CaRx vs Dosing pumps
- Thread starter sly fox
- Start date
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Both methods work. I've never used a calcium reactor so I can't comment on them but I do use a dosing pump. I use a medical dosing pump to add 2 part to my tank and also to add my top off water. IMO its extremely easy to get dialed in and to mix up your solutions.
I plan on upgrading to the Profilux standalone dosing pump from Cherry corals very soon which will make everything even easier since it has a controller built in.
I plan on upgrading to the Profilux standalone dosing pump from Cherry corals very soon which will make everything even easier since it has a controller built in.
I've used both and much prefer 2-part dosing over CaRx but vendors don't make much money selling 2-part dosing systems and the equipment is less "sexy" so you don't see as many of these setups in the US.
Personally it boils down to the pH of the system for me. Both systems achieve the same end result.
treylane
Active Member
see if you can pick up a general purpose tank controller, acjr's are pretty inexpensive these days - it'll help keep pH in check whether dosing twopart or using a reactor, as well as handling your heaters, lights, pumps, fans, etc.
If you don't mind mixing up the twopart about 1x/month, it's the way to go. ca reactors can be quite a bit of hassle to get tuned and to STAY tuned.
If you don't mind mixing up the twopart about 1x/month, it's the way to go. ca reactors can be quite a bit of hassle to get tuned and to STAY tuned.
thanks, so basically the controller will just activate the pump when the pH drops and stop pumping when it reads an adequate level?
i normally do everything by hand, so mixing 2 part once a month is nothing...
i normally do everything by hand, so mixing 2 part once a month is nothing...
treylane
Active Member
Maybe others would be willing to chime in about how they control their twopart?
Personally, I estimated what my daily ca/alk needs were, figured out how many minutes per day I needed to run my El-Cheapo dosing pumps (drews dosers) and split that up over 12 hours. The way the controller handles it is:
every hour while the lights are off - if the pH is less than 8.25, turn on the dosing pumps for X minutes
As for "tuning" ... just start with a rough guess for what your dosing volume will be, and test every few days, adjust up or down as needed. Should take bout a week to get it dialed in, just need to revisit dosages every few months, or when your tank changes significantly.
Personally, I estimated what my daily ca/alk needs were, figured out how many minutes per day I needed to run my El-Cheapo dosing pumps (drews dosers) and split that up over 12 hours. The way the controller handles it is:
every hour while the lights are off - if the pH is less than 8.25, turn on the dosing pumps for X minutes
As for "tuning" ... just start with a rough guess for what your dosing volume will be, and test every few days, adjust up or down as needed. Should take bout a week to get it dialed in, just need to revisit dosages every few months, or when your tank changes significantly.
If you are employing a controller to monitor pH with a Calcium reactor on it, then you no not want to stop the flow of water into the Calcium reactor, you want to stop the Carbon Dioxide from entering into the reactor. If you stop the flow of the Calcium reactor then it will go anoxic (lacking oxygen) and once started again you will release hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) into the display which could have seriously negative effects on its livestock.
If you ever loose power to your house with a Ca reactor it is best to drain the reactor and leave it dry and uncovered until the power resumes.
I second the neptune jr, or any of the neptune models! Great products
If you ever loose power to your house with a Ca reactor it is best to drain the reactor and leave it dry and uncovered until the power resumes.
I second the neptune jr, or any of the neptune models! Great products
