People's preference?
- Thread starter MaineSalt
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pickupman66
5000 Club Member
hard to say... I had a calcium reactor on my 180. it was very set it and forget it once I had it dialed in. But as your demand increases, you do have to tweak it. I am now dosing on my 66 gallon reef. right now, im at 10ml daily of BRS alk.
mcarroll
10K Club member
Ca Reactor
IMO, calcium reactors are too expensive up front, and have too many parts that can fail/malfunction. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't be done right (and they are very hands-off when they are), but there's a high price and more risk than some other maintenance systems.
Dosers
Thanks mostly to DIY reagents and inexpensive Chinese peristaltic pumps, dosing (two-part, balling, kalk, kalk+vinegar, etc) has become an extremely affordable option. Doesn't mean it dials itself in, nor does it mean it can't be screwed up royally, but it's inexpensive and has very few moving parts to fail/malfunction.
I've never been a big-budget reefer, so I actually still dose manually via DIY drippers. I have built my own peristaltic dosers in the past though, and it's quite inexpensive and very easy.
-Matt
IMO, calcium reactors are too expensive up front, and have too many parts that can fail/malfunction. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't be done right (and they are very hands-off when they are), but there's a high price and more risk than some other maintenance systems.
Dosers
Thanks mostly to DIY reagents and inexpensive Chinese peristaltic pumps, dosing (two-part, balling, kalk, kalk+vinegar, etc) has become an extremely affordable option. Doesn't mean it dials itself in, nor does it mean it can't be screwed up royally, but it's inexpensive and has very few moving parts to fail/malfunction.
I've never been a big-budget reefer, so I actually still dose manually via DIY drippers. I have built my own peristaltic dosers in the past though, and it's quite inexpensive and very easy.
-Matt
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Eric B
Well-Known Member
I actually use both. I have ca reactor set up but alk still drops slowly over time so I use a dosing pump and dose from kalk tank twice an hour. I use to have this dripping in 24/7 but it was unreliable this way as the needle valve would clog over the course of a few days. Dosing pump on it now and run through apex and has been very consistent for me running both systems. Tank is heavy sps so there is a high demand.
Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist
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My Tank Thread
I'd only use a reactor on a large or high calcium/alkalinity demand tank.
For lesser needs, I'd use limewater (kalkwasser) top off or a two part additive.
None of these methods is perfect or a clear winner over the others as each has its pros and cons, and combinations of them can often be a good choice.
I use limewater as the only source of calcium and alkalinity on my tank.
For lesser needs, I'd use limewater (kalkwasser) top off or a two part additive.
None of these methods is perfect or a clear winner over the others as each has its pros and cons, and combinations of them can often be a good choice.
I use limewater as the only source of calcium and alkalinity on my tank.
jschultzbass
Valuable Member
IMO, dosing is the way to go unless you are spending more per year in Calcium and Carbonate than you would on a calcium reactor. If you get to that point it might make sense to switch.
I tried dosing when my old reactor gave up. It didn't take long before I bought a new Geo reactor and sold the dosing pump and chemicals. I would never go back again.
