Kalkwasser vs. Calcium Reactor

[childress5tyler]

Within the next two months I am upgrading my 34 RSM to an 80 gallon Deep Blue rimless tank. There are many aspects of upgrading that I am planning for such as lighting, sumps, protein skimmer, etc but one things that I've considered is adding a calcium reactor or a kalkwasser reactor. I've tried to do as much research as I could before posting and before I make my decision but thought I'd run it by the trusty forum before (plus I still have 1-2 months before I have to decide).

From what I've gathered a kalkwasser reactor raises calcium and pH while a calcium reactor raises calcium, ALK, and magnesium, and the obvious difference is price.

So what I'm asking y'all is your personal preference between the two, is the calcium reactor worth the extra money or will a kalkwasser reactor do just fine? Please feel free to chime in and give your input on your preference and any additional information you can offer about either the kalkwasser or calcium reactor.

 

[jedimasterben]

A kalk reactor just adds kalk - which combines with CO2 in your water to make calcium ions and carbonate ions. It can only put up to 2tsp per gallon of kalk into the water, so depending on how much evaporation you have (I have that tank you are getting, I get about half a gallon to a gallon of evap, daily), you can't add enough kalk to keep up with a super heavy SPS system.

That being said, when you're starting out, as your levels start to begin falling slowly as corals grow, you can use a kalk reactor until you notice levels continue dropping. That could be years from now, possibly, you never know until it happens. I'm ordering the TLF kalk reactor tomorrow, and I have three BRS 1.1mL dosers on standby for whenever kalk alone isn't enough. My system only uses about 4ppm of calcium daily right now, but I have three growing clams and quite a few SPS that I'm seeing more and more growth tips on.

 

[mcarroll]

Think of a calcium reactor as one type of CO2 reactor. CO2 reactor = complicated. (People run calcium media, sulphur media, magnesium media and even kalk in CO2 reactors.)

By contrast, dosing kalk is usually simple. A kalk doser can be as simple as dripping a pre-mixed, saturated limewater solution, or (e.g.) a Tunze 5074 in-line with your ATO feed. Without complicating things^*, there's a very finite limit to how much you can dose using kalk. (About 100ppm @ your tank's evaporation rate.) Possibly good enough for a leather tank, or a tank with only a few slow-growing stony corals.

For a recommendation, however, I pretty much never suggest CO2 reactors. Between the expense, the setup hassles, the risk....they're just not worth it, IMO. (Not to say they cannot be effective, which they clearly can be.)

My recommendation is to begin dosing with two-part, dosed manually. If you are new to dosing, start with Brightwell Calcion and Alkalin8.3 because the instructions on the label will actually be very helpful in getting you started with a sound testing and dosing strategy. Then, add kalk (which is very inexpensive) once you wish to cut back on your two-part dosing (which is relatively expensive). Soon after adding kalk (before your two-part dosing levels get too crazy again) you should transition to peristaltic dosing pumps for calcium and alkalinity at least and get onto a 24/7 dosing schedule.

You still have to watch calcium and especially alkalinity with regular testing, especially after making any changes to the tank or dosing system.

-Matt

^* Adding vinegar by the formula and recommendation here is a not-too-complicated method for significantly boosting the amount of kalk you can get to dissolve in water. I used their method, but with the vinegar in my ATO water that was piped through a Tunze 5074 which held the kalk powder. (I stopped due to laziness.) Works great either way though.

 

[childress5tyler]

Thanks for the replies everybody. My boss at Premium Aquatics offered to sell his GEO calcium reactor to me for a very considerable price. Here is a link to the one he's going to sell.

PA-GEO612 Premium Aquatics - PA-GEO612 Aquarium Supplies

 

[mcarroll]

You're in for a ride, so just be prepared: Do not try to get it working when you can't be around to test at least daily to keep tabs on the adjustments you'll be making while you "dial it in". If you're busy or otherwise can't be around for that, wait before setting it up.

Good luck!

-Matt

 

[childress5tyler]

Will do, I was thinking about buying a calcium and Alk Hanna checker to speed up the testing process. But thanks for the helpful advice

 

[Reef Pets]

I only use a kalk stirrer and have no need to add anything else. Use K+2 in a stirrer and magnesium is in the mix as well.

 

[eggie]

Dont buy the Hanna calcium checker they are crap the alk is ok but the calcium one have high reading problems and a crap costumer service

Will do, I was thinking about buying a calcium and Alk Hanna checker to speed up the testing process. But thanks for the helpful advice