Lifereef or Geo Calcium reactor?

[PSU4ME]

I’m debating between a lifereef or geo calcium reactor. 618/24 or the LCR 2. Tank water volume a good 200g and I plan for it to be SPS dominate.

Looking to understand your experiences and any pros/cons you’d add. I like the simplicity of them both and am kinda in a no mans land on which way to go

Thanks

 

[naterealbig]

Tunze

 

[FMF0331]

Geo Reef for me , got one for my DT - 2 years ago ... loved it so much, i purchased another one for my frag tank

 

[PSU4ME]

Bump! Finger is getting itchy to pull the trigger

 

[stephj03]

Whichever one is cheaper. Once it's online the experience will be about the same unless you go with one of the automated ones or one of the old schurans.

 

[Water Dog]

I prefer the GEO CaRx as it’s an upflow reactor. Bear in mind that they are in very high demand at the moment and there will be a wait once you place your order.

 

[FishTruck]

I have a geo 618 which I have had for years. I like it. Make sure you run it with a little positive pressure.

I have a lifereef skimmer which is everything Jeff from lifereef says it is... and I assume his Calcium Reactor is awesome too.

 

[metzer]

I have my geo and I am happy with it. Noting, i have only owned a geo

 

[aabjones888]

I run a GEO one also. I’ve loved it since I’ve hooked it up.

 

[BkReefBaby]

Are people still having the bubble issues with the newer Geo models? I myself am considering Geo or MRC

 

[metzer]

I have no issues with bubbles with my geo, it is less than a year old.

 

[FishTruck]

My experience is that pH probes constantly get out of calibration - and air intrusion happens sometimes, media gets melted - which creates confusing situations. Here are a few situations that I deal with every six months or so with my GEO 618.

1. Air intrusion. This happened when I used a peristaltic pump to "pull" water through the reactor. Especially, since the reactor was on a shelf above the sump. The reactor pH might be ok (6.6 or something) or might be high (7.0), but the effluent ALK is too low (15 dKH for example), or flow may have stopped due to air damming. Running the reactor with a little positive pressure will solve this problem. To test it... make sure water is flowing through, shut off the CO2 gas... and see if the air bubbles disappear. If they don't after 24 hours... you have air intrusion. To run at positive pressure, use a pump to push the water into the reactor and something to limit the flow out of it. A peristaltic pump or pinch valve like the GEO instructions say can control the outflow. Just don't use a big pump to feed the reactor or your might crack your reactor.

2. CO2 saturation with out of calibration probe. So... the reactor is gassed out and my apex says the pH is not yet at target (6.8 or something). I am running with a little pressure now (see situation 1 is corrected), the flow is good, the effluent ALK is 38 or 40 dKH. In this situation... the probe is wrong. The real pH is probably 6.4. Re-calibrate the probe and decrease the bubble rate or increase the flow rate depending on the needs of the tank. If you are trying to use pH to automatically control your reactor within a narrow range... then things are off the rails at this point and God help you if your tank ALK is now 15 dKH or something. Also.. you might have melted your media and set yourself up for the next confusing situation... so look closely to see if it is full of dust. See situation 3.

I do NOT rely on the pH probe to shut the CO2 on AND off constantly within a narrow pH range. It is more important to find the steady bubble rate from your CO2 which will run continuously without much need for automatic control. This way... I will be less likely to spike my ALK if other things get out of whack.

If the pH goes up and down due to flow changes... but the CO2 bubble rate is stable... then Alk delivery will stay stable. BRS did some nice experiments to show this. Again.. if CO2 delivery is stable... then modest changes in flow and therefore pH don't matter much.

I use the pH probe and controller only to shut the gas OFF if the pH in the reactor gets really low - like 6.5. At this point there is probably a clog in the tubing.

... and don't program the controller to let gas back in until the pH is back up to 6.9 or 7). If the pH goes back up to 7... then you have flow.

3. Bad media. So... the reactor is gassed out and my apex says the pH is not yet at target (6.6 or something). I have calibrated the probe. I am running at pressure (so there is no air intrusion), the flow is good, but the effluent ALK is just lame... like 15 or 16 dkH. I this situation, the media is probably old, melted, dirty, covered with algae and needs to be rinsed and at least 1/2 or more replaced.

My next reactor will be a saturation reactor, than runs constantly with bubbles and at pressure, no need to monitor pH. So the gassing out situations I described above should no longer give me fits.

 

[NYCMAN]

I have both. I like the LR reactor. It was able to pin my Alk at 8.5 for months on end. The cons are that it does not accept a BRS/Neptune PH probe. Need to use a Hanna. So hooking it up to a controller was not possible. The pros of the GEO is it has a second chamber for CO2 burnoff. I used both with a peristaltic pump using the "pull" method which works well. The input is the output effluent and the output simply goes to the sump. The inlet hose fills the reactor via the vacuum effect. One challenge with LR reactor is it relies on clamp for effluent control which does not work over time. I installed a needle valve which worked better, but all of these approaches create inconsistency over time as the tubes clog, get calcium buildup, and harden.

 

[FishTruck]

I have both. I like the LR reactor. It was able to pin my Alk at 8.5 for months on end. The cons are that it does not accept a BRS/Neptune PH probe. Need to use a Hanna. So hooking it up to a controller was not possible. The pros of the GEO is it has a second chamber for CO2 burnoff. I used both with a peristaltic pump using the "pull" method which works well. The input is the output effluent and the output simply goes to the sump. The inlet hose fills the reactor via the vacuum effect. One challenge with LR reactor is it relies on clamp for effluent control which does not work over time. I installed a needle valve which worked better, but all of these approaches create inconsistency over time as the tubes clog, get calcium buildup, and harden.

Hey... NYCMAN. Someone suggested putting a fuel filter before your pinch valve (change it from time to time) to avoid those clogs. I noticed that the DELTEC reactor uses on that looks just like these "ZYTC Gas Inline Fuel FIlters". I don't know for sure which brand to use... but this is similar to what they look like.

 

[X-37B]

I run a Tunze 3171 on my 120.
Alk is 7.2 and very stable.
Only regret is not getting the 3172 as I will need it for a larger upgrade.
The 3171 is small and efficient.
It is below the top of my 40 breeder sump.
It only holds a little less than 2 liters of media.
The 3172 holds 5x that.
No feed pump needed.
I run no controller or ph probe.
I also run Tunze manmade media.
Of the above either model is quality and you cant go wrong.
I would pick the lifereef.