question for Ca Rx users

[TDEVIL]

i see a lot of reefers these days that have a calcium reactor and are still having to have another means of keeping the calcuim levels up, either with the use of a Kalk Rx or by other means.

question, is this mainly due to the fact that the calcium reactor isnt large enough for the demands that the corals are putting on the reactor now vs when the reactor was bought? or the media used?

the reason i ask is because i plan on buying one (when i get a job, lol) wander if it really is worth the $$ if i will still have to add more calcium to the tank.
is it better to get one that is a lot larger than one that would normally be recomended for my tank. i am/was thinking about the coralife 500 Rx (mainly for the price) and have been looking at a few others (Geo, MRC, etc).

i just dont want to buy the C reactor and then have to turn around and buy a K reactor

Make any sense
TIA

Jay

[sasquatch]

Jay, great question, I havent a clue but I will be watching this as that road is going to open soon for me too. Steve

[TDEVIL]

actually the road opened a long time ago, lol, just didnt buy one when i actually had a job, noooooo, i had to buy a new truck, lol

Jay

[billyr98]

the main reason for dosing kalk or running a kalk reactor with Calcium reactors are for keeping your PH in the correct range.. People sometimes have problems with their PH when using a calcium reactor...

I have a MRC 4 getting ready to be put in my 210g reef real soon.. I will keep ya posted...

[TDEVIL]

that is true, Billy
i do understand that the effluent will have some excess Co2, but a second chamber w/ media in it can help, macro algae can help take the excess Co2 out of the water, and raising the Alk a bit can help also. they arnt perfect but, do help. there is also the idea of running the line from the C reactor to the skimmer, but im not sure there would be enough contact time w/ the air to actually help a lot, it is an idea though.

i could handle adding a bit of lime water (Kalk) to the tank to help offset the effluent's Ph, such as top off water. it is just the idea of having to keep the calcium levels up because the $300 C reactor doesnt do what it was purchased to do.

Jay

[prow]

hummmmmm, well i think your looking at a Ca reactor wrong. a better name would be a alk reactor. because what it does is deliever alk to the tank. because of the reactions needed to do this you get Ca added as a bounus. any Ca reactor will give a balanced amount of Ca and alk. if you drip the effluent into say a skimmer you will reduce the alk being supplied via the Ca reactor. if you are having issues with maintaining the Ca+ your Mg+ is more than likey low, fix that and your Ca and alk should be maintained by the Ca reactor in proper proportions.

for excess CO2 just make sure you have enough flow with good surface aggitation and of course "fresh" air circulating with in the room and tank.

[Warnberg]

A properly setup and controlled Calcium reactor should maintain calcium levels in a tank and should not effect ph. Yes the effluent that come out of the reactor is low in ph, it's supposed to be, a ph of 6.5 is about where is should be. Also if the reactor is working correctly you should be getting CO2 out with the effluent, if you do there is something wrong.
Right now, in my 240, my calcium level is at 420 ppm and my alk is at 7.5 dHK, this is maintained and accomplished with my calcium reactor. I was unable to maintain levels like this with dosing.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

One last thought, yes I do on occasion have to add turbo calcium to bring levels back to where I want them, reason? Because I am using IO salt and forgot to add it before I did a 40 gallon water change.

[TDEVIL]

i understand that the levels need to be right and the reactor will keep them there and i havent bought a reactor yet.

there are a lot of reefers out there that have a C reactor and then down the road, as the corals grow, they end up buying a K reactor to keep the levels where they need to be or they dose lime water(Kalk) to keep the levels up.

maybe im a bit confusing or im not asking the Q right, or something

Jay

[TDEVIL]

ok, so you dont, arnt think of, buying a K reactor. the C reactor is keeping up with the growth needs?

Jay

[Warnberg]

Humm....
From article sent
"In its most basic form, a calcium reactor is simply a container filled with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) media over which aquarium water is passed with the addition of carbon dioxide. Adding carbon dioxide lowers the pH of the water, making it acidic, and dissolving the calcium carbonate to provide the aquarium with calcium and alkalinity."

So I'm confused as to what it is you are referring to as a K reactor?

[TDEVIL]

my bad, lol

a Kalk reactor

Jay

[billyr98]

Here is a good article for reading about Ca Reactors too

http://www.cnidarianreef.com/faq.cfm?FID=37

[TDEVIL]

thanks Billy

let me see if i can make my question a little more clear.

i see this with a lot of reefers, they buy a calcium reactor and have it running for a while then they notice that the demands of the corals are more than the calcium reactor can handle (as the corals grow) so they buy a kalk reactor to help or they dose to keep the levels up to where they need to be.

so basically, when i buy a reactor should i get a large one for like a 1000g tank or would one for a 500g tank work to where i wouldnt have to buy a Kalk reactor later down the line. my water volume is around 250g-300g gross

i am trying to buy the right size reactor for my tank (when i get the $$$), so i dont have to dose anymore to keep the levels @ 420 (why they are purchased) and if the Calcuim reactor wont keep it up to that level in the long term, then......

Jay

[prow]

aaahhhh i think the issue most have, reason for adding Ca+ later, Warnberg stated already. most salts dont have the correct amount of Ca+ in the mix or if they do the alk is low. so over time with water changes the Ca and alk in the tank gets off. every now and then you have to add/dose to bring it back to balance. unless you dose your water your using to change to match the levels of the tanks Ca+ and alk you will need to correct it after a few water changes. the normal water changes of 10-20% will only effect the tanks levels slightly. so over many water changes the tanks levels will slowly get off. if you change 100% of you water it will be off the same principle applies to water changes but your just changing 100% of the water bit by bit. i hope i said this so it clear.


o ok what to do. either bring the new water during changes levels to match the tanks levels or dose the tank every now and so its balanced. its still much easier to use a Ca+ reactor and cheaper than dosing other ways and you only have to add more Ca every few months, much easier than daily dosing. IMO if you never change the water the Ca+ and alk will remain constant. thais if the reactor is set up right.

[Warnberg]

There are lots of reactors out there to choose from. My Schuran Jetstream 1 Calcium Reactor is supposed to be able to handle up to a 800 gallon tank. I would recommend you buy something that would handle your calcium load when your tank is fully stocked, give yourself some wiggle room as well.. plan ahead..

Not to get off the subject but I just went and looked at the price on the reactor I have... ouch, it really went up...