unnecessary equipment but best investment

[littlesilvermax]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Calcium reactor on the other hand ... sure, you could argue it's not necessary, but I find it's one of the best bangs-for-buck there is.

I have a HUGE calcium reactor and would not have it any other way.

Chemicals that are gotten at the right price are significantly cheaper (I worked it out to 20% the cost) of using a reactor.

I bulk buy (100s of lbs at a time) calcium reactor media becaus I go through 2 lbs a month. It costs me a total of $6 per lb for media, about $60 a year for CO2 rental and gas, and about $950 for equipment to run it properly (54 inch reactor, dosing pump, externally run circulation pump, and head for dosing pump). I run my ph down to 6.3 and have an effluent dkh of over 65! All of this to keep my levels at 420 and 9.5.

Cost break down over 10 years:

-media $1440
-equipment $950 (assuming it lasts that long, already replaced a head for the dosing pump at $150)
-CO2 and rental fees $600

Total $2990!!!!!


Total cost of using chems (this is assuming same number of lbs of chems is required, though I think it is close):

$600


The only reason I use a reactor is because of convenience, and it takes less time. But as you can see I pay a lot for convenience!