Calcium reactor, Doser or Manuall
- Thread starter BIG L A
- Start date
Solace Aquatics LLC
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Charleston, SC
Calcium Reactor - GEO
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
Doser Pros:
Easy Setup. Your setting it up based on whatever your dosing by hand pretty much. And the system is virtually maintenance free. Your only going to have to calibrate it once every 3-6 months and clean and check the pumps once a year.
Cons:
Bionic is expensive as well as the doser + an extra pump. Its a pricey system. Plus there can be fluctuations if the pumps start to clog up and you don;t check and realize. There is a financial roof your going to see based on calcium consumption in tanks. People that dose using bionic or another 2 part usually don't have extremely heavy SPS tanks. For mixed reefs this is usually the most prefered.
If your looking into one i would go litremeter.
Calcium Reactors
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/index.php
Pros:
Its the cheaper of the systems, media and Co2 costs pennies, and the reactor will run you a little less than a doser. There is a difference in growth systemwide with cal reactors as well than if you were using bionic. The only places i have seen people require one is on 100g+ heavy SPS tanks because the costs of Bionic just get a little rediculous.
Cons:
You need to know what your doing when setting one up and adjusting it. Its not the easiest thing for most people to grasp technically. Plus the system is labor intensive. You need to monitor both the calc/alk levels as well as the pump as it will get clogged quickly depending what you use as well as the Co2 tank. Its also easier to overdose your tank if something fails compared to a doser with things than can go wrong.
Dosing by hand is the cheapest but your gonna spend every day adding the 2 parts in. I don;t think i need to mention pro's/cons. If you have the money to spend on a calc reactor or a doser you should if your dosing alot. It makes reefing much much more enjoyable when you cut out a daily work activity with the tank as you can spend that time looking at the tank.
It all depends how stocked your tank is. There are people that just do water changes to make up for the nutrient and calc/alk loss because of their low stocked tanks.
Easy Setup. Your setting it up based on whatever your dosing by hand pretty much. And the system is virtually maintenance free. Your only going to have to calibrate it once every 3-6 months and clean and check the pumps once a year.
Cons:
Bionic is expensive as well as the doser + an extra pump. Its a pricey system. Plus there can be fluctuations if the pumps start to clog up and you don;t check and realize. There is a financial roof your going to see based on calcium consumption in tanks. People that dose using bionic or another 2 part usually don't have extremely heavy SPS tanks. For mixed reefs this is usually the most prefered.
If your looking into one i would go litremeter.
Calcium Reactors
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/index.php
Pros:
Its the cheaper of the systems, media and Co2 costs pennies, and the reactor will run you a little less than a doser. There is a difference in growth systemwide with cal reactors as well than if you were using bionic. The only places i have seen people require one is on 100g+ heavy SPS tanks because the costs of Bionic just get a little rediculous.
Cons:
You need to know what your doing when setting one up and adjusting it. Its not the easiest thing for most people to grasp technically. Plus the system is labor intensive. You need to monitor both the calc/alk levels as well as the pump as it will get clogged quickly depending what you use as well as the Co2 tank. Its also easier to overdose your tank if something fails compared to a doser with things than can go wrong.
Dosing by hand is the cheapest but your gonna spend every day adding the 2 parts in. I don;t think i need to mention pro's/cons. If you have the money to spend on a calc reactor or a doser you should if your dosing alot. It makes reefing much much more enjoyable when you cut out a daily work activity with the tank as you can spend that time looking at the tank.
It all depends how stocked your tank is. There are people that just do water changes to make up for the nutrient and calc/alk loss because of their low stocked tanks.
Last edited:
- Location
- Flushing, NY
I chose calcium reactor because, dosing by hand is only cheapest if you're not using too much. Once you get to 100ml of each part per day or more, calcium reactor starts to look economical because you save money over time. Also, clogging isn't as big of an issue if you keep your PH in the reactor not too low. The low PH causes the media to turn to dust and that clogs the line. I rather keep the PH around 7, and let the effluent drip faster (or stream faster) Its also going down near the skimmer so that should dissipate most co2
rafal07013
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- new jersey
I am in favor of dosing pump rather than calcium/kalk reactors. Both ways are not bullet proof and if there is a problem your tank will crash - doesnt matter which method you use. equipment failure may happen in both methods.
Price - brand new dosing unit $400 while brand new Geo Ca and Kalk reactors - close to $1000. Media - I bought mine from MR vendor TB Aquatics and bought buckets
paid something like $200 +/- (Calcium, Alk and Mg) - it will last long time.
I got the idea after reading following thread on RC:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14466789#post14466789
and decided to go with Profilux dosing unit.
Price - brand new dosing unit $400 while brand new Geo Ca and Kalk reactors - close to $1000. Media - I bought mine from MR vendor TB Aquatics and bought buckets
paid something like $200 +/- (Calcium, Alk and Mg) - it will last long time.I got the idea after reading following thread on RC:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14466789#post14466789
and decided to go with Profilux dosing unit.
