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Which do you recommend and why? Thanks. 180 gal mixed reef
Calcium reactor or dosing pumps
- Thread starter greendougan
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I've been running dosing pumps on my 180 but am moving to a CA reactor. Here's why: while dosing pumps do the job, it's inconsistent. What I mean by that is it only doses based on a periodicity (ie: once every hour, every 12 hours, every 24 hours or whatever you set). It's possible that by the time it doses again, your values have already dropped so you have fluctuation. By using a CA reactor on a controller, it doses constantly and there's a certain amount of Alk and Mg in combination with the CA.
Dosing pumps are much easier to setup, dial in and operate. But will cost more in in the end.
Calc reactors once setup dont need to be touched for months and the media is MUCH cheaper.
If you plan to heavily stock your 180 with corals Id do a calc reactor. Higher startup costs but it will pay itself back in the long run.
I actually use both (3 part dosing and a calc reactor) Mostly because I had the 3 part system setup already. I use the calc reactor for the bulk and make fine adjustments with the dosing system.
Calc reactors once setup dont need to be touched for months and the media is MUCH cheaper.
If you plan to heavily stock your 180 with corals Id do a calc reactor. Higher startup costs but it will pay itself back in the long run.
I actually use both (3 part dosing and a calc reactor) Mostly because I had the 3 part system setup already. I use the calc reactor for the bulk and make fine adjustments with the dosing system.
charlesptech
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Here is a good video comparing the 2..
<div class="gc_ifarem_title">Why We Prefer Dosing Pumps Over Calcium Reactors - YouTube</div>
<div class="gc_ifarem_title">Why We Prefer Dosing Pumps Over Calcium Reactors - YouTube</div>
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Love my dosing pump. I'm dosing every hour...wait...I'm not dosing my computer does it all for me.
Sold my reactor and haven't looked back.
Sold my reactor and haven't looked back.
I've been dosing 2-part for months with my controller. It's mostly set it and forget it. I occasionally dial the dosers up or down based on water tests, but that's easy to figure out. I dose Alk on the hour, and Calcium on the half-hour, over the entire day. There shouldn't be much swing in levels during the day. I recently started wishing that I had a 3rd doser for the Magnesium as well. I forgot to monitor that for a while, and it dropped quite a bit.
I started running a Calcium Reactor 18 months ago, and it is one of the best pieces of equipment that I have purchased in the hobby. I love it.
Here's my 2 cents:
(Cons- The set up) The reactor has a pretty high cost when you factor in everything that you need: the reactor itself, re-circulating pump (if not included), solenoid valve, Co2 tank, and a computer/ Ph monitor. Once you have the components in place it does take a while to dial it in... this is the hardest part of the setup. You have to make slow changes to the amount of flow leaving the reactor as well as setting up the desired Ph/ amount of Co2 entering the chamber. The dial in process involves making very small changes then testing parameters till you get the desired results.
(Pros - Awesome Results, Easy to Maintain) Once you get the reactor dialed it, it is for the most part a "set it and forget" it piece of equipment. Maintenance wise there is really nothing to it... you will eventually have to change out the Co2 tank when it empties (I change mine every 6 months, but this can be extended if you buy a larger tank) and add more media when it gets low (every 9 months for me). Since adding the reactor, the stability of the system has been amazing... Alk and Calc remain high and never fluctuate. Finally the results of the reactor have been great. SPS corals grow about 2-3 times faster with the reactor, and coral health has been greatly improved.
I do not have a lot of experience dosing 2 part, so I cannot give much feedback on that method. I CAN tell you that my experience with the reactor has been very positive and I would highly recommend getting one.
Here's my 2 cents:
(Cons- The set up) The reactor has a pretty high cost when you factor in everything that you need: the reactor itself, re-circulating pump (if not included), solenoid valve, Co2 tank, and a computer/ Ph monitor. Once you have the components in place it does take a while to dial it in... this is the hardest part of the setup. You have to make slow changes to the amount of flow leaving the reactor as well as setting up the desired Ph/ amount of Co2 entering the chamber. The dial in process involves making very small changes then testing parameters till you get the desired results.
(Pros - Awesome Results, Easy to Maintain) Once you get the reactor dialed it, it is for the most part a "set it and forget" it piece of equipment. Maintenance wise there is really nothing to it... you will eventually have to change out the Co2 tank when it empties (I change mine every 6 months, but this can be extended if you buy a larger tank) and add more media when it gets low (every 9 months for me). Since adding the reactor, the stability of the system has been amazing... Alk and Calc remain high and never fluctuate. Finally the results of the reactor have been great. SPS corals grow about 2-3 times faster with the reactor, and coral health has been greatly improved.
I do not have a lot of experience dosing 2 part, so I cannot give much feedback on that method. I CAN tell you that my experience with the reactor has been very positive and I would highly recommend getting one.
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Thanks for all the comments. This is why I love this club.
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