What Does a Ca Reactor Really Do (In Terms of Reef Chemistry)?

[knowcrap]

I think I have the basic concept down...media goes in, calcium comes out. But what more does it do that add calcium to the tank?

More to the point, does it help maintain Alk, Ph and Ca levels in one shot or is it just one piece of the larger puzzle?

I ask because a consistent piece of advice I get is that I will eventually "need" to get one if I am running an SPS tank as the tank matures.

We have a 180G tank that is moving to SPS and so far I am able to maintin:

Alk in the low 8's
Calcium between 380 and 400
PH between 8.2 and 8.4

My understanding is that this is of course a very complex system and less is generally more where balanace is the ultimate goal.

 

[Curtswearing]

More to the point, does it help maintain Alk, Ph and Ca levels in one shot or is it just one piece of the larger puzzle?

I would say "need" one is a little strong. There's lots of ways of handling Ca and alkalinity supplementation and a Calcium reactor is just one of them.

Yes, a Calcium reactor will also add alkalinity to your tank. However, when it comes to pH, they are a mixed blessing. Yes they add alkalinity. However, they work by using CO2 to dissolve the media. This CO2 will be in the effluent from the reactor thereby lowering your pH depending on how quickly you add the effluent to the tank.

This thread has links to a number of good articles from Randy Holmes-Farley, Craig Bingman, and Robert Fenner, among others. http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81