I need EVERYONES opinion BADLY!!!

[shallowreef]

I have been talking a lot about getting a Calcium reactor (as a lot of you may already know). I have been searching around and pricing all the LFS around where i live. The prices ranged from $300-900

I found one though, and its the cheapest i've seen so far. It's by Precision Marine and comes "Ready-to-Run" for $300.00!! Now here is where things turn crappy. Its at my favoriate LFS and the guy there has told me before that they aren't worth the money and that they don't use them on their systems. For a long time now, i've been agreeing with him.He also said that dripping does the same thing without all the extra money!?!? But the thing is, I've seen them on tanks at other places and they look like their doing a hell of alot better than his. See he runs homemade Kalkreactors on his system. Honestly i'm not blown away buy his corals. FYI his main display is a 210 tall with 3x400W 10k and dual Vho actinics. The second cheapest one i saw was online at Fosters and Smith. It was $400.00 with a automated ph monitor that adds extra Co2 when needed and what not, but no calcium reactor. But i know of another store that sells homemade reractors for $90.00 and want $500.00 for the whole set up! What should i do, who should i go with, does anybody know of anywhere cheaper? I want to buy a entire setup if possible.

I know a lot of you do a lot of DIY but i'm not that good too were i would trust my own work. I would be willing to pay someone to build me one for me(regulator ,reactor, in other words everything but the C02 tank!) if i became really desperate. I don't mean to sound like a baby its just that after being here for only a month i have learned so much, and one of the things that i learned is Co2 is the way to go! This is the final piece to my equipment. I have everything i need except that.

PLEASE GUYS HELP ME OUT!!!

 

[Detri]

I wish I could help you. But I will be following this thread for sure. Not that I need one on this tank but I am going to go big one day

 

[DonW]

I think folks get caught up in the equiptment hype. First you should decide if you truely need a calcium reactor. Most systems will do fine for a long time with just a kalk reactor. I see people post all the time that are running a reactor at a "drip rate" . These people really dont need a ca reactor and would do just fine with a kalk reactor. Running a reactor very slowly is a pain and will cause you grief, like overshooting alk. Personally If mine has to be any lower than 50ml min @ 70 dkh I could get away with just kalk if used properly.
Just my opinion.
Don

 

[shallowreef]

But when you use a Kalk Reactor don't you need a constant fresh water supply from like an RODI unit or something like that?

 

[reedman]

Don makes a great point. I ran my tank dripping kalk overnight and then running a Kalk reactor for 2 years before having enough of a calcium demand to warrant a calcium reactor. Be sure you "need" one before you buy one. Also, you could check in your local club and see if anyone is handy with acrylic. I know our club has several people that are happy to either help out or actually build things for a much lower cost than what you are quoting.

There isn't much to the system: A reactor ($90-whatever you'll pay), a pump(about $50), a CO2 bottle ($50-$80), and a PH monitor or controller ($85 for the controller)

So if you can get a DIY reactor for $90 add a pump for $50, the CO2 for $80 and the controller for $85, that's $305. much less than $500.

 

[plack]

I am in a simmilar boat. But a kalk reactor requires adding kalk and stirring or getting a stirring unit when all is said and done it costs just about as much as a calcium reactor without the benefits of being able to keep up later or less maintenance or added trace elements. most reactors on e-bay etc are $200 and I don;t know yet which desighn is good or bad and am contemplating making one as my 55 gallon needs either more evaporation hence more kalk or a reactor soon

 

[shallowreef]

I have a 90 with 4 Croceas, 1 staghorn (5"t and about 4"in diameter), Plus 7 other frags all about 4" tall and 3" at the base. I paln on adding more as i continue on my little adventure. So i think it would be wise of me to save myself the extra steps in the future and just purchase the system now. I hear too many people say that Co2 systems are worth their weight in gold.

 

[shallowreef]

Does anyone have any pitures of their tank that has been running on a Co2 system? I'd like to really like to see how many corals you are growing and compare it to mine. I don't know if i have enough corals to use up all the calcium i'll be adding to the tank. I will constantly be adding clams and acros until i can't fit any more in there!

PLEASE POST PICS OF AQUARIUMS!!!! I NEED TO GET AN IDEA!!!

 

[DonW]

Does anyone have any pitures of their tank that has been running on a Co2 system? I'd like to really like to see how many corals you are growing and compare it to mine. I don't know if i have enough corals to use up all the calcium i'll be adding to the tank. I will constantly be adding clams and acros until i can't fit any more in there!

