When is it time for a Calcium Reactor!?

[KniLLifer]

Hey Guys,

I have been dosing 2-part recipe #1 for over a year. In this time my SPS population has increased to be the majority of the tanks corals. In the last few months I have been having a hard time keeping my Calcium and Alkalinity in the "Zone"! I'm dosing 300mL of 2 part just to keep things at Cal=380 Alk=8. I have been increasing my dosage every week just to stay at those levels. At this rate I'm going through a gallon of 2-part every 13 days. This equals out to be about 28 gallons/year which will probably increase with time as the SPS colonies grow. Talking $ it equals to about 250 per year using 2partsolutions.com as the supplier at this going rate.

There are a few issues with dosing so much 2-part each day at one time as I do not have a dosing pump setup. One... when I dose the Alk, it participates into snow flakes immediately which I combat by diluting it with some RO/DI water. I dilute my Alk dose in about 1000mL of RO/DI water to stop it from participating in the tank. Two... I worry that since I dose one time per day the swing is affecting the corals negatively when all of a sudden the Alk and calcium get increased almost instantaneously when the 2-parts are added to the tank. I loose about 2~3 DHK in a 24 hour period based on my dosage and tank volume which by the way is about 135 gallons including the sump.

I guess... I started this thread to get some opinions and options to ether cut down on the 2-part dose or eliminate it with a calcium reactor. I have recently split my dose into 2 times per day (thanks baby) while I'm at work my wife helps me out, just to eliminate or get around the spike in Alk and Cal when it’s dosed. My SPS seem to be liking that more then the 1 time per day dose.

I have though about Kalk and Lime water but I have zero experience with dosing them, and I hear horror stories about both on reef central.

Please chime in and tell me your experiences on this subject! I'm open to anything. I need some direction. Do I dose more and just live with it, even at these volumes or is it time to invest in a calcium reactor that can handle my tanks needs?

Here is a pic of my tank just so that you get an idea of the SPS population. Its hard to tell but there are a few larger colonies but nothing crazy as most are just 3~4 moth old frags.



Thanks,

~Knil~