Ca Reactor Vs Kalk Pumping

[JoeMack]

Ok. I am going to build a Ca reactor. Now I use a 20 gallon container and pump kalk. Cheap and easy. If I get a Ca Reactor how long will the media last me? I have a mostly SPS 50 gallon. My club plans on doing the DIY one thats square. I'm just wondering if its going to even worth the # for the regulator, reactor and all the goodies and if I have to buy media a lot. Please advise. Thanks!

[golfish]

Originally posted by JoeMack
If I get a Ca Reactor how long will the media last me? I have a mostly SPS 50 gallon.

Joe, its really hard to say because every tank and reactor is different. We could have the same reactor and use media differently because of the tanks demand...I can say that I have one of Geo's old dual stage reactors. I have to change out the media about every 6 months on my 120, maybe sooner.

Originally posted by JoeMack
My club plans on doing the DIY one thats square. I'm just wondering if its going to even worth the # for the regulator, reactor and all the goodies and if I have to buy media a lot. Please advise. Thanks!

I guess your asking if a Ca reactor is worth getting..I run both a ca reactor and kalk reactor on my tanks, I have for 3-4 years now. My tank is all sps so I need lots of calcium. If I had to run just one it would be the Ca reactor. There's no way I could keep up with the tanks demands running just a kalk reactor.

HTH

Mark

[JoeMack]

I hear that. I use a big tank that I will once every 3-4 weeks. I use vinager to increase the solubility. When the media is spent does it just disapear over time or can you not even really tell?

Right now i'm at 3 teaspoons / gallon of RO/DI and I have all frags. I will probally have to have a reactor to keep up when they grow out huh? Thanks

[Ramble On Rose]

Originally posted by golfish
There's no way I could keep up with the tanks demands running just a kalk reactor.


do Ca reactors deliver more calcium at a time then a kalk reactor or is it just because the Ca reactor can go longer without being refilled?

[Highlander]

Originally posted by Ramble On Rose
do Ca reactors deliver more calcium at a time then a kalk reactor or is it just because the Ca reactor can go longer without being refilled?
With kalk, you are limited to the amount you can dose by your evaporation rate. There is no restriction beyond what the reactor can put into solution with a calcium reactor.

[Ramble On Rose]

Originally posted by Highlander
With kalk, you are limited to the amount you can dose by your evaporation rate. There is no restriction beyond what the reactor can put into solution with a calcium reactor.

ah... i am at the point where i am dosing more kalk then i am evaporating so i have to take water out almost everyday. so with a Ca reactor the water is fed from the tank through the reactor and then back to the tank?

[Highlander]

Originally posted by Ramble On Rose
ah... i am at the point where i am dosing more kalk then i am evaporating so i have to take water out almost everyday. so with a Ca reactor the water is fed from the tank through the reactor and then back to the tank?

If you are taking salt water out and adding kalk made with freshwater, aren't you screwing up your salinity levels??

[Ramble On Rose]

Originally posted by Highlander
If you are taking salt water out and adding kalk made with freshwater, aren't you screwing up your salinity levels??

yep. i have only done it once and my salinity was sneaking a hair above 1.025 so i didnt mind. but daily i have just been limiting the amount of kalk i am dosing to try and avoid that. this all just came up in the last 2 weeks for me cause over the summer it was not an issue cause i had the fans on the whole time trying to keep the heat down on the tank. now that its cooled off, the fans are off and i am not evaporating nearly as much obviously. so i need to figure something else out for the winter....

[JoeMack]

Ramble On Rose, You can increase the solubility of he kalk by adding vinager to it. I get a extra 1/2 (3 teaspoons and not 2) disolved. I wonder how far I can push it?

[Ramble On Rose]

how much vinager are you adding?

[golfish]

And with a kalk reactor you have to worry about high PH...I've never used vinegar but I guess you could figure out a way to inject it, somehow:confused:

With a Ca reactor you get a low PH but you can run the alk higher to off set it a little. Thats why the two reactors work so good together.

[JoeMack]

I pump kalk (don't use a reactor and have 20G of it at a time till it runs out. I think I use 65ml per gallon or something like 3 1/2 cups per 20 gallons or something. I forgot the conversion,