from bleaching. Its all about stability. I changed to a ca/reactor, and now all corals are growing fast. Beautiful colors. Alk/CA are always stable. PH got a bit lower nothing major. CA reactor can be a pain too. They can glog, and if you dont notice in time. Your ALK will drop quick. Happened to me. I now use the solenoid method. So far so good. Its been 4 months with no clogging.

 

[Craig Skinner]

Renato, what's the solenoid method you spoke of above?

 

[ndrwater]

Thanks ndrwater!
So maybe it is better to dos in a small system such as 100 gallons or less or to use in the beginning stages of a new reef tank until the demand of the inhabitants increases and making the dosing system less effective or economical?

Would dosing be a better system for a newbie reefer to learn with?

Craig...

I would say yes. Simple reason is you will begin to truly understand the uptake for YOUR tank.
I would also make a couple more suggestions to make this as easy as possible.

DO buy the Hanna DKH ALK tester. Simple, and results in under a minute
DO NOT buy the Hanna Calcium checker. Hard to use and easier ways out there.
Consider the Red Sea or Salifert for Calcium and Mag.

 

[LouieP]

Thanks ndrwater!
So maybe it is better to dos in a small system such as 100 gallons or less or to use in the beginning stages of a new reef tank until the demand of the inhabitants increases and making the dosing system less effective or economical?

Would dosing be a better system for a newbie reefer to learn with?

Craig...

No, it depends on your corals and Alk, Ca, & Mg demand. I have a CaRx for a 60gal cube. I only have SPS corals. You might be able to manually dose for the 1st 6 mths.

The other piece of equipment that'the s worth its money is a controller, I think most people have APEX which you can use to control your CaRx. I would recommend a Geo' Reef CaRx, get a CarbonDoser Regulator I recently switched to one and the pH in my CaRx is now very stable 6.7 +/-0.02. I personally dose Triton trace elements weekly because the CaRx dosent give me enough trace elements. If my system goes out of balance a little I make the adjustments manually by dosing what is needed.

Here is a great video on how to tune/set up a CaRx. I use this method and my effluent (drip rate into tank) never clogs.

People do water change to remove nitrate (NO3) & phosphate (PO4). Im not a big believer of doing water changes but do them when needed. I think water change can cause swings in your water chemistry so I them when my NO3 & PO4 are high.

You will learn that are many ways to have a successful reef, find what works for you.

 

[Craig Skinner]

Thank you LouieP!

I'll watch that video after work tomorrow!

I'm going to go with the GHL Profilix 4 for my controller.

I need to read up and continue to research everything,lol!

Oh by the way what brand of 60 gallon cube are you using?

Is it reef ready?

Thanks

Craig...

 

[LouieP]

@Craig Skinner yes, it was reef ready but I couldn't tell you whats my tank brand, I got my tank used and brand tank isnt important for me.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

limewater, 2 part 3 part or a calcium reactor are all used to maintain alk and calcium. They all work and the system you use for controlling the dosing in all methods can fail. I have used limewater and calcium reactors but never 2 part. My first experience with a calcium reactor was many years ago with a Korallin reactor pain in the butt. I used mostly limewater after but it is messy to make and your ATO needs cleaned. I currently use a Vertex calcium reactor and love it. A large well designed calcium reactor is easy to use. Go over sized and once you have it properly tuned it is almost set and forget. You top off media every 3-4 months, about once a year pull and do maintenance on pump and clean up to look like new.

 

[Balz3352]

I personally. Started with kalk and now have a calcium reactor. On my big tank 215 gallons. Mixed reef. Setting up my calcium reactor was one of the best decisions I made about it. I run it via the masterflex system. Which I think is reason for the ease and consistency.

When I had a good amount of coral in my biocube 29 I did 2 part and it was a pia to monitor and get right. So eventually turned it into basically a rock nem tank with some zoas and frogspawn and now I do dose 2 part but very small amounts.

 

[Craig Skinner]

Definitely much food for thought!

Thanks guy's!

 

[Craig Skinner]

Definitely much food for thought!

