Two Part VS Reactor

[PaulS]

I have a 90 gallon display and a 30 gallon frag tank plumbed to it with 30 gallon sump. I have a medium to heavy load with mostly SPS. I am dosing two part and parameters are stable and growth and colors are good. Is there any advantage to going to a reactor. I am not really planning on changing but my tank came up on a local group I belong to and the reactor fans were telling me it was a must. Just curious as to what this forum thinks?

 

[B's Reef]

I have a 90 gallon display and a 30 gallon frag tank plumbed to it with 30 gallon sump. I have a medium to heavy load with mostly SPS. I am dosing two part and parameters are stable and growth and colors are good. Is there any advantage to going to a reactor. I am not really planning on changing but my tank came up on a local group I belong to and the reactor fans were telling me it was a must. Just curious as to what this forum thinks?

I have about that same water volume and Im still running 2 part. Mixed reef just over a year old. Im dosing about 95ml daily using the DOS. It works for now. Eventually Im sure Ill get to the point that its requiring too much 2 part and will just be better to go Ca reactor. I have plans to upgrade to a 180 or 210. When I do that I for sure will break down and get a calcium reactor.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I am not really planning on changing but my tank came up on a local group I belong to and the reactor fans were telling me it was a must.

This is categorically untrue. I'm not aware of any case where switching to a calcium reactor is required because two-part can no longer supplement calcium and carbonate sufficiently. There are certain benefits to running a calcium reactor over dosing two-part, especially at scale and in very high demand tanks. But there are cons to calcium reactors also. The same is true with dosing two-part. Neither of these solutions are a silver bullet for supplementing calcium and carbonate.

I would use whichever solution fits best with your lifestyle and your preferences. Both work just fine. Too many successful tanks have been kept using both methods to claim otherwise.

 

[Water Dog]

At our local reef club, the sentiments are the same. The hardcore SPS keepers that I’ve met have stated that once they switched to a CaRx and got it dialed in, their growth took off. Seeing their tanks with colorful full grown colonies in person, I must say is quite impressive.

That said, @Big E , a well known master SPS keeper on these forums uses 2 part.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

At our local reef club, the sentiments are the same. The hardcore SPS keepers that I’ve met have stated that once they switched to a CaRx and got it dialed in, their growth took off. Seeing their tanks with colorful full grown colonies in person, I must say is quite impressive.

That said, @Big E , a well known master SPS keeper on these forums uses 2 part.

People who more carefully control their two part for frequent dosing and control of alk 24/7 make similar claims, coming from less controlled dosing. it may be alk stability that is key, not the method.

 

[Water Dog]

@Randy Holmes-Farley do you think the additional supplementation of trace elements through the melting of CaRx media like Reborn provide additional benefit over standard 2 part dosing?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley do you think the additional supplementation of trace elements through the melting of CaRx media like Reborn provide additional benefit over standard 2 part dosing?

I don't know if it does supply more than a good two part does, but it might. It depends on how the two part is designed and the media involved.

That said, if trace elements are the concern, I don't think CaCO3/CO2 reactors eliminate the concern either.

All they supply is what is in skeletons, and do not supply what is being incorporated into tissues. I think that is a bigger sink for many trace elements (e.g., iron) than are skeletons.

 

[Big E]

At our local reef club, the sentiments are the same. The hardcore SPS keepers that I’ve met have stated that once they switched to a CaRx and got it dialed in, their growth took off. Seeing their tanks with colorful full grown colonies in person, I must say is quite impressive.

That said, @Big E , a well known master SPS keeper on these forums uses 2 part.

Thanks for your kind words, but I can say I never experienced what the reefers mentioned in your club have claimed.
I ran a reactor for 8+ years before I started dosing Randy's two part which I have been doing for 9+ years.

The results I believe are the same as long as consistency and levels are kept constant. You need to know the advantanges and limitations of each system and set them up accordingly.

I gave up on reactors due to maintenance, reliability, long term demands, complexity,murphy.ect.

 

[Water Dog]

Thanks for your insight. I have a pretty sweet CaRx set up for a new build that I’m working on, however, with the DT only being 57 gallons, I’m also exploring dosing with ATI Essentials on this build as well.