Considering moving from 2part to Calcium reactor

[AV corals]

Have any of you made the switch from dosing 2 part A+B to Calcium reactor? What is your success? Would you look back?

*Insight
I currently dose Reefpro A+B with success. I have a reefer350 with heavy stocked sps(Acros & millis) + LPS and anemones but have really considered using a Calcium reactor as it pretty much keeps everything streamlined with just the maintenance of replacing media.( from what i've seen on youtube + forums).


Thoughts? and if you do use a Calcium reactor? which Reactor & media do you swear by?


Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and Happy Reefing / Happy Holidays!

 

[blaxsun]

No - I worked out my supplement costs for my Red Sea 750XXL and it was stupid cheap - including the calcium. 2 years in and I'm still using up the same 4000g container of calcium chloride I started with (it will probably last another year or more at this rate). It's basically working out to less than a dollar per month for my calcium uptake (and I don't do water changes, either). I'm not sure I could recoup the costs of a calcium reactor for that price...

 

[DrMMI]

No - I worked out my supplement costs for my Red Sea 750XXL and it was stupid cheap - including the calcium. 2 years in and I'm still using up the same 4000g container of calcium chloride I started with (it will probably last another year or more at this rate). It's basically working out to less than a dollar per month for my calcium uptake (and I don't do water changes, either). I'm not sure I could recoup the costs of a calcium reactor for that price...

Where did you get such a huge container of calcium? I've been looking and the only one I found was a 50lb bag for $107 with shipping.

 

[blaxsun]

Where did you get such a huge container of calcium? I've been looking and the only one I found was a 50lb bag for $107 with shipping.

I got the Nyos 4000g containers for alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. I only just got a new alkalinity container this month (still have a few months left with the old one).

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I recently switched to a carx and a wish I did it sooner. I was using brs two part which has tripled in price over the last couple years. I think I was spending close to forty dollars a month. I was using the premeasured one gallon packs as I’m blind as a bat now. I know you can buy in bulk or do diy, but that’s just not something I can do anymore. Setting up the reactor was a little difficult for me, I’ll be honest. Someone with better vision shouldn’t have too much of an issue. My tank is 160g display, 40gallon sump. Sps dom, mixed. I got the cheapy Aquamaxx six inch reactor when it was on sale. I originally connected it to my manifold and used the included pinch valve. This worked fine but the pinch valve would need to be flushed and reset every week or two and just wasn’t something I could do easily as you have to measure flow and effluent dkh each time and tune it. I have since disconnected the reactor from my manifold and got a kamoer pump. It has been rock solid since. I have two five pound co2 bottles. The first lasted three months. It was a large upfront cost but will pay for itself in a year and I don’t have to mix up two part every two weeks. That’s a big deal for me as I spill everything now. Oh, I got the arm extra coarse media as it supposed to create the least amount of mess, requiring less cleaning. Although, from what I read people really seem to love two little fishies. It burns about an inch of media a month so I’m guessing a container every six months. So, it’s really personal choice. I still have my dos connected so I could switch right back if it didn’t work out but I’m very happy.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I got the Nyos 4000g containers for alkalinity, calcium and magnesium. I only just got a new alkalinity container this month (still have a few months left with the old one).

How does the nyos brand compare to say the brs brand. It is more expensive. Is it worth the extra? I'm not sure I'm getting good quality. I buy it in packets to make 1 gal. What is the ratio of powder to ro water to make a gal of the alk or calcium.

 

[blaxsun]

How does the nyos brand compare to say the brs brand. It is more expensive. Is it worth the extra? I'm not sure I'm getting good quality. I buy it in packets to make 1 gal. What is the ratio of powder to ro water to make a gal of the alk or calcium.

I haven't tried the BRS stuff, but I know it's cheaper than the Red Sea powders. I really like it along with the rest of the Nyos supplements. Some are hard to source in Canada so I usually buy more than needed whenever I do find some (still hunting for BAC and Bio Booster).

Alkalinity ........ 160g per 2000ml
Calcium .......... 1000g per 2000ml
Magnesium ... 1000g per 2000ml

Using the 4000g containers, with my current dosing this gives me:

* Alkalinity ....... 50,000ml /100ml daily = 500 days
* Calcium ......... 8,000ml / 16ml daily = 500 days
* Magnesium .. 8,000ml / 2ml daily = 4000 days

The costs thus work out to ~$0.32 per day, or about $9.48 per month (all in Canadian dollars, of course).

