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Home made 90 gallon sump with Tunze 3155 with a 29g tank as reservoir. I carried buckets or used hoses until a few years ago - with a large sump, I only had to refill it every 5-7 days. The Osmolator is a newer thing for me.
Just to finish the sand discussion (if you don't mind).....One more thing on sand... it is sometimes called a time bomb, phosphate leecher or other wrong things. When you understand that aragonite binds phosphate, you understand that the sand can also do the dirty work of masking poor husbandry by the tank owner that is not otherwise controlling their phosphate. The aragonite (sand and rock) cannot do this forever and once it gets too saturated, the tank levels will rise quickly and the owner blames the sand often parroting what they have heard from other informed hobbyists. This is where people get the "time bomb" and "leecher" but neither are true.
There is no time limit on a sandbed that is not asked to pick up the slack for a sloppy hobbyist, or is maintained ever half a decade.
I have found that 2 to 3 inches of sand will effectively chew up nitrate and turn it into nitrogen gas. I do not feel any need to use 6 inches. I call this a medium sandbed and I shoot for 3 inches. This three inches cannot be blown around all the time and still be expected to keep nitrate low.
More on the sump, pictures, how the Tunze is used, reservoir, and Osmolator?
CaRx vs dosing needs to mesh with the personality of the reefer. I do think that CaRx is better since it adds more than just carbonate and calcium (and mag if you do three part), but not enough to fight it if you are not inclined to want to figure it out and/or spend the money. I will never run a tank with stonies without a CaRx, but it fits me and I know how to tune the thing with ease. I have run a CaRx on a biocube before so I have no issues using them on smaller tanks.
The natural media melts and provides all of the things that the coral up took when they made that skeleton. If you do stick with 2 part, then change some water or dose other things to replace those other elements as well.
All of this said, natural media has been a bit of a pain to find lately, but appears to be on the comeback. Other types of aragonite like crushed coral aquarium gravel will work. Dolomite and calcite is harder to melt but still has more elements in it than just 2 part provides.
In short, it is most certainly better to succeed with 2 part than to fight a CaRx if your personality is not inclined to succeed with it, but a CaRx is better if you can do either.
which is more difficult..,I have never smelled any Hydrogen Sulfide in my tank at all. I use a mixed grade reef type of sand... usually a Carib Sea. I do not like all sugar sized alone. I usually mix a few types from the 40 lb dry sacks to the 20lb wet kind. 2-3 inches works plenty fine in my tanks for nitrate reduction.
All of the junk goes down the vacuum tube and the tanks stays clean. I do turn off all of the pumps. Still no h2s smells.
For fun, this is in my office and gets used every day. I have a nicer setup in my family room that would not fit in my office. Other than the albums in the top right, each was chosen for rareness, first edition and something that I like and want to listen to. "Normal" type of stuff just gets played on a streaming service. The really rare stuff is hung on the walls in frames.
which is more difficult..,
Building and maintaining a successful plus 5 year Acropora dominant reef tank?
Or
Becoming a single digit handicap?