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Calcium Reactors... Tell me all you know.


crimsonvice
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I keep debating switching from dosing to a Calcium Reactor. My dosing regime is increasing, and I am noticing a increased demand in my calcium needs over my alkalinity needs. So my question is, when do I really need to start considering a calcium reactor. What equipment do you specifically need? I have been reading up on them, but I also want this thread to be used for discussion/education for those that are considering calcium reactors. 

 

Here is what I have been eyeballing for equipment. 

  • AquaMaxx cTech T-1 Calcium Reactor

AquaMaxx-cTech-T-1-Calcium-Reactor-99.jp

 

  • AquaMaxx Dual Gauge Professional CO2 Regulator

AquaMaxx-Dual-Gauge-Professional-CO2-Reg

  • Two Little Fishies ReBorn Coarse Aragonite Calcium Reactor Media 

Two-Little-Fishies-ReBorn-Coarse-Aragoni

  • Extra pH probe
  • 5lb Co2 Cylinder
  • Toms Aqua-lifter feed pump

What else should I be considering? What else do I need? Any info at all is appreciated. 

 

 

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22 minutes ago, crimsonvice said:

I keep debating switching from dosing to a Calcium Reactor. My dosing regime is increasing, and I am noticing a increased demand in my calcium needs over my alkalinity needs. So my question is, when do I really need to start considering a calcium reactor. What equipment do you specifically need? I have been reading up on them, but I also want this thread to be used for discussion/education for those that are considering calcium reactors. 

 

Here is what I have been eyeballing for equipment. 

  • AquaMaxx cTech T-1 Calcium Reactor

AquaMaxx-cTech-T-1-Calcium-Reactor-99.jp

 

  • AquaMaxx Dual Gauge Professional CO2 Regulator

AquaMaxx-Dual-Gauge-Professional-CO2-Reg

  • Two Little Fishies ReBorn Coarse Aragonite Calcium Reactor Media 

Two-Little-Fishies-ReBorn-Coarse-Aragoni

  • Extra pH probe
  • 5lb Co2 Cylinder
  • Toms Aqua-lifter feed pump

What else should I be considering? What else do I need? Any info at all is appreciated. 

 

 

then again....what size tank are we talking? ive always gone mixed reef so i never really needed a calcium reactor. they are not really prone to failure...i just like to limit failures when i can

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5 minutes ago, crimsonvice said:

I am just under 200 gallons now. I plan on upgrading to a 210 tank with probably another 200 in water volume over the next year or so. I run mixed, but I am sps dominate. 

so from what i have read is to invest in a good regulator and to set the co2 to a ph probe so it shuts off if the ph gets below a certain point. i hope this helps!

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I can chime in here a bit.  having a calcium reactor has been an amazing addition to my 300!  But when shopping around I strongly recommend against buying most every aquarium c02 regulator. Instead I suggest you get on ebay and pick up a stainless (brass works too but will corrode over time) dual STAGE regulator that is designed for corrosive gasses (others will work but the gaskets internally can fail over time)

A lot of regulators are marketed as dual GUAGE regulators and that is very different from dual stage.  A lot of the horror stories from calcium reactors are because of the regulator being used.  So heres the difference between the 2 and why its important; A single stage regulator maintains a maximum pressure for gas flow in a single step, but as your tank is used up the supplied pressure decreases which means you will have to tinker with your valve much more frequently.  It also means as you reach the end of your tank and the pressure drops significantly it results in a lot of c02 dumping into your reactor (as in everything that's left in the tank)  Where as on a dual stage regulator, this is done in 2 steps which results in an almost set it and forget it scenario.  This is because in the first stage the pressure is set, and the 2nd stage is where the flow is set.   The only variance ive seen in c02 flow is at the very end of your tank, and it can not release more gas than you have set, only less. This is where your ph controller (in your case I believe its an apex) will alert you that your ph has risen above your specified range inside the reactor. On my regulator I used the bubble counter, needle valve, and solenoid valve from a Milwaukee unit and the bare dual stage regulator I got on ebay.  ( a good solenoid valve is very important as well)

Next is on to the reactor itself, I only have a single chamber reactor but I can definitely see the potential of a dual.  With a 2nd chamber the ph of the effluent is increased a little more before being added to the tank which also makes the whole thing more efficient as well.  

You will need a ph probe, Neptune has two different ones now and I have been using the double junction as its supposed to be more accurate over a longer period of time.  Don't cheap out on the probe, as its the key to maintaining a good ph reading in your reactor, which makes the difference between success and failure.  

Your reactor should come with a circulation pump so this shouldn't be a major concern other than making sure its not a cheapo pump that comes with it.  My reactor came with a blue line pump.  

Lastly you need a feed pump. A lot of people like and recommend using a peristaltic pump because of its consistency over time, however I went cheap on this one and got a cobalt aquatics (mj-900 equivalent) and a little plastic air line valve to restrict outcoming effluent.

setup seems pretty intimidating when your considering it all and especially looking at the hoses, and all the equipment, but its a lot simpler than what it appears.  You can do a lot of things to adjust your output like changing the set ph in the reactor and adjusting the effluent flow output.  Different brand medias start to dissolve at different ph values as well, so once you get things dialed in with one I suggest stick to that brand.

