Calcium Reactor Media - Replace or Replenish?

[PeterC99]

My calcium reactor media is rapidly being consumed by my aquarium and starting to disappear in the reactor.

Is it better to just add more calcium reactor media and top off or should I replace the old media with new? Is there a point where the media is pretty well exhausted and you are better off replacing?

Thank you!

 

[Arego]

Personally I would replace it. That's all I ever did and it never impacted anything negatively for me

 

[Snoopy 67]

I let mine get to 1/2 full before any action.
If there is a silt like appearance on the bottom I will clean the unit & rinse what remains then refill.

 

[o2manyfish]

It depends on how much sludge and crap is on the bottom of the reactor. Depending on where the media originated from, their could be lots of crap in the coral skeleton(s) which just settles in the bottom of the reactor. The remaining media is just as good as the media you started out with. The only issue is if it's easy to rinse the sludge and crap out of the remaining media or is it just life easier to toss and replace.

I switched over to Dastaco media many years back - It's a limestome based media that is pure calcium and alkalinity. It burns with almost 0 residual crap. Each lot of media is tested to be 99.9% pure limestone.

With the Dastaco media I can just keep adding media on top because there is just a light layer of dust at the bottom. When I add media its 40-60lbs at a time about 2x a year. I'm burning alot of media with very little left over crap.

If there is no sludge at the bottom of your reactor then there is no reason to replace your media.

Dave B

 

[X-37B]

I just top mine off. Im using coral bones.
When I made my carx I made it reverse flow. This way their is no mush at the bottom.
I will let it get to 50% before adding media.
It is a 6" reactor and it is down about 5" in 5 months time.

 

[PeterC99]

I just top mine off. Im using coral bones.
When I made my carx I made it reverse flow. This way their is no mush at the bottom.
I will let it get to 50% before adding media.
It is a 6" reactor and it is down about 5" in 5 months time.

Very smart!!!

 

[Saltyanimals]

It depends on how much sludge and crap is on the bottom of the reactor. Depending on where the media originated from, their could be lots of crap in the coral skeleton(s) which just settles in the bottom of the reactor. The remaining media is just as good as the media you started out with. The only issue is if it's easy to rinse the sludge and crap out of the remaining media or is it just life easier to toss and replace.

I switched over to Dastaco media many years back - It's a limestome based media that is pure calcium and alkalinity. It burns with almost 0 residual crap. Each lot of media is tested to be 99.9% pure limestone.

With the Dastaco media I can just keep adding media on top because there is just a light layer of dust at the bottom. When I add media its 40-60lbs at a time about 2x a year. I'm burning alot of media with very little left over crap.

If there is no sludge at the bottom of your reactor then there is no reason to replace your media.

Dave B

I'm almost due for a refill or replenish thus revisiting this thread.

The question about the sludge is interesting. If it's just residual, does it really matter if it's there or not? I can see the agreement for cleanings it so it doesn't clog, but the pump is pulling from the top so the sludge should be able to sit there and not affect things in any positive or negative way. Agreeing with @o2manyfish 's statement above that remaining media is good as new media.

My first refill, I took the entire thing out and rinsed. In the process the mag chips got mixed in with the Reborn media so I can't tell anymore what is sludge and what is not. The lazy side tells me to just dump more in and call it a day since it all eventually mixes up anyways.

Why do you guys refill at 50%? It shouldn't consume that quickly unless you have a massive tank and demand. I'm inclined to let it go down to 10% to reduce overall maintenance.

 

[Saltyanimals]

One more question. I just 'topped' off this time leaving the old carx media including the mag chips. Has anyone noticed any dissolution issues with a layer of mag in between carx media? Dissolution or clogging?

 

[Rimsky]

Why do you guys refill at 50%? It shouldn't consume that quickly unless you have a massive tank and demand. I'm inclined to let it go down to 10% to reduce overall maintenance.

I don't know for sure, but I suppose that the amount of KH and Ca that the reactor is going to provide is going to get gradually lower as the amount of media decreases. In my case I'm experiencing that and compensating by increasing the CaRx pH gradually, but that some with more CO2 being consumed. My guess is that the break-even point between having to replace vs. optimum performance is 50%.