Liter Meter or Calc Reator MRC CR1, Which way to go??

[gmpolan]

So i picked up a CR!with a azoo bubble counter and a 5lb co2 tank but this will be my frist calc reactor on a tank so im alil hesitant. I travel every week monday thru friday pretty much and im wondering which is gonna be safer for me to run this or to run a liter meter dosing alk, calc, and mag daily at small doses. I would control the reactor off a RKE possibly with the net module depending some finances. Ive just heard so many nightmares in regards to the selonoids sticking and crashing the tanks so im just hesitant i guess. Ive also asked a few local reefers and got diff opinions so i figured it would be time to ask the forums....

 

[geno]

I had the very same concern. I purchased a CR and had it for a whole year before getting the courage to set it up.

Frankly, it's not difficult at all. Read, read, read, and take it slow and you'll be fine. I was even going to hire someone from my LFS to help me set mine up -- but decided to give it a try myself -- and it worked.

My only issue is my tank inhabitants don't need as much CA as the CR can produce -- so I have to throttle it back a good bit. I over bought!

If you monitor your water parms daily after the initial set up -- you'll catch any wild swings before they get out of control. You'll want to measure the effluent as well as your tank parms for comparison.

Since you travel so much --- perhaps setting it up during a long break from work would help

 

[gmpolan]

Yeah but how often do you change the media and refill the C02 tank? And do i have to drip the effluent into something prior to going into the tank?

 

[mockery]

gmpolan;582185 wrote: Yeah but how often do you change the media and refill the C02 tank? And do i have to something to drip the effluent into prior to going into the tank?

It depends on consumption and pressure of the CO2 output but 6 months is the average.

 

[jef4y]

CO2 consumption depends on the individual setup. I can run over a year on a bottle. Others recharge every quarter or 6 months.

As for media, I've never changed it. I've added to it a couple times over the last year but never flat out replaced it.

In controlling the solenoid and worrying about it sticking, crashing the tank, I strive to set mine up to where the soleniod is basically a last resort failsafe. I set the CO2 bubble count to maintain a pH in the desired range, right above where my controller would shut the soleniod. I had it set to where the soleniod hadn't needed to shut in months, but then made a few changes and now I'm still fiddling with it to get it just right. As of right now, my soleniod trips 2-3 times per day.

 

[acroholic]

I would not run a calcium reactor without a controller, either a stand alone unit like a MI SMS122, or as part of a controller system, like an RKL or Apex.

Does your CR1 have a pH probe port?

 

[gmpolan]

I currently run the entire system on a RKE at the moment so i was gonna try to use that. Besides the probe on that, it does not have a stand alone unit nor does it have a probe port....I really do not care to spend any more money on the system at the moment after the faulty tank but i will if i have to, to cause myself less headaches in the long run. I just have seen some great tanks going with both ways....so keep up the input

 

[acroholic]

You can use an effluent cup to control the reactor with the RKE. have the reactor empty into a small container with the pH probe in it. The effluent then goes from there into the sump. That does the same thing as having a probe port in the reactor lid.

You can also have Tim at MRC add a probe holder sometime. I did that with my CR1 a couple years ago. He just drills/taps a thread in the lid, and the holder screws into place. Prolly costs about $25 to do it.

 

[gmpolan]

thanks for the input dave, but if i do run a calc reactor, would i ever need to run a kalk reactor along with it?

Id still like to hear more feedback as into what will be easier to maintain while traveling because from my research it still appears as if the meter liter will be. I mean, you fill up three containers, set/test the parameters and your done versus measuring the ph constantly, filling up a C02 tank and swapping the media out every so often...

 

[schwaggs]

It really comes down to the size of your system and the CA load. If you have a small system or a very light CA load, the 2 part dosing is fine. I would not bother dosing Mag, you are OK to add it in bulk every week or so.

If you have a larger system or a heavy CA load, the CA reactor is much cheaper (and easier IMO) to operate in the long run.

 

[gmpolan]

System size is 230 gallons....150 DT, 25 frag, 55 sump

 

[skriz]

Over the long term, the Ca reactor is going to be much easier and cheaper.

Since you have an RKE, it's close to impossible to crash your system using a calcium reactor. As longs as your probes are functioning, you'll be fine. The probe in the reactor will regulate the CO2 and keep the chamber ph stable. The ph probe in the tank will act as a failsafe; if the reactor is surpressing the ph in the DT, it will turn off the reactor.

You should be able to set up your reactor and walk away for 6 months at a time (time will depend on Ca demad). You can't do that with 2 part dosing.

 

[gmpolan]

Do i need to buy a stand alone PH unit to measure considering the only probe port for the RKE would be used to measure the PH in the DT? I do have a sl1 and a sl2 that i could try to tie together to include two probes.

 

[skriz]

gmpolan;582402 wrote: Do i need to buy a stand alone PH unit to measure considering the only probe port for the RKE would be used to measure the PH in the DT? I do have a sl1 and a sl2 that i could try to tie together to include two probes.

I have no clue how the RKE works, so I'm not going to be of much help there. BUT, I'd be willing to bet that you can add a second ph probe somehow; I'm sure they have an expansion module that would allow for that. I'd try that rather than using a stand alone unit.