calcium reactor vs triton

[JCSReefing]

I know triton is still somewhat of a new method however i just scored a great deal on calcium reactor. all i need is a regulator and media and its good to go but now im starting to think, should i spend more money on the calcium reactor or wait and do triton? Calcium reactors i know have been out for a while so im just curious on thoughts?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

The Co2 regulator is the most expensive part of the calcium reactor so expect to pay $300+ for a good one and it's really best not to cheap out on them otherwise you will have to constatly fiddle with the needle valve to get consistent BPS, worst case scenario would be it failing and gassing your tank. Triton, Balling, 2 part whatever liquid dosing you want to do vs running a calcium reactor is just something you will have decide which you prefer. The core of what Triton is, isn't really new, it's just a new product with different marketing in a white bottle. People have been running skimmers, fuges, and dosing liquids for a long time.

 

[gcarroll]

The Co2 regulator is the most expensive part of the calcium reactor so expect to pay $300+ for a good one and it's really best not to cheap out on them otherwise you will have to constatly fiddle with the needle valve to get consistent BPS, worst case scenario would be it failing and gassing your tank. Triton, Balling, 2 part whatever liquid dosing you want to do vs running a calcium reactor is just something you will have decide which you prefer. The core of what Triton is, isn't really new, it's just a new product with different marketing in a white bottle. People have been running skimmers, fuges, and dosing liquids for a long time.

So people have been using these $300 CO2 regulators for what 2-3 years now. When I read posts like this it makes me think just how lucky I was with my last system. You know back when we though a $100 CO2 regulator wasn't considered cheaping out. I never knew this would happen with the so-called cheap regulators. Please point me to some posts back then where this happened to reefers.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

So people have been using these $300 CO2 regulators for what 2-3 years now. When I read posts like this it makes me think just how lucky I was with my last system. You know back when we though a $100 CO2 regulator wasn't considered cheaping out. I never knew this would happen with the so-called cheap regulators. Please point me to some posts back then where this happened to reefers.

65 dollars airgas regulator, 55 dollars Burkett 6011, 30 dollars needle valve. 10-15 dollars worth of fittings, Never changing bubble count -priceless. It doesn’t have to be 300 dollars.
If you want your regulator to look better than your tank, that’s a different story, the sky is the limit.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

So people have been using these $300 CO2 regulators for what 2-3 years now. When I read posts like this it makes me think just how lucky I was with my last system. You know back when we though a $100 CO2 regulator wasn't considered cheaping out. I never knew this would happen with the so-called cheap regulators. Please point me to some posts back then where this happened to reefers.

You can use Google just as well as I can. I don't really care to waste my time with you dude. Leave it to the internet to jump on any stupid thing someone says. Of course it doesn't have to be $300 but the best quality ones go for that. Most hobbyists are looking for an off the shelf product they don't have to assemble and don't even know who Airgas is. Something like an Aquatec, AquaticLife, Milwaukee, whatever all are junk and there are plenty of posts of there of them failing especially in the planted aquarium side of the hobby.

 

[Justin Swinney]

Could you not do a modified triton? Instead of dosing use the calcium reactor and the chaeto in the fuge should technically grow faster due to added co2. Just a thought. Might not work but I’ve run high tech freshwater planted tanks and growth explodes with the addition of co2. So much so that nutrients wind up being the limiting factor for plant growth. And in turn the chaeto would probably help raise the ph a bit.

 

[JCSReefing]

i have chaeto in the fuge. Im really leaning torwards giving the calcium reactor a shot as i don't have a ton of SPS, only about 2 acros and 2 montis for SPS. The rest is lps and softies but will be adding more SPS as i go and just want something to set and be good for a while. Does calcium reactor add trace elements too correct?

 

[DLuce510]

You can still technically do triton with a calcium reactor, they even have a preferred media:
http://uniquecorals.com/dastaco2-media-for-calcium-reactors-20kg-bucket.html

Ive used a Calcium Reactor with triton, and while cheaper ive had better results dosing, just not as rock steady stable.

