So it's 2010 now. Who still uses a calcium reactor and who's all on 2-part dosing?

[Myka]

50 gallons would be like a year's dosing. I only mix up batches once a month. It really isn't a big deal to mix them up. It's the actual dosing that is a pain in the butt - dosers need adjusting, but so does manual dosing. Really, you can't get away from weekly or biweekly testing of parameters. Calcium reactors are the same way, they always need to be fiddled with too. It's not the way we dose that causes this, it is the reef itself that causes the changes in demand for elements. As the corals grow the corals obviously get bigger, the bigger they get the quicker they grow (more growth tips), the quicker they grow the more the demand for elements. Unless your tank is well established, and you are removing as much coral as is growing (say frags), you will always be increasing dosage whether it be calcium reactor or 2-part dosing.

[Tracey2]

Can I ask Marie and Mitch what is the difference in your setups, Marie says her calcium reactor is set it and forget it and Mitch says its a constant headache. I have recently set up a large tank and am trying to decide if I need a calcium reactor or not.

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by Tracey2

Can I ask Marie and Mitch what is the difference in your setups, Marie says her calcium reactor is set it and forget it and Mitch says its a constant headache. I have recently set up a large tank and am trying to decide if I need a calcium reactor or not.

Hi Tracey,

The two reactors that I used were Aquamedic and Schuran. Both had PH probes in the reactor chamber that would turn on or off the supply of C02 depending on the chamber PH value.
I found that the pressure in the reactor would eventually creep salt water back up the C02 feed line and destroy the solenoid that turned on or off the C02 supply. The C02 would eventually stop being supplied to the reactor.

I also had problems feeding the C02 reactor with tank water. I tried both a separate pump and teeing off of the sump return line. Those would constantly clog up with either algae or detritus and it wasn't always obvious.
I also had algae sometimes growing in the reactor chamber which would have to be cleaned out.

I had sealing issues with both reactors, finding salt water creep, having to deal with screw tightness, design shortfalls in both.

...(I'm getting frustrated again just typing this out.....!)

I also found that the reactor capacity frequently fell short, even running full throttle. I would have liked to run my Ca and Mg values higher than I did.
My system volumes have always been 300g or over.

Electrical plug-ins were at a premium and I needed 3 for a calcium reactor. 1 each for recirc pump in the reactor, supply pump for the reactor and 1 for the solenoid. With a dosing setup I only need one plug-in for 4 dosing pumps.

I really wanted the calcium reactors to be set it and forget it, but for me it wasn't.

The dosing method seems simpler to me plus the dosing supply chemicals are clean. They don't require water from the aquarium itself.

HTH,
Mitch

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by MitchM

Electrical plug-ins were at a premium and I needed 3 for a calcium reactor. 1 each for recirc pump in the reactor, supply pump for the reactor and 1 for the solenoid. With a dosing setup I only need one plug-in for 4 dosing pumps.

That's a good point. I had forgotten how much of an irritant the mess of electrical wires was no matter how "tidy" I tried to make it.

Don't get me wrong: I dose. I sold my reactors and my spare cylinders and regs, just kept one of each and threw them on my FW planted tank. For two years or so I never looked back. I can't bring myself to pony up the $300 or $400 for a multihead unit, but I'm using the smaller single head units and other than the increased time to figure out an ideal timing cycle it's been fine enough.

But as I stare at my empty dosing reservoirs and think "Man, I need to refill those" I am fighting an overwhelming sense of "UGH." 1) Didn't I just do that 2 or 3 weeks ago??? 2) Geeeeze it's a messy job. If I don't have any prebaked baking soda, I go get a couple boxes, spread them into a cookie sheet and bake it for the required hour. Then I go get a gallon or so of RO/DI and put it into a kettle. Because the baked baking soda is roughly as soluble in water as silica sand, and mixing it in hot water helps a tiny little bit. So then I take my prescribed amount of baked baking soda, 2 and a bit cups, and then I have to add it to the water about a teaspoon at a time, mixing for at least 10 seconds in between. 2 and a bit of cups divided by teaspoons equals approximately a billion. If I add it any faster or in any larger amount at a time, it does one of either two things: 1) Clumps together rock hard and becomes completely insoluble, or 2) the entire mixture congeals into a gel like substance and the only way to reliquidify is to add more water to the mix (other than it's a complete PITA because I'm trying to mix my alk additive, it's actually quite a bizarrely interesting phenomenon). Anything that spills make a huge mess because wet baking soda is just messy like that. So my alk mixing is at the very least about a hour commitment, more if I have to prebake any amount.

