Trailermann Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 With my 30 gallon JBJ Rimless tank, I plan to put on a small reactor, made by AquaMaxx. I am sick of daily dosing to fight wide swings. Any suggestions to make this a successful install? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquanius Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 It's actually relatively easy to set up one, it can just be a pain to dial it in. Make sure that the reactor has a good regulator on it because you need to be able to fine adjust the amount of C02 that goes into the reactor. Secondly, if you are using a controller, try to get a reactor that has a probe holder in the lid. This will allow you to control the actual ph inside of the reactor vs. having to wait for your tanks ph to raise, or you can get/build a drip cup for the effluent from the reactor. You can swap out co2 bottles from most beer places, and in Tigard there is AIRGAS that does fills for relatively cheap. I love my calcium reactor, it has saved me so much time and headache trying to dose everything every day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailermann Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 thanks ED, any issues because my tank is smaller than the normal ones equipped with calcium reactors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowderBlue Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Don't take tank size into account take your levels into account. Does your coral soak up your nutrients faster than you can or want to replenish? That's more how I'd look at it. Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Randall is right. They make small reactors for small tanks. You can set up automated dosing with dosing pumps or timers and pumps. That's what I do on my ~140g system. It's really just a matter of preference or which one you feel more comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 The main issue you may run into with a calcium reactor versus a doser is lowering the ph of your tank because the effluent that melts the calcium has to be on the acidic side. In a larger tank with larger volumes this is usually not a big deal. I have heard of people running calcium reactors on nanos and have done fine. However an auto doser might be the better way to go because you shouldn't have to use too much media in a nano. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 If you go the dosing route and use soda ash for your alkalinity, that raises your ph, which is pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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