"Curious about calcium" survey
 

I didn't make this a poll because it wouldn't provide all of the info I wanted, please treat it as a survey.

Please give a general tank description and what you are using for Calcium/alk suppliments?

ie: 100 gallon mixed reef, calcium reacter, 400ppm and 8dkh etc...

Thanks everyone! :biggrin:

90 gallon mixed reef. Tech CBA Ca/alk. ~370 ppm. ~10.5 dKH.

40 Gallon mixed reef
Liquid Reactor

130 gallon reef - 390-400ppm ca
kalk reactor
occassionaly add Kent turbo calcium to boost ca level up when low

180G mixed reef, calcium reactor, 430ppm and 9dkh, Kalk drip (soon to be a Kalk Reactor) sometimes use calcium if needed to boost levels up if there has been any new additions.

65 gallon mixed (90% LPS) reef.
Ca floats around 420 ppm - when it hits 400 I nudge it up to 450-460 over a few hours.
Alk sits around ... I think 9dkh? I'm drawing a blank. Anyways, I park it right in the middle of "normal" seawater.


My alk supplement is just Arm and Hammer baking soda. I don't consume too much so I'm not worried about pH drop as soem folks seem to be.

My ca supplement is a Calcium Hardness increaser from the pool supply store. It's a 77% calcium chloride, essentially the same as Dowflake or Turbocalcium.

I test with Salifert tests a couple times a week, maybe even less than that now that I've more or less mapped the system's consumption.

75g, mostly lps and sps, kalk spiked with vinegar and kents 2 part. Calcium 380 and alk 8dkh

~75G water volume SPS only tank, Calcium - ~400ppm, Alk - ~3.20mEq/L, Calcium reactor and Kalk reactor.

Calcium Reactor used and Kalkwasser mixed with all top-off water.

Calcium is 420 and Alkalinity is 9dkh.

120g SPS tank.

72 gallon, Kent Liquid Reactor, Ca 425 ppm, Alk 3.5 meq

35g & 33g Kent's Liquid Reactor & NaOH

27gl LPS/SPS reef, Kent's Liquid Reactor and Liquid Calcium

90 reef, calcium reactor. Ca=420ppm, alk = 7.4dkH

500g. including sump and frag tank, pretty much SPS and fish
-AquaMedic Calcium reactor
-Calcium 390-430ppm
-Alkalinity is 9-10dkh
-Calmax two part additive on hand for when I start playing with my reactor and screw it up.

If your thinking of what road to go down I vote for the CA reactor.

Dave

230g - clam/sps mostly...Ca Reactor 450 plus and about 9 dkh...been trying to boost the alk levels with some buffer, or the part one ( for no particular reason but just cuz THEY say.... :lol: )

67g - softies mostly. 2 part B-Ionic sometimes. mostly because if the levels are high, it keeps bad algae away. Ca 450 alk 9 Water changes to maintain mostly. ( southpark reference mostly :razz: )

33g - water changes only Ca 420 alk 8 dkh

I use the KISS principle.

75 gallon mixed with mostly softies and LPS with a few SPS thrown in for good measure. I don't test so I don't know, and I don't worry. :biggrin: I use no additives, just local water.

33 gallon with mainly zoanthids. Same as above.

reply
 

It seems that I'm in the middle of the small tank vs. Big tank with a total volume of about 90 gallons. So far I add Ca+ and 2 part Alk buffers. I'm just wondering at what point does it become more economical to add a calcium reactor instead of dosing with additives.

I'd guess at your size it would be better right now. IMO it also helps balance out the PH and Alk as well as maintaining the calcium. It's all so a cool piece of hardware which I think is half the fun.

If your not in a rush I "may" consider selling my Aquamedic unit in a couple of months. My tank has really out grown it's max output. Haven't even considered what price or any thing, just thinking down the road.

Dave

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Down the road I guess, if the right deal comes along I might consider anything! Space under the stand would also be an issue though.

Re: "Curious about calcium" survey
 

75g SPS reef, calcium reactor, kalk reactor, Ca=350ppm and Alk=3.5meq/l (targeted).

90g softies+anemone reef, no reactors, no additives. Ca=dunno/don't-care Alk=ditto

... I second the arguments for a calcium reactor. I realize it's a heavy investment but I have to tell you, when you get one you will seriously wonder how you ever got by without one. I never have to worry about training someone to do additives when I go away for a weekend or whatever .. don't even really have to test the water for parameters anhmore. I just check the output of my reactor, if it's output'ing the right flowrate and the pH is 6.7 ... I know it's "just right". Test once in a while for the fun of it but the results are always the same. I love that.

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Anyone have a link I can start my reactor research at. You know, how they work, what to look for etc?

40 gal...saturated Kalk dosed 24hrs/day with metered pump...50ml/hr.