Starting with a calcium reactor? (Skipping 2part/kalk)

[Ugin]

This is a hypothetical question, not my current situation.

Once your alk/calc/mag starts being consumed faster than a weekly water change can replenish, would there be a problem setting up a calc reactor over other options?

I ask because i normally see folks use kalk/2-3 part dosing early on (for sps dominant tanks) then sometimes swap to calc reactors when the 2part consumption becomes prohibitive.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Zero issues, end goal is the same as dosing ,just a different delivery method.
Have to be careful with both.

 

[lapin]

Skip the kalk. I did on my old tank and the new one. If you plan to get a bigger tank in the furture as i was planing to do, over size the reactor.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

I prefer way oversized calcium reactor as well, with a good metering pump , you really cant go too big on a reactor, if you get a big one you dont have to touch it for years to change media

 

[lapin]

I prefer way oversized calcium reactor as well, with a good metering pump , you really cant go too big on a reactor, if you get a big one you dont have to touch it for years to change media

Ya, because you never know when the media you love will no longer be avail.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I went with dosing my first 2 years. My new tank now I went with carx because of stability and supply you get with media.

 

[Ugin]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[PeterC99]

Calcium reactors are great but there is a steep learning curve. 2 part is very easy to start with.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

whats so steep about the learning curve? its much simpler. to run a calcium reactor no knowlege of wifi or 5 ghz is needed like most of the doser threads seem to be about .

 

[PeterC99]

whats so steep about the learning curve? its much simpler. to run a calcium reactor no knowlege of wifi or 5 ghz is needed like most of the doser threads seem to be about .

Setting up a calcium reactor is much more complex than a dosing system and Tuning a calcium reactor is much more complex than tuning a doser.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

not for me , been using calcium reactors 30 years, get the ph set in the reactor and control the effluent rate with a good pump and its very easy. Dosers need work, recalibration, power failures, nowadays wif, etc. Both methods have their minuses, but i think the plus's of calcium reactors are obvious if you have ever used one on a high demand system.

 

[PeterC99]

not for me , been using calcium reactors 30 years, get the ph set in the reactor and control the effluent rate with a good pump and its very easy. Dosers need work, recalibration, power failures, nowadays wif, etc. Both methods have their minuses, but i think the plus's of calcium reactors are obvious if you have ever used one on a high demand system.

Agree with you 100% on calcium reactor for high demand systems. But you are an expert using them for 30 years. I’ve only been using a calcium reactor for one year after dosing 2 part. I took me a good 6 months to get comfortable with the reactor and really get it dialed in. Only took a week to get the 2 part dialed in.

 

[Sarlindescent]

I ran a CaRx on my last tank. Was pretty easy. I ran a ph controller and a dumb regulator. Set to around 1 bubble/second and whatever your target PH is. The tank was a 30 gallon, which made tuning more difficult initially as I waited for consumption to increase. My solution was putting my dosing pump on a timer. So initially, lets say it ran for 4hrs/day, I would do set that to dose in 8 30 minute sections spread out. As consumption increase, I would extend the time to accommodate and so on.