Calcium Reactor vs. Two-part System

[HBtank]

Can anyone point me to a thread about 2-part dosing setups? People are to busy arguing in here.. lol.

[dhnguyen]

What's so hard about setting one up?


One of these (or another peristaltic pump of some sort)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...65&N=2004+2032

2 containers of fluid (1 for Ca. and 1 for Alk.)

Connect them up and set your drip rate, test, and adjust accordingly.

Refill the fluid as needed.

[Nuuze]

Or http://www.twopartsolution.com/ also a forum sponsor. I personally use their 2 part, mag and kalk. Just buy and mix and your good to go.

[Rovert]

Originally posted by Nuuze
Or http://www.twopartsolution.com/ also a forum sponsor. I personally use their 2 part, mag and kalk. Just buy and mix and your good to go.

Visited that site, and it's at least one reason why I posted this thread.

There's only one thing I'm confused by.

If its a "two part" solution, why do they list three parts... Alk, Ca and Mg? I'm still a tad confused.

[dhnguyen]

because after a while your Mg will need to be replenished as well. Mg helps maintain the balance between Ca. and Alk. when Mg is low you will have a very tough time keeping Ca. and/or Alk. up

You only need to dose Mg. once in a while ( I test and dose mine once every two months or so).

[rleechb]

Because the over-the-counter stuff was in 2 parts (b-ionic). Randy's recipe added an extra part, but it's still called 2 part. Anyways, even with a reactor, you have to worry about dosing Mg.

For magnesium, however, you don't have to worry about dripping it, and it's used much less frequently (I haven't bumped my mg in over 2 months).

[HBtank]

Originally posted by dhnguyen
What's so hard about setting one up?


One of these (or another peristaltic pump of some sort)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...65&N=2004+2032

2 containers of fluid (1 for Ca. and 1 for Alk.)

Connect them up and set your drip rate, test, and adjust accordingly.

Refill the fluid as needed.

Nothing is "hard" about it.

I was asking specifically about the number of pumps in my previous post and even stated it was a stupid question, I have no experience with dosing pumps and thought there might be options to using one or two.. etc..? And I was hoping to catch any tips from experience, such as if possibly dripping in different sump areas was a better idea than right next to eachother? Maybe the best type of tubing? Or a discussion of pumps? Using a controller? Or good ways to run/attach it? But thanks for reminding me to refill..

Sorry for taking your time. I'll ask somewhere else.

[jman77]

DIY 2 part...

It's cheap !
It's simple !

IT's Stable

[fishdoc11]

Originally posted by Rovert
.

Given you considered a reactor yourself, it must have some benefits or you wouldn't have entertained that option. Can you talk about what caused you to entertain the thought of a reactor in the first place?

dhnguyen summed it up well.....

The illusion that having a reactor means less work and maintenance and more stability.

I had dosed manually for years and thought that buying a reactor would cost about the same as a dosing setup for 2 part and make life much easier. After researching it I basically came to the conclusion that I stated earlier in the thread:

The 2 reasons I didn't were:
1) I was already very comfortable running a tank with 2 part
2) Even with the purchase of a Litermeter and a second pump it was still much cheaper than a reactor.

The only advantage I can see to running a Ca reactor is that the breakdown of the media will also release a certain amount of strontium and the benefits of strontium can be debated as well.

This isn't an argument....this is a civilized discussion

Pull up some of the old Zeo or DSB vs BB threads if you want an argument

hth, Chris

[Nuuze]

I never used a dosing pump but I just poured the 2 part directly into my sump. 90ml a day (3 shots) of each.

But I'm trying something different now puring the alk part in the morning and the calcium part at night.

How are the AquaMedic Reefdoser's? Any other recommended brands?

[surfy]

Originally posted by RichConley
I dont know where this fallacy came about, but people frying tanks trying to adjust Ca Rx is pretty common. People frying tanks as their CO2 tanks run out and vent more CO2 is pretty common.

I've seen CaRx improperly set up move someone's dkH from 6, to 20 in 24 hours.

Okay, I guess I should have said "with a 'properly' set up CA reactor, it is much more difficult to spike the PH in such a short amount of time which is quite possible with a 2 part."

I've never had a problem with a CA reactor malfunctioning and spiking the PH. I've only had trouble with it lowering the PH due to too much C02 entering the water column.

