New tank start with dosing pump or calcium reactor?

[lacrosseboss18]

I am starting a new tank 225 gallom build. I plan to make it sps dominant but will have some softies and LPS.

Should I start it off with a calcium reactor or a dosing pump? I just purchased a new geo 618 and while setting it up was thinking maybe it would be easier to use a dosing pump until the demands increase or should I just go with the reactor from the get go? I would be starting the tank from scratch as far as corals.

 

[Maddlesrain]

I say don't even add the reactor or pump until you start noticing the corals "sucking" down the nutrients faster than can be replenished with water changes. Otherwise, I think you're more likely to overdose the system if you're just starting with small frags in such a large amount of water. Congrats on the new build!

 

[DLuce510]

You could always start the reactor at a high pH so the effluent is barley potent and drop the pH as your demand goes up.
From a personal stand point, I ran a Calcium reactor with out a Kalk reactor for a long time. I started running my Calcium reactor with a steady stream to keep it more stable and it dropped my pH big time. So I added a Kalk reactor along with and I would never consider running a Calcium reactor with out one again. Just a tip from my experience.

 

[Bpb]

Definitely start with a calcium reactor. You can tune it to add a minuscule amount if you want by running a high speed effluent and a high ph. Even if you're not consuming ANYTHING yet still set one up and just start introducing has very slowly as you find corals start consuming enough to impact your testing. Best to start with one method and stick with it. If you get your tank humming along with dosing pumps, and start to get decent sized sps pieces, it's a risk to change supplement methods at that point because it's difficult to say what ph and effluent you would run to equal what you're dosing.

 

[reefwiser]

I would schedule a calrx for sure. If you have a dosing pumps system then you could use it when you need it.

 

[lacrosseboss18]

Ok I'm going to setup the calcium reactor.
I have the carbondoser electronic co2 regulator and the geo 618 reactor. This will be the first time using a calcium reactor and was wondering how I should tune it at this early stage since I'll have very little ca and alk needs. Should I decrease the bubble rate and have a fast effluent or one or the other?

Also I was thinking about adding zeomag. Should I still do this or would it be useless at this point?

I would like to run the reactor off my manifold but have read that it can be a pain and will require constant tuning. Is there a way I can still run it off my manifold without having to constantly adjust thing?

Also was considering the vertex calcium reactor but bulk reef says it's good for 264 gallons and 120 for sps dominant so I was worried it might be a limiting since my display is 225g. I spoke with 2 store owners today and they both suggested the vertex reactor without me bringing it up. Neither one had them in stock and could order any reactor I would want so it wasn't like they were just trying to sell me something they already had. Just curious if I should have gone with the vertex reactor?

 

[Breadman03]

I'd run what you have. If you want to spend more money, grab a Masterflex or Watson Marlow pump.

I am in a similar situation with an essentially new system after a tank crash. I soaked all of my rock in H2O2 for 5-45 minutes and dosed vinegar like mad until I had 0 nitrates per API and 0.03 PO4 per Hanna ULR. I'm now seeing corals that I thought were long gone start to come back. I guess there was some flesh left in hiding. Anyhow, I set up a calcium reactor, and old K2R, but drilled the lid for an Apex pH probe and have a Watson Marlow peristaltic pump driving it. I have the pH set at about 7.2 and the pump is at 2 RPM, so just a few ml/minute of a flow rate. It's currently keeping my alk stable at 8dkh. I'll just need to adjust the reactor as my tank needs change.

 

[Hellothere12]

I'd run what you have. If you want to spend more money, grab a Masterflex or Watson Marlow pump.

I am in a similar situation with an essentially new system after a tank crash. I soaked all of my rock in H2O2 for 5-45 minutes and dosed vinegar like mad until I had 0 nitrates per API and 0.03 PO4 per Hanna ULR. I'm now seeing corals that I thought were long gone start to come back. I guess there was some flesh left in hiding. Anyhow, I set up a calcium reactor, and old K2R, but drilled the lid for an Apex pH probe and have a Watson Marlow peristaltic pump driving it. I have the pH set at about 7.2 and the pump is at 2 RPM, so just a few ml/minute of a flow rate. It's currently keeping my alk stable at 8dkh. I'll just need to adjust the reactor as my tank needs change.

What size tank do you have?

 

[Breadman03]

What size tank do you have?

I have a 150 cube. At the time, I had about 100 gallons of volume in my sump as well. I've since redone it to be sumpless with a chaeto reactor, UV, and Geo 618 calcium reactor. It's too recently redone for me to be able to offer an opinion on how this will work out long term, but I expect it will be good.

 

[jda]

Learn how to use it now when there is less at stake - better to make a few mistakes when there is less on the line. You should probably be using it 100% by the time that the coralline starts to grow since it will demand quite a bit.

You also want to find your magic number of bubbles and effluent with the dKh around 25 and just turn everything way down in that ratio to meet your current demand... then raise it in that same ratio too. If you have absolutely no demand, then turn the co2 off and let water just run through the reactor.

 

[billwill]

Geo 618 is perfect for that setup. I’m happy with my kamoer FX peristaltic. Beauty of reactor vs dosing is much less likely to overdose or get huge amounts of calcium buildup on impellers and heaters. Initially you won’t even need co2, so start it slow and dial in effluent to get a feel for keeping it constant then add co2 as demand starts.