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
Its not what wins the vote as to which is better. All meet different demands and its just people replying that have calcium reactors. And its pretty much based on what your keeping. Alot of people found good deals on calcium reactors, and the majority of people automaticaly just say go with a calcium reactor because bionic and 2 part dosing gets expensive long term, so i can assure you calcium reactors are going to win the vote. Plus people automatically think calcium reactors are the best of the best so there are people that will vote that anyways. Its only been recently that a very good 2 part was on the market and sold broad enough for everyone to start using. So, calcium reactors are pretty much a staple in reefkeeping.
Each has its place, and you will hit a roof in reefkeeping where your going to be forced to use a reactor instead of 2 part. Ive seen plenty of 20-50g tanks using calcium reactors and all they had in the tank were some acans and zoa's which is in my view a little overdone. And i know someone that has 2 large tanks that he doses manually with 2 part. It swings both ways.
- Location
- Staten Island
Calcium reactor that is over sized for your system and no probs mines has been fine for about 3 years now... My system is about 440 total water, my calcium reactor is rated for 800 gallons... I never have problems aside from the normal needing to tap the effluent due to calcium getting stuck evryonce and a while.. and that's only because I have it set up on a natural syphon and don't have a pump connected to the intake..
I also will go for a reactor, I have tried both methods and still currently dosing manually. But at times I do not have the time to be able to dose when I would like too. In my experience Dosing vs Reactor dosing you will get more stable result than a reactor plus with the setting up a reactor gets you going crazy. But with my large tanks dosing would kill me
i use a reactor. the benefits are a more stable environment, cheaper as far as costs go in the long run. 2 part dosing leads to swings because of the dosing and if not done by a doser, becomes a burden to do manually.
reactor size does not matter, the larger the reactor, the more media it will hold therefor more time in between fills.
kalk can be used to compliment the reactor, the high ph of kalk can overcome the low ph of the cal reactor. kalk by itself usually cannot support LPS and definitely not support a SPS system on its own.
reactor size does not matter, the larger the reactor, the more media it will hold therefor more time in between fills.
kalk can be used to compliment the reactor, the high ph of kalk can overcome the low ph of the cal reactor. kalk by itself usually cannot support LPS and definitely not support a SPS system on its own.
AlohaTropics
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- Long Island
I definetely choose Ca reactor. I've used every method and with the reactor, you can get a very stable system. Stable Alk is the key. You can get a good Ca reactor for $300-$500 complete system. A reactor with Arag & Magnesium mix will keep your Mg & Ca & Alk stable. Manual dosing is more expensive and shocks your system each time. A reactor is a little tricky to get set properly but once its done, you rarely have to manipulate it unless your system consumption changes.
Ive thought about these options because at times I dont always have the time to dose... The set-up on the CA reactor sounds tricky but it might be the way to go... I guess my next question would be which one do I getfor my system... Heres the info- 120G mixed reef, currently using 2 part B-Ionic...
- Location
- poughquag, ny
how do you figure ? i maintained my 60g sps system with kalk and occasionaly dosing of 2 part and mag, usually only dosed it once a week on 2 part, had 40 + sps chalices ect as well. cal reactor is the way to go once it is dialed in, my current system is drip of kalk and dosing 2 part, but not much sps this time around
- Location
- Ossining, NY
BiG LA - this question would be best answered with a full tank shot - getting a recommendation without actually knowing the inhabitants or potential additions to the set up that may or may not demand additives begs the question.
When most people hear "mixed reef" they hear a few sps, few hard LPS few shrooms, few zoos, few leathers etc. if this is truly the case in your statement of the "mixed reef" then all systems (reactor, doser or manual) have merits and downsides. Tosiek highlights them pretty well in his post.
I prefer to use both - manual dosing and a reactor - the reactor keeps the levels stable while dosing right after water changes adds the additional boost that stimulates spurts of growth in organisms that need this.
Hope this helps - if you decide to go with a rector, feel free to contact me for guidance on understanding it's inner workings, setting it up and dialing it in. Like all reef tools, it requires some foundational knowledge before doing it well.
House
When most people hear "mixed reef" they hear a few sps, few hard LPS few shrooms, few zoos, few leathers etc. if this is truly the case in your statement of the "mixed reef" then all systems (reactor, doser or manual) have merits and downsides. Tosiek highlights them pretty well in his post.
I prefer to use both - manual dosing and a reactor - the reactor keeps the levels stable while dosing right after water changes adds the additional boost that stimulates spurts of growth in organisms that need this.
Hope this helps - if you decide to go with a rector, feel free to contact me for guidance on understanding it's inner workings, setting it up and dialing it in. Like all reef tools, it requires some foundational knowledge before doing it well.
House
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