Thanks guy's!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO one would be hard pressed to make the case that a CaCO3/CO2 reactor could possibly be any more "set it and forget it" than other methods like a two part on dosing pumps.

 

[Dr.HarlemTutu]

IMO one would be hard pressed to make the case that a CaCO3/CO2 reactor could possibly be any more "set it and forget it" than other methods like a two part on dosing pumps.

Well said! Nothing is this hobby is... is it. And why would anyone want to to be. We all need to figure out what fits our temperament and go with that. I love tinkering and state that as the primary reason for success with my aquariums and this hobby.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

IMO one would be hard pressed to make the case that a CaCO3/CO2 reactor could possibly be any more "set it and forget it" than other methods like a two part on dosing pumps.

Agreed as either method can be close to set and forget. They both need monitoring and minor adjustments. There is nothing in this hobby that is truely set and forget. Maybe LED lights.

 

[davyboy1970]

When i first started out i used a doser and was great mixing up the elements and dosing was ok not a problem until i started to get into heavily stocked Sps and they obviously grow. I was upto 475ml a day of Alk, Cal and mag which was getting silly and then taking water out to keep the salinity correct. I have brought a Dastaco calcium reactor and it is amazing once its setup, There is 2 dials that you use. 1 is venting and the other is increasing the demand for more effluent. No Ph probes to mess with and just yearly maintenance with the unit and topping up with media when needed. The doser does come in handy as i use it still to add nopox and iodine to the system.

 

[Craig Skinner]

When i first started out i used a doser and was great mixing up the elements and dosing was ok not a problem until i started to get into heavily stocked Sps and they obviously grow. I was upto 475ml a day of Alk, Cal and mag which was getting silly and then taking water out to keep the salinity correct. I have brought a Dastaco calcium reactor and it is amazing once its setup, There is 2 dials that you use. 1 is venting and the other is increasing the demand for more effluent. No Ph probes to mess with and just yearly maintenance with the unit and topping up with media when needed. The doser does come in handy as i use it still to add nopox and iodine to the system.

The calc reactor is still on my horizon and I know I will eventually need one but until my system matures I will start with the dosed method then it will already be in place for use when I eventually add a calcium reactor.

 

[d5332]

Hopefully people that read this thread focus in on your post.
Calcium reactors are not for those of us that lazy or tend to lose interest in the tank at different times of the year.

I have seen an experienced person lose his entire tank (not to mention the money lost) and over 5 years of growth once he switched to a calcium reactor. The learning process of how to fine tune it was devastating for him. in less than 4 days nearly everything was gone.

Anyone indicating that calcium reactors are set it and forget it and that such devices eliminate or greatly reduce water changes is providing less than good advice.

As a reactor user, agreed on points above; they do require regular maintenance/observation, daily, and can be finicky. The media size, bubble rate, internal pH, throughput, circulation, there are lots of variables. They do drive the system pH down. These are facts.

Either way, no wrong decisions really. Employing either system will provide much learning. Fun stuff!

[Edit: IMO, a calcium reactor will in no way whatsoever eliminate, or even reduce, the need and/or benefit of water changes, as was mentioned.]

 

[AquamanE]

Good choice on the Reefsavvy tank. Great build, worth the wait. I got mine 2 months ago, after 8 months wait, but I had a tank just wanted to replace it.

Many years in the hobby. Tried all methods mentioned above at one point or the other. All will work, but it is indeed dependent on your tanks consumption. As others on here have said, there is no wrong or right answer to your question. Unfortunately you are going to have to decide on your preferred method and go from there. Neither is set and forget and all can Nuke a tank if your not paying attention, or don’t have fail safes installed. With regard to both ease of use and initial investment, in my opinion it’s, Kalk, 2part, then CaRx.

Btw- I also had a terrible time dialing in the CaRx at first. I think what mad ethe difference was a continuos use peristalsic pump for effluent. Second to that was a good regulator like the Plant aquariums regulator called the cardon doser for contoling the CO2. Now it’s pretty simple and economic to run.. Just my opinion.