The Pros and Cons of Reactors and Dosing Pumps

[kpiotrowski]

OK, here's my OP.

kalk reactor are simply too risky cuz when it goes wrong you kill everything ( simply put)

calcium reactor can be more cost effective in the long run for high calcium needs but spendy at first. they are less acurate than 2-parting cuz as the media melts you have a higher ration of c02 and less calcium being disolved so whats the point of dialing it in perfect in the first place, lol. btw you can dump the effluent into your fuge and the algae will love the excess co2, growing faster and taking out more nutrients faster.

having said that, all I have to say is my 3-parting has none of the above issues, cheap to start ( you don't need dosing pump if you are prepared to add manualy once or twice a day) ( but it didn't take me long to spluge on some perastaltic pumps) and as has been said if you know where to get your supplies can be realitivley inexpensive to run.

 

[Katchupoy]

Want to jump in. For 12 years now, I have tried a lot of ways but I keep coming back to dosing. Been dosing for two years now using a very cheap aqualifter with 0.5 gallon per hour garden dripper on a mechanical timer 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. 15 minutes is because thats the smallest you can do on a mechanical timer. Mechanical timer because digital ones are so unpredictable that if you screw up, it will dump everything in your tank. Been there done that... So now, it works. I just do water testing every two months or so and all values are spot on.

Thats my 02 cents.

 

[trido]

Finally some responses. Thanks everyone for responding. Like I said, If I were starting over I would probably go with the dosing route. Seven years ago dosing pumps were about 200+ for a single pump so back then it wasn't an affordable option. Five years ago people were literally leaving two part in the dust so the two reactors from the original quote were all the craze. Since around '08 Bulk Reef Supply and many other companies have reinvented the two parts and brought them back into the hobby. Dosing pumps have decreased in price significantly over the last couple years.
Just to reiterate..............
What most people don't know about two part...........
Part A = CaCl, Calcium Chloride. AKA: Dow Flake, Driveway heat. This stuff has been on the shelf and available for longer than I've been keeping corals. I wouldn't buy it at the local hardware store anymore since I have too much coral invested in the system. BRS, the LFS, or other reputable supplier is the way to go. If your seriously in a pinch any ice melter off the shelf will work but there may be impurities that can build up over time causing side effect to the reef tank.
Part B = baking soda. In most cases Soda Ash or cooked baking soda. Causes a significant increase in Ph if too much is dosed at one time. Or you can use recipe 2 which is uncooked and required more product. It may somewhat lower Ph. I've never seen it move mine in seven years of reef keeping. Recipe one has spiked my Ph more than once and I wont use it any more.

Part C= Mg, Magnesium. This can be dosed cheaply with only Mg sulfate (Epsom Salt) but in order to keep up with demands sulfide may also build up and cause ill side effects. A mix of Mg sulfate and Mg Chloride is recommended to keep chemistry in balance.

 

[kpiotrowski]

just to add, anyone getting into the hobby at any significant scale....invest in a reputable controller like the neptune apex. I contol my dosing pumps with it and in the long run you wil save big time money rather than buying individual controlers. I control alk,ca,mg, heat, chiller,ATO, lights, fans, pumps etc. and the nice thing is you can have your safegaurd comands like if PH is more than 8.5 then shut off the alk etc. also I used my graphs on the apex to see where my ph drops were and add my alk in increaments 6 times a day during those lows.

 

[Gary]

Great thread!
I am wanting to get some dosing pumps. I've been mixing and dosing daily and it is getting old.
My question is about which dosing pumps do people recommend? I will control them with my Apex. Most of what I've found are around $100 except the Tom Aquatics Aqua Lifter which is around $15. From the reviews I've read the Aqua Lifter seems to be OK. I'd like to get good quality that I don't have to worry about.
Thanks!

 

[stylaster]

Interesting read... I have been running both a calcium reactor and a kalkreactor on my systems for the past 20 years. I run the kalkreactor attached to a float switch so when my water level gets low the reactor is switched on and raises my water volume back up, this is due to evaporation out of the system. The calcium reactor is ran 24/7. Doing it this way has kept my ph at 8.2- 8.4. My alk is at 10 and calcium is at 440

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Through the years, I have used all. For the last 8 years and currently, I prefer Kalk stirrers to any other due to the simplicity and safety factor. They do require decent evaporation rate to really do the job. Now that have switched to LEDs, my evaporation rate has plummeted and thinking of going back to a small CaRx again. I have seen more tank crashes from errors of dosing than any other system. When done right with the correct equipment and skill, hard to beat. This assumes you are always there to monitor. Of course, we all know there is no better solution than frequent water changes. Not the cheapest solution though

 

[NanaReefer]

Better yet is the Kalk stirrer in combo with your ATO especially for smaller tanks


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[zeedrict]

I used to run a Calcium Reactor and since switching to Dosing (balling light with fauna marin), I have noticed a few changes. My water parameters are as solid as they have ever been.

1.Once dialed in my parameters dont seem to change at all. So nice!

2. My PH has gone from being about 7.9-8.13 swing to a 8.1- 8.29 swing.

3. My tanks nuisance algae has decreased very noticeably.

4. My corals have more vibrant color.