Eventually if the Neptune trident ever releases I plan to put my dosing pumps back in place  and let them make small adjustments as needed while my reactor does all the big work. 

 

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Nice write up @cptnspanky!  I have a question for you, say you sell a ton of frags at a swap and your requirements go way down.  What happens if you don't decrease the output from the reactor or how hard would tuning it again be?  I guess a long way of saying I haven't wrapped my head around how to dial the output to a specific tanks requirements.

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1 minute ago, Muttley000 said:

Nice write up @cptnspanky!  I have a question for you, say you sell a ton of frags at a swap and your requirements go way down.  What happens if you don't decrease the output from the reactor or how hard would tuning it again be?  I guess a long way of saying I haven't wrapped my head around how to dial the output to a specific tanks requirements.

Well when your setting it up, you will test the alk of the effluent coming out of the reactor and test your tanks calcium and alk.  so at about the same time the following day test again and you will adjust accordingly. Remember to start low and slowly increase.  Testing the effluent coming out is just a good way of getting yourself in the ballpark output number and to get a general relationship with how your adjustments are affecting the output.  

As far as taking out large amounts, I haven't dealt with that other than recently with the loss of many corals. My frag system isn't tied together with my display. however I have dealt with the opposite which is adding a sudden increase of alk demand.  The calcium #'s don't really seem to be all that important, the alk is the real concern.  So honestly its rare, and I mean really rare that I test for anything anymore.   A lot of people would not agree with my methods, but I feel like when you've had a coral a while you can just look at it and tell when things are off and simply by applying what I know has changed I react accordingly. usually with a large addition I add a little kalk to my topoff water to counter the extra load, and things balance out after a day or so.  If my lps isn't opening up as big as normal its usually bc my alk is a touch low.  so I check my bubble counter and output of reactor to make sure nothing weird happened, and tweak the ph of the reactor a tenth or so lower.  I would imagine most of you guys test more and can be more scientifically accurate than myself and simply adjust the other way if removing coral....or just kill the reactor for a day or so.  The over time numbers don't generally change quickly once your not making big stock changes...so adjustments should be slow as well, and wont do any real harm if your not doing it right away.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I love my geo CaRx. No doubt about it. 

It is very true though that you need a good quality regulator. Many people love the carbon dower because it’s electronic etc, but a good dual stage regulator built by Alan or yourself (on the other sites there are plenty of ppl willing to help in threads designed to build a regulator) from there it isn’t much different than dosing. Set it today, test it tomorrow and change as needed, then do it again until you get where you need to be.

 

corey 

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Bill Wann and I were talking a few weeks ago and he was telling me about his new calcium reactors. They are similar to the Dastaco ones in the fact they are digitally controlled. Very cool concept and has me considering trying one just for fun. But I love my custom prototype geo, especially since George no longer makes them. 

Anyway, Bill’s should be one to look into as well.

 

corey 

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  • 5 weeks later...

I run a geo reactor on my 300.i also use a carbon doser reg set it forget it.and i use a kamoer pump to feed the reactor

I pull thru the reactor not push.i keep the alk at 8.5 and havent had to adjust once  since i got to the set point i wanted

I use a ph probe to monitor the ph inside of the reactor and control the co2

You could also use a apex to do this or as extra insurance have it to shut of the feed pump and let the ph controller shut off the co2 

Many go this route if the have a alkatronic 

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15 minutes ago, Zaireguy said:

I run a geo reactor on my 300.i also use a carbon doser reg set it forget it.and i use a kamoer pump to feed the reactor

I pull thru the reactor not push.i keep the alk at 8.5 and havent had to adjust once  since i got to the set point i wanted

I use a ph probe to monitor the ph inside of the reactor and control the co2

You could also use a apex to do this or as extra insurance have it to shut of the feed pump and let the ph controller shut off the co2 

Many go this route if the have a alkatronic 

I am starting to research this as I am using a lot of dosing chemicals because of my system size. Could you detail (with pics of course lol) your set up in here or on a separate thread). I like the idea of the Kamoer pump vs using the Dos pump like Terrence does on his build.  I have a lot of research to do on regulators, and if I bought today I'd lean towards a large geo reactor unit.  One thing I still haven't put my hands around is how as the demand goes up the reactor is made to adjust.  You mention being rock solid at 8.5 but surely your demands vary, what does it take to achieve that stability?  Right now my thoughts are toward sizing a reactor to do 80 or 90 percent of my demand and then dose for the rest.  I wonder what people think of that method.

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I will put some pics together.i run a geo 8.24 reactor i have the carbon doser set at 2 bubbles a second and the pump is at 20 ml right now

I do not have enough sps right now to drop the alk..but yes as i add more or they grow i will have to increase the bubble rate and or change the pump rate

Increase the dial on the carbon doser puts more co2 in reactor(more bubbles)

Adjust pump down it makes the effluent more saturated coming out of reactor

Adjust set poing on controller will raise or low ph in reactor depending on melt point of media

I keep my ph controller at 6.8 for the ph inside of the reactor.i use extra course arm media

With the kamoer pump and the carbon doser it really is super easy to adjust reactors now.you dont have to mess with them all the time like in the past.carbon doser is worth its weight in gold

Yes i plan also to have it to 90%of the work and allows my doser to make up the other 10.right now my demands are so low the reactor is doing all the work

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