Calcium Reactor help!!

[MJReefer]

I'm a reef newbie with 8 month old 200 gallon tank. I currently have couple frogspan and hammers. One of my friends is shutting down the tank and offering all his corals (huge 50 head ball of frogspawn, two huge 12 inch Monti, couple huge SPS that I don't know the name and 10+ RBTA). I'm planning to add a calcium reactor to maintain the calcium, magnesium and alkalinity but don't know where to start. my budget is $500 for for the whole setup.

TIA

 

[HuduVudu]

I'm a reef newbie with 8 month old 200 gallon tank. I currently have couple frogspan and hammers. One of my friends is shutting down the tank and offering all his corals (huge 50 head ball of frogspawn, two huge 12 inch Monti, couple huge SPS that I don't know the name and 10+ RBTA). I'm planning to add a calcium reactor to maintain the calcium, magnesium and alkalinity but don't know where to start. my budget is $500 for for the whole setup.

TIA

You are definitely going to need to buy used.

 

[tjonw6981]

I'm a reef newbie with 8 month old 200 gallon tank. I currently have couple frogspan and hammers. One of my friends is shutting down the tank and offering all his corals (huge 50 head ball of frogspawn, two huge 12 inch Monti, couple huge SPS that I don't know the name and 10+ RBTA). I'm planning to add a calcium reactor to maintain the calcium, magnesium and alkalinity but don't know where to start. my budget is $500 for for the whole setup.

TIA

What he said... Reactor, Media, Co2 tank, Co2 Regulator/Solenoid with a ph controller and a way to supply water - this can be continuous duty dosing pump, small pump or manifold feed w/ needle wheel on out side (not a fan but cheap to get started).

 

[Lanny]

If you can't find used there's nothing wrong with using 2 part until you can budget for it. You don't wanna skimp on a calcium reactor. You are really playing with fire in a sense that you are using CO2 to melt coral skeletons and sending its dissolved elements and minerals into the tank. You absolutely must be able to closely monitor and control the pH of the reaction chamber and your aquarium to ensure stability and most importantly safety.

Also be cautious when moving 10+ RBTAs to a new system. The potential for them to roam around a bit in a new environment is a but scary for some established corals that are in their path.

Best of luck!

 

[MJReefer]

You are definitely going to need to buy used.

yes. looking at Craigslist and local reef groups.

 

[MJReefer]

What he said... Reactor, Media, Co2 tank, Co2 Regulator/Solenoid with a ph controller and a way to supply water - this can be continuous duty dosing pump, small pump or manifold feed w/ needle wheel on out side (not a fan but cheap to get started).

gotcha. I have hydros system so got to find out a way to connect it to the reactor too.

 

[MJReefer]

If you can't find used there's nothing wrong with using 2 part until you can budget for it. You don't wanna skimp on a calcium reactor. You are really playing with fire in a sense that you are using CO2 to melt coral skeletons and sending its dissolved elements and minerals into the tank. You absolutely must be able to closely monitor and control the pH of the reaction chamber and your aquarium to ensure stability and most importantly safety.

Also be cautious when moving 10+ RBTAs to a new system. The potential for them to roam around a bit in a new environment is a but scary for some established corals that are in their path.

Best of luck!

Dually noted. I've 2 parts for now. but leaning more towards calc reactor due to my availability to dose them daily.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

When I got my lifereef cx reactor Jeff said I didn't even need a ph probe lol. Just the bubble count mattered and that c02 depletion didn't really Matter as long as it was being used. Lol.
He said one bubble per second and same for the effluent drip. Aka the alk drip.
....? Yay or nay?
I did get the ph probe add on kit from him anyway. Lol. Sorry to hijack I'm a cal reactor n00b too and haven't had much success with sps.
D

 

[tjonw6981]

When I got my lifereef cx reactor Jeff said I didn't even need a ph probe lol. Just the bubble count mattered and that c02 depletion didn't really Matter as long as it was being used. Lol.
He said one bubble per second and same for the effluent drip. Aka the alk drip.
....? Yay or nay?
I did get the ph probe add on kit from him anyway. Lol. Sorry to hijack I'm a cal reactor n00b too and haven't had much success with sps.
D

I've ran mine without a PH controller, you can absolutely do that but having one aides in dialing in the reactor as well as shutting off the solenoid if PH drops too low in the chamber.


MJ:
I'd imagine you could add a secondary PH probe to the hydros controller and measure chamber PH through the app. You can also have your Hydros controller shut off the reactor if your display PH falls too low. It's all about how much control, monitoring and redundancy you want. A ca-rx can crash a system if setup improperly so just go slow while dialing it in and try and match it to your daily consumption rate.

Here's a good article that's worth a read! https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/understanding-calcium-reactors.906497/

 

[Lanny]

When I got my lifereef cx reactor Jeff said I didn't even need a ph probe lol. Just the bubble count mattered and that c02 depletion didn't really Matter as long as it was being used. Lol.
He said one bubble per second and same for the effluent drip. Aka the alk drip.
....? Yay or nay?

I am sure he is very experienced with a calcium reactor and can do it without a probe. I wouldn't however recommend this, especially if this is new to you.

A ca-rx can crash a system if setup improperly so just go slow while dialing it in and try and match it to your daily consumption rate.

Bingo!

You just have to monitor, adjust and go slow.

 

[MJReefer]

I've ran mine without a PH controller, you can absolutely do that but having one aides in dialing in the reactor as well as shutting off the solenoid if PH drops too low in the chamber.


MJ:
I'd imagine you could add a secondary PH probe to the hydros controller and measure chamber PH through the app. You can also have your Hydros controller shut off the reactor if your display PH falls too low. It's all about how much control, monitoring and redundancy you want. A ca-rx can crash a system if setup improperly so just go slow while dialing it in and try and match it to your daily consumption rate.

Here's a good article that's worth a read! https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/understanding-calcium-reactors.906497/

That is a good idea. I’ll check the link you share. Thanks!