Calcium & Alk. Additives - What's best?
 

Just wondering what's the "best" or most commonly used Calcium and Alk. additive? When I had my first reef, I was using Seachem products (the powders you mixed with top-off water) Can't really recall if it was all that great or not... and wondering if there's a best additive?? I know there's liquid buffers and powders, don't know if that makes one better than the other.. open to any suggestions.

I am only keeping softies for now, but I will be adding SPS as soon as I can, and want my calcium and alk. levels proper before doing so. I haven't been monitoring or adding any buffers yet seeing as it's just real basic softies in my tank right now.

Ca reactor, basically set and forget

In my experience ESV B-Ionic 2 part is the best. I've had better results with it compared to Seachem and Two Little Fishies C-Balance additives, and compared to my Ca reactor.

I used a liquid additive called DKH plus for a while (can't remember the brand name, I bought it at Elite though). On a small tank like yours a bottle would last quite a while and as I recall it wasn't too expensive. Now I'm using baked baking soda but my tank is pretty big and also uses up a lot of alk, I'm dosing daily. The baking soda method is working out really good for me.

My Ca reactor keeps everything stable. Without it, I'd use kalk as Ca/Alk maintenance.

It appears the latest German trend is towards a 2 part mix and doseing pumps. It's sounds like a better set and forget method than a reactor but I'm sure the maintenance is a lot higher

J

Agreed. I fill my reactor twice a year, and top off the CO2 maybe that much. The dosing might be a great way, but I think more work, and fairly costly to start up. Again, a reactor ain't cheap either, unless you make your own.

With this topic though, one really should know what the Ca/Alk consumption is, then decide how best to deal with it.

I used Kent's 2-part "Tech CB" with good results. I don't think there's one "best" additive, though. I think many will work just as well as the other, as long as you're able to figure out how much/often/etc. to meet the needs of your tank.

in all fairness, I picked up a pm ca reactor package for 300 bucks...
Not to bad for the lowered daily maintenance and future savings on additives.
I also have a schuran pico reactor package that I paid 250 for so if you don't mind going used, a ca reator may be more affordable than you think....

I have found that a good deal on 2-part chems is significantly cheaper then a calcium reactor. In fact the operating costs of a calcium reactor alone cost more then the 2-part dosing (if you get a good deal on the chems).

6 or 7 years ago I got a reactor cause I was tired of paying $25 for 1 Kg of calcium. It was cheaper to have a reactor back then. It is also easier to 2-part dose, less fiddling, less stuff to go wrong, etc..... If you think that all the parts on your calcium reactor will be trouble free for years you are wrong, maybe 5 or 6 years, but eventually you will have problems with your pump, fittings will get brittle, and your CO2 valves will have problems eventually as well.

That being said.....................I use a calcium reactor, not for the cost, but for the fact that I don't have to add anything to my tank for well over a month.

If you do want things like calcium and magnesium for a good deal, I am pretty sure there is a good vendor around here who sells them.:wink:


Just a side note, and something I may do on my next tank:

-get one container of calcium mixed with water and one of baking soda mixed with water.
-use a multi-head dosing pump to dose into your tank

might be a simple cost effective way of eliminating maintenance.:biggrin:

had been considering getting calcium reactor package until i came into possession of some bulk ca and alk supplies. now i spend 30 seconds every other nite double dosing recommended amt into my sump. 2 months went by and all my critters are doing fantastically well. haha why babysit them when we all know those creatures are a lot tougher than you and i. relax, sit back and stop all those worryings.

That would Be Tailored Aquatics dKH Plus and yes a bottle does last a small tank quite a while. http://www.tailoredaquatics.com/index.html?a=0&d=43

It's no secret that it's all pretty much the same stuff: calcium chloride and sodium carbonate (a.k.a. washing soda). Buy the CaCl in bulk and make your own washing soda from plain old baking soda.

While your at it, pick up some magnesium chloride and/or magnesium sulfate (a.k.a. Epsom salts) as well and you're well on your way.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

All you're paying for with the LFS stuff is the fancy labelling.

Brad did you use the same with the big tank you used to have? and how much media does your reactor hold?
I'm refilling my reactor every 5 weeks or so with about 6lbs of media and I'm finding it a big pain in the butt

Marie, my comments were based on my old tank, my new one isn't growed up enough yet:)

My reactor holds about 18 pounds of media, so I don't need to change it that often. I find the first annual change is just to remove the finer sludge, it tends to slow the flow after 4 or 5 months.
Still, I never used a pound/week, even at it's peak of growth.

I'm pretty sure most of my calcium goes to coraline algae. I have lots and lots of coraline algae :rolleyes:

Perhaps. I got to a point where I had none on the glass, not sure why. Corals grew like crazy though....