calcium reactor vs dosing pump

[Amadod2]

i am thinking of going with a nano type calcium reactor, my tank that i just finished setting up is only a 75G, do you guys recommend any type of reactor in particular?

[rhody605]

I love my reactor. Set it and sit back and relax. I have a vertex rx-6. It takes up a lot of space. The rx-4 is smaller but still would take up a lot of space. I'm sure someone with more knowledge of other reactors will chime in.

[Seth81]

I dose, I also mix up 5 Gallons of CA, Mg, and Alk at a time, so it's really not too much of a head ache.

For those people who use a reactor, Does a Ca reactor also add Alk too ?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Seth81

I dose, I also mix up 5 Gallons of CA, Mg, and Alk at a time, so it's really not too much of a head ache.

For those people who use a reactor, Does a Ca reactor also add Alk too ?

Yes it does, it adds Mag and trace elements as well, it dissolves dried coral so pretty much whatever is needed to grow coral skeleton is added. You can also get supplemental chambers added to for extra dosing of certain elements.

[chef]

Really, I can install a ca reactor and forget about dosing? Is it easier to achieve my parameters? Anyone selling in in the lower mainland?

[rhody605]

I use caribsea coarse rocks and I have a bit of zeo mag rocks added in my reactor. They are rocks that are high in mg.

My tank seems to require the little bit of extra mag to keep it all stable.

[daplatapus]

Reactor all the way here as well. Get a vertex RX-4 with the extra chamber to deal with your Mg at the same time. For some reason the last week or two I've been having issues with my Alk dropping so I've been manually dosing, but it's the first time in over a year of touching anything. I love it.

[Rice Reef]

Agree on the reactor. Although I am dosing at this time I'm hoping that within 9 mths vertex will have their act together with a release of a rumored new design or upgrade from the old design.

[Amadod2]

i have done some more research and heard that calcium reactors put extra phosphates into the system, is this true? im just looking for a setup that will be easier to maintain over the long term

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Amadod2

i have done some more research and heard that calcium reactors put extra phosphates into the system, is this true? im just looking for a setup that will be easier to maintain over the long term

I haven't heard that, but suspect that's true. But, phosphate is part of all organisms and corals need some phosphates. FWIW, I've always run a reactor, and my measurable PO4 is always 0ppm using a Hanna checker. I wouldn't worry about it.
Keep in mind all the food you add to the tank has phosphate, it's not necessarily a bad thing.