White tips on SPS

[Ya Dude]

Take the math and experimenting with dfferent products out of the process and get a calcium reactor
It raises all three elements evenly and steady once dialed in

[gregzz4]

Calcium reactors aren't for everyone, nor can everyone afford reliable equipment for said units.
If you're as anal as I am, how do you adjust your newly mixed water that's out of whack before you do a waterchange?
pH probes and CO2 regulators can fail and if ignored things go out of whack.
And they can be a bit complex for newbies.
Dialing in and keeping Mag levels with a Ca reactor isn't that easy either. What happens if you add too much Mag media? Shut down the reactor until tank Mag drops? Remove all media and remix new stuff? Or keep taking it apart to add more media until it's adding enough to your tank?
I thought years ago about getting a setup and decided against it.
They work great for many people, but aren't for me.
Liquid dosing is a great way for newbs to start understanding their tank's chemistry.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Ya Dude

Take the math and experimenting with dfferent products out of the process and get a calcium reactor
It raises all three elements evenly and steady once dialed in

You've been reefing a long time ...
Ever thought about writing a tutorial for Calcium Reactors?
I'd be interested to read it, as I'm sure many others would too

[Dash]

Thanks Greg - might take you up on that some day

The BRS “2-part” dosing should really be called 3-part as there’s a Mag component. My parameters are now stable & it’s easy to maintain despite my not owning an auto doser yet.

[crimper]

Originally Posted by Ya Dude

Take the math and experimenting with dfferent products out of the process and get a calcium reactor
It raises all three elements evenly and steady once dialed in

"When dialed in." that is the hard part..

Ya Dude, here's the math for CaRx I'm running one.

Reliable Reactor cost me $600ish (Geo)
Reliable Regulator $400ish (Carbon Doser)
CO2 Tank $100ish
Ph controller $300ish++up(I use my Apex Jr)

This setup with all the bells and whistles that I thrown out in there and still a struggle to make the Alk stable as the effluent keeps on clogging. I need to shell another $350ish to buy a reliable peristaltic pump to have a constant effluent.

Advising that kind of setup for a newbie doesn't justify the need for it while you can have the same results by using a $100 doser. besides his 75 tank is fairly new and not worth running a CaRx.

I'm not saying this is the only way, but if you don't wanna be fidgetting your CaRx setup every so often to tune your effluent to get a stable Alk then shell out that amount of money and get this setup.

Sorry I dont intend to create a debate here on dosers vs CaRx and I know Llorgon is already been taken good care of by GregZ, but i thought it would be helpful for newbies to know the cost of running a reliable CaRx.

Oh by the way I still need to dose Mag as it drops every so often to balance my parameters.

my 2 cents

[Ya Dude]

Ya I agree, I have a large tank so I think it works better in that case
I only ever tweek the effluent every month or so and add tech M.
It’s been reliable for me so I’ll just stick with it, if it ain’t broke ...

[Llorgon]

Ok, bit of a update.


Thanks to Gregs help my water parameters are getting back on track. I tested my new saltwater and my params for it were:
Alk - 9
cal - 390
mag - 1050


As of last night my tank water params were:
Alk - 9.3
cal - 380
mag - 1350


Still need to get the calcium up, but at least the magnesium is where it should be now.

[DKoKoMan]

Definitely on the right track and Gregzz has an awesome tank so your getting sound advice

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Llorgon

Ok, bit of a update.


Thanks to Gregs help my water parameters are getting back on track. I tested my new saltwater and my params for it were:
Alk - 9
cal - 390
mag - 1050


As of last night my tank water params were:
Alk - 9.3
cal - 380
mag - 1350


Still need to get the calcium up, but at least the magnesium is where it should be now.

Looks like 1 of your tests was off a tad. A 10g water change wouldn't make the Alk higher than it was before the change ...
I use IO regular and it's been about 10.2 to 10.5 @ 1.026 in the last 3-4 buckets.
Did you test the DT before the WC?

As we spoke about today, go ahead and bring your Ca up tonight.

Originally Posted by DKoKoMan

Definitely on the right track and Gregzz has an awesome tank so your getting sound advice

Oh stop, you're makin' me blush