I am looking at buying a calcium reactor, but first of all, don't know which to buy for my 150 gallon reef tank, and secondly, I don't want to spend a lot of money for it. Is it a pain having to use a CO2 tank and such? Any brand suggestion and what else do I need other than the Calium Reactor?
The hard part is going to be not spending a lot of money on it....You pretty much have two choices for that....make your own or buy used. A lot of people try to buy used as the resale value of the vast majority of the equipment in this hobby is very low compared to the cost of buying new.
I dont know the first thing about working with acrylic so building one is out for me...
I have owned three different makes of calcium reactors, Precision Marine, Korallin, and Geo. I never got to use the PM because a weld where the pump plumbing entered the body of the reactor snapped off leaving me with no ability to fix it. It snapped off at the body....
The Korallin was a giant PITA to get dialed in, and then wouldnt stay dialed in. To be fair though, I had two issues working against me. Korallin reactors are designed to be stingy with Co2. To this end, they re-circ it and can easily build up Co2 inside. In my case, I was using the fine media and it was binding up and melting. This clogged things up and caused the reactor to build up more co2 which caused a bigger mess...
At this point, I would strongly reccomend using only the large media in calcium reactors unless the manufacturer states otherwise. Deltec is a manufacturer who reccomends using fine media, but it also is classified as a fluidized calcium reactor...
My other problem with the Korallin was that I had a crappy co2 regulator. This magnafied the Co2 issue. Since the regulator wouldnt stay consistant, the co2 built up, causing all the issues inside. I wound up selling the Korallin and bought a Geo.
Cant say enough good things about the Geo.
Its easy to set up. Its made here in the US so parts and service are easy to find. Its well made and took me about 30 seconds to dial in for my system...compared to the two weeks for the Korallin. Its also made with uniseals where the pump mounts to the body, so no worry about welds cracking like the PM.
I did wind up buy a new regulator. Do not skimp on the regulator. You will only be frustrated when its starts to go bad, and will wind up buying a good regulator in the end. Buying a good one the first time will save you money in the long run.
To buy a calcium reactor set up you will need:
Reactor
Regulator & Bubble counter, (Many reactors come with a bubble counter, but some do not so dont take it for granted).
media
a feed pump for the reactor
Co2 tank
a way to restrict the effluent line, usually a micro ball valve. Again most reactors come with one, but dont take it for granted.
Some way to monitor your pH. Many people prefer a pH controller, many use a pH monitor. I used a monitor for initially, and then stopped using it as there was no need in my system. Yours might be different. I would at least suggest having a pH monitor handy to help you dial it in.
There are several reputable reactor manufacturers out on the market...
I a buddy of mine has a used Knop C reactor. He's very happy with it.
I would consider:
Geo
Deltec
Knop
My Reef Creations
Aqua C
Schuran's are supposed to be very good, but they are not cheap and parts and service can be difficult.
I havent heard anything good or bad about the Octopus line of reactors
You might also check out these guys:
http://www.aquaticsystemsdesign.com/index.php
I like the look of their work, but when I called them once, I didnt get a call back.
HTH,
Nick
