CaRx or 2 part required?

[MTBake]

I would not buy the co2 tank online. Most places swap out the tanks and dont fill the one you bring.

 

[PhantomHalo]

I would not buy the co2 tank online. Most places swap out the tanks and dont fill the one you bring.

So where would I buy one locally? Is that something Lowe’s or Home Depot would stock?

 

[cCRAWLINS]

So where would I buy one locally? Is that something Lowe’s or Home Depot would stock?

If you have a hydroponic store near you, that's your best bet

 

[ReefGeezer]

So where would I buy one locally? Is that something Lowe’s or Home Depot would stock?

Welding supply shops usually have CO2.

 

[PhantomHalo]

If you have a hydroponic store near you, that's your best bet

I have one of those down the street. Good idea!

 

[X-37B]

Is the Tunze an in-sump reactor? It still requires the CO2 correct? I’m looking at pictures of it and looks like it is an out of sump one, but the pump being connected to it throws me off. Lol

In sump.

 

[MTBake]

So where would I buy one locally? Is that something Lowe’s or Home Depot would stock?

I have an Airgas facility near me. Thats where I go to get bottles swapped. They sell them full with co2 if you don't have a bottle to swap.

 

[PhantomHalo]

In sump.

Does it have to be in-sump?

 

[dadnjesse]

Most paint ball places can fill them as well as welding supply, home Breweries supplies. There are many places that will refill your tank if you want to buy one.

 

[X-37B]

Does it have to be in-sump?

No, but it is designed to be run in the sump.

 

[PhantomHalo]

No, but it is designed to be run in the sump.

That blows. My sump is low on space. Is there one that may be a better option? I just don’t want to get one that everyone knows is garbage or that is going to break on me in a year.

 

[X-37B]

That blows. My sump is low on space. Is there one that may be a better option? I just don’t want to get one that everyone knows is garbage or that is going to break on me in a year.

All my reefer friends run Geo reactors. Quality units and will last a lifetime if taken care of imo.
You will need a feed pump.
Whatever you get dont skimp on a regulator as its the heart of the system.
Korallin are quality too.
I am a Tunze guy and would have no issues running a Geo or Korallin.
Both are designed to be run outside the tank.

 

[rossco]

I purchased my own tanks and take them to a local fire suppression company and they refill my bottle.

Geo CaRx are free standing - not an in-sump design.

 

[PhantomHalo]

All my reefer friends run Geo reactors. Quality units and will last a lifetime if taken care of imo.
You will need a feed pump.
Whatever you get dont skimp on a regulator as its the heart of the system.
Korallin are quality too.
I am a Tunze guy and would have no issues running a Geo or Korallin.
Both are designed to be run outside the tank.

I’ll look at them a bit more in depth. I’m glad I didn’t push buy yesterday. Lol Was pretty sold on the Tunze one. My sump is just too full of rock and my protein skimmer. Not to mention, not much clearance in between the rim and the bottom of the top of the stand. Anyway, with the Korallin’s, I read you can’t have a ph probe in the chamber. Is that true? Also, the pump is on top of the skimmer. Do I need a feed pump to? Is that what the peristaltic pump comes into play?

 

[SeaDweller]

Eventually you’ll need something to keep up with the demands. CaRx isn’t set and forget though, although it has the least amount of fiddling. For me, CaRx is the best but since I don’t inject co2 as much, I get a weird back pressure into the line where I have to manually clear out every week or so or else the effluent slows and stops (not a clogged line).
On top of that, I still hand dose baking soda daily.

 

[PhantomHalo]

Eventually you’ll need something to keep up with the demands. CaRx isn’t set and forget though, although it has the least amount of fiddling. For me, CaRx is the best but since I don’t inject co2 as much, I get a weird back pressure into the line where I have to manually clear out every week or so or else the effluent slows and stops (not a clogged line).
On top of that, I still hand dose baking soda daily.

What kind do you have? Why do you still dose baking soda?

 

[Vette67]

Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, raises alkalinity.

 

[PhantomHalo]

Are these like protein skimmers where you should buy one way over rated for your tank? If so, should I get one rated for 800-1000 gal or is that going to be overkill?

 

[jda]

A calcium reactor that is sized appropriately will work plenty fine if you have them tuned well. They might underperform or have more limited capacity if you use a co2 controller with them and dump co2, or have a bad tune, but that is an issue with the way that it is ran and not so much the reactor it's self. All that a larger reactor does is to allow you to change the media less frequently.

 

[PhantomHalo]

A calcium reactor that is sized appropriately will work plenty fine if you have them tuned well. They might underperform or have more limited capacity if you use a co2 controller with them and dump co2, or have a bad tune, but that is an issue with the way that it is ran and not so much the reactor it's self. All that a larger reactor does is to allow you to change the media less frequently.

Sweet! So which would be better for an out of sump reactor, the Korallin or Geo?