* Alkalinity ....... $0.149/daily
* Calcium ......... $0.149/daily
* Magnesium .. $0.02/daily

I've only recently started dosing calcium in any sizeable amount (it's been more alkalinity and token magnesium than anything else), so I've still got more than half of both my calcium and magnesium containers left (I bought 2x alkalinity last month).

Since I don't perform water changes, my consumption is probably 20-25% higher since nothing is being replenished otherwise.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I think I'll try the smaller sizes as I'll need to order soon. I think I have 1 package of each BRS brand and need to mix up alk and ca tomorrow.

So I just have to figure out how much to add to a 1 gal container. Directions adding to 2000 ml is .53 gal so to double it, it's a bit extra. Prob. not enough to worry about?

 

[Reefahholic]

I think one of the better reasons to switch to a reactor is because of the stability they bring. After you learn how to run one they truly are simple. Not having to mix 2-part and tweak my dosing pump has been pretty nice. I will say the initial upfront cost hurts. This typically gets a lot of guys fighting against a reactor. I have both. I ran a pump for over 10 years. Most pumps cannot create the same stability that you can with a reactor. For example, my GHL pump can automatically dose 150x daily down to 0.1 mL per dose, but the reactor can dose 24/7 a steady drip or stream. So instead of a dose hitting the water every 10 minutes, there’s a dose hitting the water every second.

Is it true they bring in more trace elements?

That depends on the media. If you run a natural media like Reborn then it will bring in more trace elements vs your traditional 2-part. Today we see a lot of 2-parts with traces, but regardless of whether you run a reactor or 2-part you will still need to supplement some elements. Many elements will come back low or depleted. You are more likely to see elements go out of target range’s with 2-parts, because they put their own ratios in the bottle. Those ratios don’t work well for every system. All of our reefs have a different consumption, coral species, bio-mass, biodiversity, etc.

It all depends on what you like, what you’re trying to accomplish, and what’s easier for you. Some people don’t do ICP’s and are ok with some elements being depleted. Personally, I try to keep everything as close as I can to target ranges and I enjoy the stability and simplicity of my reactor and I like dosing trace elements. Reactors do have a learning curve and in the beginning I almost nuked my reef a few times.

If anybody is interested in leaning more about them check out the videos below and this should give you a very good understanding:

CaRx Crash Course

How I tune my CaRx (Kevin’s way):


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CaRx setup video and fundamental’s


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Very helpful videos from Rico (controversial guy). However, his videos break it down and are definitely helpful if you’re a beginner. Watch these in order from 1 - 4.

1.

2.

3.

4.

—————————————-

BRS- top 20 failures:


BRS- long live stream with excellent information:


BRS- more flow = less ALK? This one is not really needed for the method I run, but it is beneficial to understand how flow dictates alkalinity to a certain extent.

 

[Reefahholic]

I haven't tried the BRS stuff, but I know it's cheaper than the Red Sea powders.

One thing that is helpful is to know what the potency is of each 2-part. For example, if you have one product where ALK is 5300 dKH/L and another is 2500 dKH/L, obviously the stronger product will go much farther. The same goes for Cal and Mag. If CAL is 62,000 mg/L vs 32,000, or MAG is 36,000 ppm vs 20,000….you get the idea.

I always find it comical when guys are comparing how much 2-part their dosing, and one guy has a 500/G system, and he’s dosing a product that is 5x stronger than the other guy with a 40 breeder. One guy will say I’m dosing 150 mL of ALK daily. The other will say I’m dosing 356 mL of ALK daily, but yet both have different products and completely different system volumes.

 

[homer1475]

I'm currently exploring a CalRX option.

I'm up to a gallon of 2 part every other week in my 80G cube. Even with DIY supplements, it's getting kind of spendy.

Plane jane arm and hammer baking soda is cheap enough for ALK, but calcium chloride is expensive. Weekly WC's take care of mag, and I haven't had to add mag to my tank in years.

12 pound bag of arm and hammer is like $15. Which is cheap enough, but calcium chloride at $40 for 7 pounds is really stupid expensive now.

Been looking into peladow ice melt which some are using(pure calcium chloride pellet). For a 50 pound bag it's $63 which isn't too bad. Just not sure how much I trust it to be pure without causing issues with my SPS.

