Would you rather have a calcium reactor or........

[dan_k]

I figured I ask before I pulled the trigger on a calcium reactor setup
Would you rather have a
Calcium reactor
Dosing pumps (a good one)
Kalk stirrer
I'm all about easy I know nothing easy in this hobby but I rather set it up and not worry all the time
I don't want to buy a dosing pump and wish I bought calcium reactor or the other way around

What's everybody got and do you have plans on changing it or do you worry all the time

Sorry for all the questions it's a big deal to me to keep my tank as stable as possible and I like to know what's the best way to do that

 

[jgraz]

I'm a doser and will stay that way for quite some time.

It started off a little shaky but everything is currently locked in. So I'm gonna ride that out.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Calc reactors scare me! I heard too many stories of them going haywire and wiping out a tank. We've had a few members here who have had problems with calc reactors....hopefully they'll chime in. I'm a doser using BRS 1.1 pumps and DIY alk and calc solutions. After original expensive of pumps, cost me about $15 - $20 a year to dose a 90 gallon DT.

 

[dan_k]

Calc reactors scare me! I heard too many stories of them going haywire and wiping out a tank. We've had a few members here who have had problems with calc reactors....hopefully they'll chime in. I'm a doser using BRS 1.1 pumps and DIY alk and calc solutions. After original expensive of pumps, cost me about $15 - $20 a year to dose a 90 gallon DT.

Paul what are you using to control your dosers apex?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Paul what are you using to control your dosers apex?

I'm old school and really like ReefKeeper 2's. I now own four of them....three in use and one as a backup. You can find them for $100 or less....I think I paid $50 for the last one I purchased. As evident by the fact that I can program it, you can be a blithering idiot and figure out how to use it. No fancy programing and no smart phone or internet interface....but it nicely and simply controls eight outlets.


With my alk and calc pumps, I dose each three different times a day. Works great.

 

[trivan]

I use to dose and switched over to a Calc reactor as I sometimes travel a lot for work. Although, I was able to set up a gallon at a time on a doser, I would always forget to refill it before a trip. Calc if done with the proper set up and controllers to monitor pH levels is more of a set and forget system once dialed in. The horror stories I have read has always been on a regulator getting stuck and dumping CO. This is why everyone who has one, recommends the aquirium plants its that good.

 

[Mike S]

I have my apex set to send me a text/email alarm if the pH in my reactor drops below a certain level indicating that the regulator got stuck open. If I wanted to get fancy I could always have it shut off the feed pump also.

 

[r2reyzer]

Dan, I went from BRS two part dosing to a calc reactor. I like my new setup...set it and forget it. And I don't have to mess with it for a good month. I did have an issue with a solenoid gone bad, which is why I switched to the aquarium plants carbon doser. My preference is a calc reactor, as long as 1) it's run off a controller and has a probe port, and 2) you're using a good CO2 regulator (after using two solenoid based regulators, the only one I trust is the aquarium plants).

 

[horseplay]

A dumb question. Does the calc reactor adjust automatically to the amount of alk/calc consumed? In other words, as the corals grow or new corals added does it have to be adjusted for the increased demand like dosing?

 

[Mike S]

Yes you do need to adjust it as your demand changes. With a pH controller you can generally just adjust the pH setpoints.

 

[mnat]

I have had both and will stick with the CA reactor. You do need to tune the CA reactor but it is much easier IMO to do so. With that being said, I have seen gorgeous tanks being run with both.

 

[dan_k]

Mike what reactor are you using

 

[mnat]

MTC pro.

 

[ecam]

My tank has really gotten consistent and stable since I've added a calcium reactor. I would take that over clogged tubes or other mishaps that would happen with the dosing pumps...


I have the SRO 5000 Dual reactor from RO

 

[Hawkeye]

i use a kalk stirrer connected to my tunze ato. Long long ago when phyl was on this board she had suggested to all that having both was ideal (calc and kalk), but if you had to pick one - to go with the kalk first. Hence why one of our earliest group buys were these kalk stirrers. Of course maybe my memory is off...lol.