Kessil

Good video from BRS on Calicum reactors

I've seen more and more posts about carx being 'the gold standard' in maintaining alk/ca in aquariums. Has the tech changed THAT much since last time I ran one? Making sure the bubble rate stayed constant, recalibrating the pH probe, getting the tank refilled was always a huge hassle for me.

Twopart + peri pumps with a controller has been dead simple and stable for several years for me and I don't miss the reactor. Just fill jugs with water and alk/ca powder every month and shake...

EDIT: yes I am in hardcore denial here. need some help getting shaken loose.
 
I think the biggest benefit is trace elements.

A lot of people say it's cheaper in the long run but with how cheap dosers and supplements are these days along with the huge up front cost of a reactor, that's a hard argument to make.
 
grizfyrfyter said:
I think the biggest benefit is trace elements.

A lot of people say it's cheaper in the long run but with how cheap dosers and supplements are these days along with the huge up front cost of a reactor, that's a hard argument to make.
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100%
I used to do ICP almost every 2 weeks.
When I started using CArx there was so much more trace elements that got added without me needing to add them compared to before.

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I'll definitely admit that calcium reactors are cheaper to run in the long run -- but not enough that I'm eager to take on the extra maint: ~2yr supply of pharma grade alk/ca for me is $200ish (so ~$100/yr) vs maybe $60/yr for ca reactor media and co2 refills. The simplicity wins over cost for me in that case.
 
treylane said:
I'll definitely admit that calcium reactors are cheaper to run in the long run -- but not enough that I'm eager to take on the extra mnaint: ~2yr supply of pharma grade alk/ca for me is $200ish (so ~$100/yr) vs maybe $60/yr for ca reactor media and co2 refills. The simplicity wins over cost for me in that case.
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That also depends on your water volume, bigger the tank, more sense to run carx.


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treylane said:
I'll definitely admit that calcium reactors are cheaper to run in the long run -- but not enough that I'm eager to take on the extra maint: ~2yr supply of pharma grade alk/ca for me is $200ish (so ~$100/yr) vs maybe $60/yr for ca reactor media and co2 refills. The simplicity wins over cost for me in that case.
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Doesn’t get any easier than a CaRx. Put the media in, hook up the CO2 line, hook up the feed line and you are basically done for as long as media is in the rx.

Only thing you need to do is adjust output psi and bubble rate.

Or you can use a pH controller to control the pH in the Rx. That will add an extra step of calibrating the pH as often as you feel will keep it accurate.

The current trend is to use a good peri pump for feed (eliminates the needle valve and clogging) and a good regulator with a metering valve for bubble count control (eliminates the dependence on the pH controller)


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You can get a good peri pump for under $300 or if you hunt around, for much cheaper. Same for the CaRx.

Regs can be had for under $200.

I think I can find a decent setup with some patience and some diy for under $500.


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It comes down to stability. You can do it via two part or calcium reactor. The only thing reactors do in theory is hopefully release the trace elements when the skeletons are melted. Which imo can be done via water changes. If you are looking for lower cost 2 part is the way to do it. I use a kamoer pump on one reactor and a manifold on the other. I think they act the same. If you want to be “more” exact it makes sense. Otherwise I don’t see the benefit. The more and more time I spend on the system I realize that looking at the system visually is enough versus chasing numbers. I also use a second chamber which does “help” with ph by like maybe .01 lol but the kalk reactor is a must imo. I’ve use that since day one.


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Vhuang168 said:
You can get a good peri pump for under $300 or if you hunt around, for much cheaper. Same for the CaRx.

Regs can be had for under $200.

I think I can find a decent setup with some patience and some diy for under $500.


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$300 + $300 + $200 < $500? :D
 
sfsuphysics said:
$300 + $300 + $200 < $500? :D
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I said if you hunt around, for much less than the $300. Depending on what you are looking for, over not much more than $100-$150.

And the reg for UNDER $200

So about $450 if you are patient. And of course if you are not looking for the best of the best.


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Okok so I *think* I understand the breakdown now?

CaRx:
- Trace elements
- Once it's set up and tuned properly, it's entirely hands-off for 6mo

2part:
- Lower startup cost
- Zero equipment tuning
- Need to refill dosing reservoir every few weeks
 
treylane said:
Okok so I *think* I understand the breakdown now?

CaRx:
- Trace elements
- Once it's set up and tuned properly, it's entirely hands-off for 6mo

2part:
- Lower startup cost
- Zero equipment tuning
- Need to refill dosing reservoir every few weeks
Click to expand...

For the carx:
The trace elements are nice but it’s likely you’ll still need to add your own trace elements since the demands of your particular tank won’t be identical to what was absorbed by those coral skeletons. This can be done through wc’s as mentioned or (if you’re like me and didn’t do wc’s) just dosed periodically.