 

[FMF0331]

I'm using the Geo Reef Calcium Reactor 612x2 and Reborn media .. 20 lbs CO2 tank and Carbon Doser regulator.
Expensive cost upfront but in the long run I believe it's money well spent.

 

[AV corals]

WOW everyone thanks so much for all the info! This is extremely helpful in making the decision to get a calcium reactor. I am going to plow through those youtube videos !

 

[edd59]

I'm using the Geo Reef Calcium Reactor 612x2 and Reborn media .. 20 lbs CO2 tank and Carbon Doser regulator.
Expensive cost upfront but in the long run I believe it's money well spent.

when using 612x2 is the second one for dissolving co2?

 

[FMF0331]

when using 612x2 is the second one for dissolving co2?

yes
from what I was told/understand, the second one will help with removing excess co2

 

[blaxsun]

I think I'll try the smaller sizes as I'll need to order soon. I think I have 1 package of each BRS brand and need to mix up alk and ca tomorrow.

So I just have to figure out how much to add to a 1 gal container. Directions adding to 2000 ml is .53 gal so to double it, it's a bit extra. Prob. not enough to worry about?

Probably not, no.

 

[blaxsun]

One thing that is helpful is to know what the potency is of each 2-part. For example, if you have one product where ALK is 5300 dKH/L and another is 2500 dKH/L, obviously the stronger product will go much farther. The same goes for Cal and Mag. If CAL is 62,000 mg/L vs 32,000, or MAG is 36,000 ppm vs 20,000….you get the idea.

I always find it comical when guys are comparing how much 2-part their dosing, and one guy has a 500/G system, and he’s dosing a product that is 5x stronger than the other guy with a 40 breeder. One guy will say I’m dosing 150 mL of ALK daily. The other will say I’m dosing 356 mL of ALK daily, but yet both have different products and completely different system volumes.

I'm just mixing it per the recommended size - not entirely sure how to calculate the potency. My system is 200 gallons and the dosing amounts I indicated are what is required to maintain my alkalinity, calcium and magnesium levels (YMMV).

For me a calcium reactor would probably be cost prohibitive, as my supplement costs are already fairly reasonable (and I don't really have the space for a calcium reactor anyway).

 

[w8lifts]

One aspect of my tank I didn’t want to chase was alk. I check it once in awhile, but having a reactor is so easy and consistent, money well spent.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I haven't tried the BRS stuff, but I know it's cheaper than the Red Sea powders. I really like it along with the rest of the Nyos supplements. Some are hard to source in Canada so I usually buy more than needed whenever I do find some (still hunting for BAC and Bio Booster).

Alkalinity ........ 160g per 2000ml
Calcium .......... 1000g per 2000ml
Magnesium ... 1000g per 2000ml

Using the 4000g containers, with my current dosing this gives me:

* Alkalinity ....... 50,000ml /100ml daily = 500 days
* Calcium ......... 8,000ml / 16ml daily = 500 days
* Magnesium .. 8,000ml / 2ml daily = 4000 days

The costs thus work out to ~$0.32 per day, or about $9.48 per month (all in Canadian dollars, of course).

* Alkalinity ....... $0.149/daily
* Calcium ......... $0.149/daily
* Magnesium .. $0.02/daily

I've only recently started dosing calcium in any sizeable amount (it's been more alkalinity and token magnesium than anything else), so I've still got more than half of both my calcium and magnesium containers left (I bought 2x alkalinity last month).

Since I don't perform water changes, my consumption is probably 20-25% higher since nothing is being replenished otherwise.

That’s super cheap! I wouldn’t have bothered switching over at that cost. I didn’t think you could get that cheap without going diy. I guess that’s why when BRS did their cost comparison video that touted how they were the cheapest and highest quality two part, they neglected to include nyos?

 

[blaxsun]

That’s super cheap! I wouldn’t have bothered switching over at that cost. I didn’t think you could get that cheap without going diy. I guess that’s why when BRS did their cost comparison video that touted how they were the cheapest and highest quality two part, they neglected to include nyos?

Red Sea also has a powder mix which is a lot cheaper than the bottled supplements - but it only comes in 1kg sizes so it's still about +50% more than the same equivalent with Nyos. I assume they're all fairly similar - but as I buy a lot of other Nyos supplements I've just tried to limit the number of brands.

I am mixing up the Nyos in 3 parts - just combining calcium and magnesium at a 8:1 or 10:1 ratio in the second dosing container.