PLEASE POST PICS OF AQUARIUMS!!!! I NEED TO GET AN IDEA!!!

I have 3 small 5" clams, 2 larger 8" clams, 30+ small and medium corals, and four medium sized lps in a 110g tank. More coraline than I know what to do with. If I do weekly water changes I can get by with just kalk if I keep evap at around 2.5 g daily.
You may want to take a close look at your ph. If your seeing cronic lows then you may need both. Sorry had to throw that in the mix. Makes a tough decision even tougher.
Personally I'd go with a kalk reactor like the pm or diy. Then add a ca/rx when you cant keep up or need to balance ph.



Don

 

[shallowreef]

What s the difference between a Kalk reactor though and dripping? Also don't you need a constant supply of RODI water to run those things?

 

[reedman]

You would put all of your top off water through the Kalk reactor via a dosing or peristaltic pump.

A Kalk reactor allows you to go for about 3-4 weeks (depending on your evap) without having to add Kalk to the reactor whereas in dosing you typically mix up a new batch every day. It's a convienience issue. The key with Kalk is the amount of evaporation your tank sees. I didn't have enough evap to make the Kalk reactor worth while so I went to a CaCl reactor. I also have a 75 gallon tank full of acros and 2 clams so my calcium demands are pretty high now.

Kalk does a great job of balancing out PH as Don pointed out. The PH out of a Kalk reactor should be about 11 or 12, where the effluent of a CaCl reactor is typically 6.2 to 6.5 depending on the media used. This can be mitigated a bit with a second chamber to allow the CO2 to blow off, but for most it is not worth it (IMHO).

 

[My2heartboys]

I have a 90 with 4 Croceas, 1 staghorn (5"t and about 4"in diameter), Plus 7 other frags all about 4" tall and 3" at the base. I paln on adding more as i continue on my little adventure. So i think it would be wise of me to save myself the extra steps in the future and just purchase the system now. I hear too many people say that Co2 systems are worth their weight in gold.

Here is something you might try before deciding. Test your dKH, pH, cal, and mag twice a day to see if your system really needs the volume that you would be dealing with. When it gets to the point where you are dealing with quite a bit of volume--then invest. Testing 2x daily would allow for minor corrections in chemistry to be made and prevent the wide swings that your clams and corals do not appreciate.

If you plan on getting a larger tank at some time--then plan it with the reactor in mind. If you really want the CO2-then get a cannister and figure out (which should be easy from testing 2x daily) how often and how long it would need to be on. At that point figure out a hosing system that would go right into the aquarium and a timed on and off switch of some sorts.

Just my thoughts.

Anne

 

[DonW]

You can also plumb a ca/rx like a kalk reactor, but you will need a controller. This way you can play with the alk without overdosing the tank. This way you will be dosing instead of just boosting the SW. The other benefit is rodi water is already low ph so it take much less co2 to melt the media.

Don

 

[shallowreef]

Well like i mentioned earlier i saw a setup at fosters and smith (liveaquaria.com) that had a regulator, bubble counter, a reactor, and a ph monitor that hooks up to the regulator to let out Co2 only when its needed.

 

[big t]

Hey that one that your looking at on liveaquarie.com is a fresh water co2 setup for growing plants. The 'reactor' is made to add c02 to the tank water.

 

[shallowreef]

Really? Damnit!!

 

[shallowreef]

Big t I was wondering if you were gonna see this thread and add your two cents. Talk to me man, I'm in a real pickle. You know i've been looking into this for awhile. What do you think? Should i go with a kalk or a calc? I probablly gonna end up buying one verses building one so if you know of any where that seels either cheap let me know.

 

[big t]

Well I do rate having a calcium reactor. I agree with the others that at this point is a little early for you to be adding a calcium reactor to your system. A kalk mixer is a beautiful thing, and in my opinion is the first automatic calicum additive that should be added. You can get a kalk mixer running for under $100 easily where it is a minimum of around $300 to get the calcium reactor going. Also as stated above the Kalk mixer will help boost ph levels where the calcium reactors tend to pull the tank ph down a few points. The kalk mixer will probably be all you need for a while judging by what you have in your signature.

 

[big t]

is this the one you were looking at? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9933&N=2004+113779

 

[shallowreef]

Well let me ask you this...I'm not going to stop adding acros for awhile same with clams. Wouldn't i just be one step ahead by getting a calc reactor?