The 6 months for the carx is a good estimate but will depend on the demand and size of the reactor and co2 tank

For 2 part:
I wouldn’t say zero tuning. I still remember having to calibrate the doser and program it. Also as demand went up I had to adjust the programming. This was a real pain when I had the jaebo doser and much easier on the DOS. To be fair, tuning has to be done on the carx too as demand increases.

Lastly refilling the reservoirs is again dependent on the demand and the size of the reservoir so it could be a couple weeks or a couple days or a couple months.
 
Yup if you use those tiny Neptune dosing containers with a few hundred gallon tank you'll refill a lot quicker than a couple 5 gallon buckets of the stuff.

But in either case, you want to test your tank parameters and you adjust both accordingly. If you need to adjust 2 part output, you will also need to adjust calcium reactor output.
 
I use the Coral Box 4 head dosing pump (won at MARS swap raffle) and it's really easy to use. Everything is adjusted via phone app. Only button on the system is a reset button.
It does require calibration (every few months) but it's easy to tell when it needs it. You set the dosing container volume and it keeps track of what's being dosed and has a low volume alarm. If there is still fluid in the container when the pump says it's empty, recalibrate.

The DOS uses stepper motors so they are a lot more precise (same motors 3d printers use).

I have used jebao dosing pumps and bubble Magus dosing pumps and I don't like their interface. Programming, adjusting and calibrating were annoying and anything annoying gets neglected.

I'm thinking about getting a kalk reactor with set dosing value, I've only ever used kalk in ato water, since I have a low ph problem.
 
Ugh. Now you are all making me think I need to set up CaRx. Finally got dosing pumps set up in Aug (instantly awesome results) but I guess not enough flow in sump because after the second and third return or skimmer pumps froze up I realized it was due to dosing there. Have I fixed the issue? No. Back to dosing by hand 5 days a week, "temporarily, " I say. People keep saying the reactor is awesome and no work once it's set up, but then I look at the equipment in the corner and chicken out. I wish there had been a setup workshop at MACNA. Oh, wait - maybe I should watch the video link in Post #1 of this thread! Thanks @ashburn2k - I will watch it Monday night.
 
MolaMola said:
Ugh. Now you are all making me think I need to set up CaRx. Finally got dosing pumps set up in Aug (instantly awesome results) but I guess not enough flow in sump because after the second and third return or skimmer pumps froze up I realized it was due to dosing there. Have I fixed the issue? No. Back to dosing by hand 5 days a week, "temporarily, " I say. People keep saying the reactor is awesome and no work once it's set up, but then I look at the equipment in the corner and chicken out. I wish there had been a setup workshop at MACNA. Oh, wait - maybe I should watch the video link in Post #1 of this thread! Thanks @ashburn2k - I will watch it Monday night.
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If you can stomach the price get dastaco or twin tech if you do not want to deal with tuning. These reactors ate self regulated and easier to operate than ph prob based reactors.

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MolaMola said:
Ugh. Now you are all making me think I need to set up CaRx. Finally got dosing pumps set up in Aug (instantly awesome results) but I guess not enough flow in sump because after the second and third return or skimmer pumps froze up I realized it was due to dosing there. Have I fixed the issue? No. Back to dosing by hand 5 days a week, "temporarily, " I say. People keep saying the reactor is awesome and no work once it's set up, but then I look at the equipment in the corner and chicken out. I wish there had been a setup workshop at MACNA. Oh, wait - maybe I should watch the video link in Post #1 of this thread! Thanks @ashburn2k - I will watch it Monday night.
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Maybe you should work with Vincent or someone else that is pro carx and very knowledgeable to put together a group buy and build workshop. People could do as much or as little building as they want from piecing together regulators to actually putting together reactors. I’d possibly be interested if we could get a price point around $600 to build (or buy) reactors and regulators with a group buy on some kamoer or other “affordable” feed pumps.
I love the idea of them, but I still haven’t operated one with a nice setup. IE quality feed pump (no needle wheel nonsense) and a quality regulator or carbon doser or whatever. And the results I get from dosing 2 part are pretty good and simple (for me). If I were trying to do less water changes I would be more inclined to go carx for trace elements supplementation, but it’s pretty easy for me to do them, so that’s why I don’t worry about trace elements.
 
Increase the flow through the sump or add a small pump in the chamber to mix. Also are you dosing both close in time? Don’t buy a carx to fix your two part issue. That’s not worth it.


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@powdertang05 I was dosing into return chamber of sump. If I add a powerhead in there for flow I thought it would mess up my ATO because the sensors are in that chamber.
I was dosing the solutions far apart. Dosed Alk during day to try to raise pH, and Ca later.
I actually have most of the parts of the reactor setup or, like you said, it wouldn't be worth it for me.
For now, you are right that it would be good if I got my sump issue figured out.
 
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