Calcium Reactors and their best features

[SlowBoat]

What do you like best about your calcium reactor? What to you dislike the most about your reactor?

I am looking to add a calcium reactor to my system and trying to decide if I sould DIY or purchase one. Any feedback/comments would be appreciated.

 

[Desolas]

Best thing about it: tank stability. No more fluctuation in pH, Alk, and Ca.

Worst thing: Comes out of adjustment sometimes. The drip lines slowly clog and need to be flushed.

Just to nit pick at it, also one thing that is kind of odd is they use all standard/flat head screws. Philips head or Hex would be more appropriate and easy to deal with when trying to put it back together with wet hands..but it's a minor issue.

 

[Grouperdog]

I think as mentioned before stability of your water parameters is a big plus along with eliminating the task of dosing. As far as buying one or diy if you are handy they are a very simple device that I have heard are not that difficult to make.

 

[SlowBoat]

Guess I should have been a little bit more precise in what I was asking, my bad..

I am aware of the benefits of having a calcium reactor but more interested in the likes vs. dislikes of specific brands. Whats makes the reactor you have stand out and why. Or, if you could have a custom built reactor what features would you require.

David

 

[mojoreef]

Ok slowboat. The calcium reactor as a unit is pretty smple in its design. Basically a closed system that recirculates water and adds in co2. Where it needs to be precise is in the valve for the gas. When dialing in the unit you need it to be precise. So spend the money on the valve and you can be cheaper on the reactor.
From reading your Pm and your post it looks like you want to put together a DIY unit. I have a DIY unit collecting dust at my place. The guts and design are from a procal unit that sells for about 650 bucks. If you want giv me a shout and we can work it out. It has two 8 inch towers that are 36 inches tall and the pump and so on. The problem with it is that 2 of the flanges are the wrong type (skimmer flanges and wont hold the pressure). Let me know.

mike

 

[CarlS]

I don't know if you caught this thread at reefcentral but it's a pretty nice DIY square calc reactor that's pretty small. I know you made your sumps so doing this shouldn't be too hard. And it's square!

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144438&perpage=25&highlight=Calcium%20Reactor&pagenumber=1

CarlS

 

[Cosmic]

I have a DIY reactor, and I think it does a fairly good job for me. It handles the tanks needs which is my main concern.

Improvements on my design would to add a CO2 Re-Circulation line to mine, much as was discussed in the RC thread linked above. The re-circ line would draw from the highest point inside the canister, and return it as a venturi to right after the re-circ pump. This should help keep the pump from cavitating as the gas won't pass through the impellar, and should add some extra life to the re-circ pump. It would also help to increase CO2 efficiency, which is my reactor's main drawback. I have to run a fairly high bubble count to meet my tank's needs, due to the return line being located where the CO2 would naturally collect. This removes it from the canister instead of recycling it for another trip around the media.
On smaller tanks, this cost is negligible, but it could mean some $$ for larger setups (I only have 120 gal volume).

Just my $.02,
Cos