Calcium is nowhere near as bad but it makes a brown gross slimey liquid so the reservoir at the very least needs cleaning in between fills and I wonder if I should be purging my 1/4" lines periodically as well because it stands to reason they'll be covered with that residue as well over time.

I mean, seriously, this is the "better way to dose" ?? I don't think so. Before I started using the peri pumps I just took my powdered additives and mixed up enough each day to dose that day's amount. THAT was really the "best way" for me as it was nearly effortless but the problem is it's really difficult to automate the process.

I'm using Chemmaster for the Calcium and Magnesium and just baking soda from Costco for the Alk. Maybe it's time for me to step it up and start buying from BRS or other places because if this process isn't normal for everyone else then there's something wrong with what *I'm* doing and I can't really see what I'm doing wrong procedurally so that really leaves, by process of elimination, the ingredients themselves that must be the difference.

I'm all for hearing suggestions on how to make this mixing process suck a little less..

[Aquattro]

My reactor gets fiddled with twice a year. It's large, so no problems keeping up, and I don't use a solenoid, so no issues there. Dosing may be a suitable alternative, but it's money I don't need to spend already owning a reactor.

[MitchM]

Tony,
I use extra 2 litre plastic bottles that I bought from Industrial Paint and Plastics for my reservoirs. I just pre-fill them and swap them out when it comes time to refill. I haven't experienced the brown goo..?
I use either a Kalkwasser stirrer for my top up depending on PH levels, or straight R/O water.
That mixing procedure does sound like a PITR.

Mitch

[andestang]

I spent some dough on a good reactor years back. Had some issues for first little while such as water supply to reactor, clogged lines and such but after addressing everything its been relatively hassle free. I like the appeal of the new dosers as I have a good controller to run one and they look neat but can't see spending money in this area of the tank right now when I have something that works OK. As for the saved real-estate I can't see it being much better for a doser as you still need to have you containers for dosing and all the containers for mixing and such laying around. But maybe one day in the future.

[Dez]

Never had dosers, I've always been happy with a calcium reactor. I used to hate manually adjusting the bubble count/effluent rate, but now that I have a controller, the ph in my calcium reactor is always between 6.6 - 6.7 with the controller controlling the amount of C02 going in. The best thing that I have done is "T" off of my return line to feed the reactor. I used to gravity siphon feed but it wasn't as consistent. Now it is truly a set and forget item. I couldn't imagine the regular labour of 2 part dosing. I am so lazy that I cringe at changing my carbon once a month even though it only takes 10 minutes. I cringe at changing my zeo rocks once every 2 months....

So I guess my vote is Calcium reactor all the way!

[mark]

Reactor here but do want to get a dosing pump system more for the new toy thing than anything else. Haven't yet as still can't justify to the wife spending $300-400 replacing something that does what it's supposed to do and really overall is trouble free.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Myka

Calcium reactors are the same way, they always need to be fiddled with too.

I don't know about that.. I would fiddle with mine a few times a day when I first started it after refilling ect. after two days I wouldn't touch it untill it was time to refill again. a Ca reactor is truly a set and forget. but there were a few types people seamed to have nothing but trouble with, I don't know about the store bought reactors as I built both of mine.

as for tow part, I am tempted to try now that you can buy reasonable priced dosers, as manual dosing is a total pain in the you know what. but I still have reservations of two part as it is just that two parts, what about the other 1000 parts? so now your into 3 or 4 part including trace elements, mixing 4 different things every month. but yet it does have its apeal to me. although a Ca reactor is a multi part doser (includes everything even Mg in ballanced form) they are a fair size and take up a lot of prime relistate under the stand as there is the reactor, the co2 canister and reg, piping , pumps ect.. the apealing part of a doser pump is you can use smaller jugs and hide everything. So due to a smaller tank with a smaller "understand" area the dosing set up might be the choice for you.

Steve