calcium reactor

[bruce 1]

I am thinking about getting a calcium reactor for the new tank. Would I still have to dose 2 part? I read an article that said the reactor is only to maintain calcium. Did I understand right? Are the MRC duel reactors good? Is there a lot of adjusting?

 

[hnguyen]

You read half right. You want to dose 2 part until you've reach your desire parameters. After that, your calcium reactor is there to maintain those parameters so you no longer have to dose 2 part. I've always been a big fan of Geo calcium reactors and I always recommend my friends them. Their built like tanks and are very easy to set up. After I had mines up and running I never had to touch it again.


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[bruce 1]

OK so at water changes you would still have to dose a little? (So I do not need to sell my 2 part stuff)

 

[hnguyen]

I never dose the water I use for wc. I use reef crystal so it has enough minerals in there so I don't have to dose it. When my 93 was up, I never had to dose and my calcium reactor was dialed back really low. Even with my red sea max now. I only have 4 sps coral in it and the rest is LPG and zoa's. I never had to dose the 5 months this tank has been running.

 

[dme330i]

bruce 1;707265 wrote: I am thinking about getting a calcium reactor for the new tank.

Good idea for the size of your new tank.

bruce 1;707265 wrote: Would I still have to dose 2 part?

Not necessarily. You can use the reactor to get you where you want by adjusting the PH and/or drip rate. It does raise both ALK and CA (and other essentials), so if you are way off in ALK or CA, you may need to dose whatever is low.

bruce 1;707265 wrote: Are the MRC duel reactors good? Is there a lot of adjusting?

I've used GEO and custom made reactors. GEO worked great and I would use them again (other than getting too small of a unit). The MRC reactors look very good, too, based on what I've seen.

I like the dual reactor setups as they result in a higher pH effluent and a more concentrated drip. My GEO 612 was too small for my previous 210 as I had to run more CO2 and drip rate to keep up with my growth. This also resulted in having to re-fill the media more than I liked.

Get a good quality solenoid/valve setup to hold your bubble count constant.

Finally, run a prefilter into your chambers as they often trap a decent amount of detritus.



Jon

 

[bruce 1]

Thanks guys.

 

[silver surfer]

I really like my dosing pump. I have used a reactor in the past but my numbers have been allot better with dosing. If you keep up with your weekly water changes, the new salt mix provides the elements you need. If you are lazy, and only do monthly or even biweekly changes, get the reactor. The reactor will drive your ph down but with a controller, it should not be a problem. Again I love my dosing pumps and so do my corals.

If you are looking for a used reactor I have one for sale.