 

[Jamie7907]

A good regulator will set you back a few hundred and is totally worth it. Make sure it’s dual stage most single stage regs marketed for reef use are junk. I’ve personally had Milwaukee dump the bottom of the bottle of co2 mind you that was before I had apex’s on all my systems. I use victor regs with clippard mouse solenoids and needle valves. Very little power draw and the solenoid is designed for continuous duty unlike the ones found on store bought units. Don’t take my word for it go feel how hot the solenoids get on a Milwaukee or similar store bought reg. A quality needle valve is critical, being able to set your bubble count and not have to fiddle with it all the time is a life and tank saver. IMO you should set your bubble rate so that the solenoid almost never closes. Now can a Milwaukee or similar reg work? Yes but you will have more issues and have to replace it whereas a quality setup will last for years trouble free.

 

[Jamie7907]

Arguably as important is flow control. Short of a dedicated continuos duty peristaltic pump to regulate flow you will need a good flow valve. The best I’ve found so far is the one found on vertex ca reactors. I found them at us plastics I believe. Reactors are a bit of money up front but pay for their self over time. On larger tanks dosing can become a very costly endeavor surpassing even the most expensive ca reactor.

 

[Water Dog]

Today’s high end regulators are an evolution in the use of calcium reactors. No more fiddling with inconsistent bubble counts because of cheap metering valves, no more catastrophic failures due to faulty solenoids, no more end of life tank dumps due to using single stage regulators. Prior to people finding out that Masterflex pumps make effluent adjustment set and forget, we were adjusting weekly because our flow control needle valves kept clogging on our MJ1200 fed calcium reactors. Do we use 50/50 royal blue / cool white LEDs set ups anymore?

Failure to ackowledge that things in this hobby, calcium reactor technology included, evolve and improve over time is just being foolish... or argumentative for the sake of arguing.

 

[gcarroll]

Today’s high end regulators are an evolution in the use of calcium reactors. No more fiddling with inconsistent bubble counts because of cheap metering valves, no more catastrophic failures due to faulty solenoids, no more end of life tank dumps due to using single stage regulators. Prior to people finding out that Masterflex pumps make effluent adjustment set and forget, we were adjusting weekly because our flow control needle valves kept clogging on our MJ1200 fed calcium reactors. Do we use 50/50 royal blue / cool white LEDs set ups anymore?

Failure to ackowledge that things in this hobby, calcium reactor technology included, evolve and improve over time is just being foolish... or argumentative for the sake of arguing.

There is a big difference between what is necessary and what is best. I'm not arguing that a $100 regulator is better than the $300 regulator. I am arguing that there has been has be a lot of success using the hobbyist grade regulators. Decades of success! When people tell hobbyists that you have to have a $300 regulator and a $300 continuous duty pump to run their $400+ dollar reactor, you are deterring them from using a calcium reactor. IMO, that rational is completely ignoring the past successes running calcium reactors more than 2 years ago before hobbyists knew the difference. Not everyone has issues with controlling bubble rate or drip rate. I know too many people that have been doing it for decades that old school way.

I absolutely would recommend someone going this rout if they wanted the best product out there. But I would never say that those things are necessary for success. Hell, I may even go that route on my own tank, but that would be my option. I am confident that I would have the same success either way.

 

[Water Dog]

I don’t necessarily see it as deterring anyone from running a CaRx. Most people looking into a CaRx are probably already experienced reefkeepers. I see it as saving them a lot of frustration and money down the road. I don’t see it as a bad thing to share the best methods and gear to run a CaRx based on what we have available to us.

 

[gar732]

If you don’t have very many corals with a high calcium demand then maybe you can start out dosing then switch to the calcium reactor when the need increases. This way you can take your time to get the setup figured out how you like and I’d imagine it will be harder to dial in the reactor without a consistent demand.

To everyone else, since we are on the topic of regulators, I’m not extremely knowledgeable when it comes to calcium reactors but I do understand that the dual stage regulators are more dependable and usually rated for continuous use. I was looking into building one until I came across a great deal on an aquarium plants regulator and jumped on it. From what I’ve read in the past this was the regulator of choice, set it and forget it, but it’s a singal stage regulator. Is the aquarium plants regulator not as good as once was thought or is there something else?

 

[Water Dog]

The Carbon Doser has a very good reputation as a reliable regulator. Yes, it is a single stage regulator. I’ve read that it uses an electronic Clippard Mouse valve that opens and closes rapidly and consistently once set. Because of the nature of how this electronic valve works, Aquarium Plants claims that it protects against end of life tank dump even though it’s a single stage regulator.

