Carbon in filter sock? or in a chamber?

[Zoaelite]

+1 with Kein on the Calcium reactor, maybe it's just me but I don't trust highly pressurized metal containers around corrosive salt water, panels of glass and $1000's of dollars worth of livestock.

[Milad]

what is the dosing station?
i got the calcium reactor for very good price in a package deal

[kien]

fancy pumps that look something like this used to dose (pump) Alkaline, Calcium, and Magnesium concentrated solutions into your tank to keep your levels up. Certainly not a requirement, but if you plan on using a Calcium Reactor, a dosing station would be an alternative to that with added benefits. I too have an irrational fear of pressurized gas canisters in the house.

[Zoaelite]

A dosing station uses peristaltic dosing pumps and supply reservoirs of chemicals to maintain your levels. For example my bubble magus dosing station doses 2.08ml of both CA & ALK solution 12 times daily to add 25 ml of both solutions. The third one doses 2ml of Mg twice for a total of 4ml, so far it has been working flawlessly.

[Milad]

ya ive seen those but they look to sketchy for me. small little things putting concentrated chemicals into my tank... i dunno... plus they are pricey.

[Madreefer]

You don't need to put it in a filtersock, won't be fun trying to pick that out come time to change. It would be a waste of money putting in new carbon every couple of days when it's time to clean them. You can buy media bags and fill them yourself. Just putting the bag in your sump will not harm anything but a reactor is way more effective.

[christyf5]

LOL, you guys, there is nothing wrong with a calcium reactor Dosing pumps are just all the rage now. I have had both and both definitely have their pros and cons (although I'm liking the dosing pump better).

As for carbon, I wouldn't run it directly in the filter sock, I'd put it in a mesh bag first. Unless of course the filter sock and mesh bag you're talking about are the same thing. If you're looking to not have to buy a reactor, putting it in the mesh bag and then the filter sock I think would be your best option as the flow going through the filter sock likely provide as much flow as a reactor. Having it in a mesh bag allows you to yank it out and dispose of it much easier than just having it loose inside the filter sock (believe me I've tried it and its so much more convenient). That being said, I did end up buying another phosban reactor just for carbon but I have lots of room for that stuff in my sump.

[kien]

Originally Posted by Milad

small little things putting concentrated chemicals into my tank.

That is part of the allure of dosing stations

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by kien

That is part of the allure of dosing stations

plus they're neat-o!