Bottom line is; equipment fails. If you rely on an automated system to deliver a buffer or other chemicals which can have adverse effects on the entire system, be prepared for the consequences.

[steve the plumb]

you are more likely to have a mishap with a ca reactor than 2 part.If you use the aqua medic reef doser 2 you can dose both parts.It works like a timer goes on a certain amount per day and off.Its dummy proof.Once you get the amount of ca and alk levels its set it and forget it.You can test once a week to see levels but unless you add corals or your corals are growing levels pretty much stay the same.Its very easy to use.You add mag once a month.You are better off adding the 2 part slowly over the whole day vs one shot.This will give you a steady level,no spikes.Its better than dumping in the 2 part in one shot creating a spike and then letting the levels settle.By dosing a little at a time you always have the same levels plus no shock to the tank

[Rovert]

Originally posted by fishdoc11
This isn't an argument....this is a civilized discussion

Pull up some of the old Zeo or DSB vs BB threads if you want an argument

hth, Chris

No offense intended, or taken. I'm grateful for all viewpoints. This is fascinating for me, and I look forward to hearing other opinions.

[Herpervet]

Someone already said this but the only compelling reason to use a reactor imo is if you have a very large system.

I tried running my 550 reef without a reactor and I was using 1.5 liters of each part of randy's diy solutions daily.

Mixing 5 gallons every week or so gets old fast.

[Herpervet]

Oh yea, one other tidbit.

You CAN turn your tank into ARAGAMILK with 2 part solution.

Add both parts in sequence with little lag time in a high dose to boost a low DKH and you won't be able to see two inches into the tank.

I did this last week and it blew my mind. My tank looked like a milkshake.

[bsk997]

What dosing pump is everybody using?

I'm looking at the $120 dual head pump with case at twopartsolution.com but I don't know about the reliability of them. Has anybody used these before?

The LiterMeterIII is a great pump but my wife would kill me if I bought it And the remote pump module. This pump seems to get the most rave review w/out any problems.

Innovativeaquatics.com's dosing pump seems like it's the middle of both previous pumps in terms of quality and pricing. I haven't heard too much bad reviews about it but I don't hear about it as much as LiterMeter as well.

[saltyreefguy]

i have a korallin 3002 on my 45g. i have been using korrallin ca reactors for 4 years now, with korallin media, after simple assembly, connect c02 bottle, fire it up, adjust effluent output accordingly to your total volume of water, instructions tell you how many drips per minute, then watch the ph stabilize, cal at 450. alk. at 11(more or less for some ppl), of course you can adjust to what you want. nothing else added. technology at work... less husbandry and worries for the reef, and more enjoyment, would rather be fragging for hours....
but then on my other tank(wife's nano20g) using 2part, no dosing pumps at all, naked eye drip system. once a week testing, cal is 420 and alk is at 9. both tanks were started within 1 week apart from each other, the 45g has a 250w phoenix 14k, and the wife's nano has a 150w 14k hamilton, on the 45 gal. purple coralline algae show up in 1 month. the nano took about 2 months.. this experiment was to see which tank help to mature faster and stablized quicker... then she constantly asked me to check her readings, so i got tired of it, and connected her tank to my reactor, no more nagging....

[rleechb]

It's always going to be more difficult with a "naked eye drip system". Of course you'll have to worry about overdosing/underdosing if you have no clue how much you're dosing on a given day.

I run the nautilus II from innovativeaquatics.com with a dual drip set. One pump, two solutions. CA/ALK have been rock solid =D

[RichConley]

rleechb, how much are you dosing of each part? Every time I run it through Jdieck's calculator, I get different amounts for the two parts, and that would cause issues with running a single pump....

whats your story?

[rleechb]

I'm running 12mL per hour. I'm not really sure if it's 6mL of each part as a result, or 12mL of each. Either way, I haven't had any issues maintaining alk/ca at 440/7.8. I test alk once a week to make sure that nothing's out of whack; if it is, I'll do some slight tweaking to make sure my levels are good. That said, I haven't had to do any tweaking for over a month.

[dhnguyen]

[dhnguyen]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...=&pagenumber=2 scroll to the post n the bottom of the page from jbundas about CO2 being off and causing a huge swing in Alk.

[dhnguyen]

dp

[dhnguyen]

damn laptop keys

[honda2sk]

Originally posted by dhnguyen

Are you related to the president of that southeast asian country that bears the same name as you?