We snobby DIYers with our Matheson, Airgas, Concoa or Victor dual stage regulators source lab grade stainless steel Swagelok metering valves and German Burkert solenoids. Often we can do this for a good bit less than the Carbon Doser. Once you go through the DIY process and understand how each part works, whether it’s fair or not, you realize that the Carbon Doser is essentially an electronic valve in a pretty plastic box married to a cheap single stage regulator. Like I said, the Carbondoser has an excellent reputation for reliability and ease of use, albeit a bit steep in price for what it actually is.

I built my Matheson dual stage for less than $250.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

The Carbon Doser has a very good reputation as a reliable regulator. Yes, it is a single stage regulator. I’ve read that it uses an electronic Clippard Mouse valve that opens and closes rapidly and consistently once set. Because of the nature of how this electronic valve works, Aquarium Plants claims that it protects against end of life tank dump even though it’s a single stage regulator.

We snobby DIYers with our Matheson, Airgas, Concoa or Victor dual stage regulators source lab grade stainless steel Swagelok metering valves and German Burkert solenoids. Often we can do this for a good bit less than the Carbon Doser. Once you go through the DIY process and understand how each part works, whether it’s fair or not, you realize that the Carbon Doser is essentially an electronic valve in a pretty plastic box married to a cheap single stage regulator. Like I said, the Carbondoser has an excellent reputation for reliability and ease of use, albeit a bit steep in price for what it actually is.

I built my Matheson dual stage for less than $250.

+1 on what this gentleman said.
with carbondoser you're essentially buying a good electronic needle valve, but it will cost less to build a nice regulator with all of the quality parts for the price of this black box.

 

[10Seconds]

65 dollars airgas regulator, 55 dollars Burkett 6011, 30 dollars needle valve. 10-15 dollars worth of fittings, Never changing bubble count -priceless. It doesn’t have to be 300 dollars.
If you want your regulator to look better than your tank, that’s a different story, the sky is the limit.

Thanks, I think you just saved me a bunch of money. I am setting up a calcium reactor for the first time and keep hearing the same things about having to spend a ton of money on it.

 

[Shep]

Please avoid personal attacks, insults or childish behavior, keep the thread on topic or I will either have to lock the thread or ban people from it (I would prefer to do neither, as it just makes more work for me )

 

[ca1ore]

I am unfamiliar with the Triton method, so maybe it's the best-thing-ever. Been running my CaRx since 1998 though (with a 4 year sabbatical). Modified it quite a bit over time, but still using the original regulator/solenoid. I think there's an elegance to the CaRx that some people miss. It's not just about alk or calcium or even magnesium; dissolving dead coral skeletons seems like the very best way to provide living/growing corals with exactly what they need in exactly the correct proportions. I've always given 'credit' to my CaRx as the thing that turned the corner for me in keeping stony corals.

I've invested quite a bit in it; but less expensive units will likely work almost as well.

 

[gar732]

The Carbon Doser has a very good reputation as a reliable regulator. Yes, it is a single stage regulator. I’ve read that it uses an electronic Clippard Mouse valve that opens and closes rapidly and consistently once set. Because of the nature of how this electronic valve works, Aquarium Plants claims that it protects against end of life tank dump even though it’s a single stage regulator.

We snobby DIYers with our Matheson, Airgas, Concoa or Victor dual stage regulators source lab grade stainless steel Swagelok metering valves and German Burkert solenoids. Often we can do this for a good bit less than the Carbon Doser. Once you go through the DIY process and understand how each part works, whether it’s fair or not, you realize that the Carbon Doser is essentially an electronic valve in a pretty plastic box married to a cheap single stage regulator. Like I said, the Carbondoser has an excellent reputation for reliability and ease of use, albeit a bit steep in price for what it actually is.

I built my Matheson dual stage for less than $250.

I picked up the carbon doser used from a buddy for $50 so I couldn’t pass it up. I’ll likely build one eventually just to have just in case since the one I have was used for a few years, not sure what the life span is on them. When I was looking I had trouble finding a regulator that didn’t cost too much. I hear of the deals that people get on them but I just couldn’t find one for a good price. Any tips?