Hog Head Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Well, I am tired of manual dosing and I want to leap into automatic. But, is a calc reactor or 2 part the right method for me? Right now it is a 100 gal tank but it will become at least a 210 or possibly a 300. Which one will work the best? I have read plenty about the damage that can be caused by the sudden drop in ph from the reactor and all the cool gadgets. What I really want is to watch everything grow and not fiddle with the gadgets so much. I am contemplating the Litermeter III or a Korallin Calc reactor. Opinions? What would you choose and why? I know the end expense of 2 part dosing is more expensive, but it also seems like it is a bit safer. Don't misread this, I have not made up my mind yet. Thanks for the help. Gene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I've done manual dosing, and had a CA reactor. The pH problem with the reactor caused me to ditch it, and you know how manual dosing goes. So i just bought a Bubble Magus BM-T01 triple doser. This thing is COOL! 3 individually controllable pumps in 1 unit. I bought the bulk supplements from BRS, so for about $300 total (includes pump, alk, calcium, mag supplements) I can maintain my params perfectly. I've got enough supplements to last me at least a year. This is the way to go IMO. Don't have to worry about messing with the reactor, or dumping in alk/calcium several times a day each day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Doser. It can grow with your tank. Just push a button and it will serve a bigger tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hog Head Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 I've done manual dosing, and had a CA reactor. The pH problem with the reactor caused me to ditch it, and you know how manual dosing goes. So i just bought a Bubble Magus BM-T01 triple doser. This thing is COOL! 3 individually controllable pumps in 1 unit. I bought the bulk supplements from BRS, so for about $300 total (includes pump, alk, calcium, mag supplements) I can maintain my params perfectly. I've got enough supplements to last me at least a year. This is the way to go IMO. Don't have to worry about messing with the reactor, or dumping in alk/calcium several times a day each day. I did most of my reading at RC. All they talked about was the Litermeter and Profilux units. Is the Bubble Magus comparable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 BRS has their bulletproof dosers on sale right now for $69 too! I'm running them and it makes things so simple. I thought about reactor too, but seemed way too complicated (and I actually LIKE more mechanical stuff) and prone to possible problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 here is an RC thread on them http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841840 They are very slick, you can get them off ebay for 253 shipped. The other cool think about them is if one of the pumps fail they are only 20 bucks to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 here is an RC thread on them http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1841840 They are very slick, you can get them off ebay for 253 shipped. The other cool think about them is if one of the pumps fail they are only 20 bucks to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanRevive Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I have a brand new one, still in the box. If anyone wants it, i will let it go $60. you don't need to wait and don't need to pay shipping. BRS has their bulletproof dosers on sale right now for $69 too! I'm running them and it makes things so simple. I thought about reactor too' date=' but seemed way too complicated (and I actually LIKE more mechanical stuff) and prone to possible problems.[/quote'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 We have a calcium reactor on one tank and the doser on the other. The pros with the calcium reactor is now that it is dialed in (finally) it's actually very low maintenance. The cons is the solenoid has failed and other things have failed on it but fortunately nothing bad happened to the corals. The doser has more flexibility in that we can dose calcium , magnesium, and alk but Beth but they are also not fail proof. The alk dropped rapidly when we were away because the container was almost empty and it was not able to be pumped out. It is also more expensive having to constantly dose. I"m thinking for my frag tank that I will just use a calcium reactor because the zoas and lps don't seem to be as sensitive to alk changes and it is just easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 We have a calcium reactor on one tank and the doser on the other. The pros with the calcium reactor is now that it is dialed in (finally) it's actually very low maintenance. The cons is the solenoid has failed and other things have failed on it but fortunately nothing bad happened to the corals. The doser has more flexibility in that we can dose calcium , magnesium, and alk but Beth but they are also not fail proof. The alk dropped rapidly when we were away because the container was almost empty and it was not able to be pumped out. It is also more expensive having to constantly dose. I"m thinking for my frag tank that I will just use a calcium reactor because the zoas and lps don't seem to be as sensitive to alk changes and it is just easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Just put a cleaning magnet in the reservoirs and you wont run on empty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Or use good reservoirs made for dosing. The ones with rigid tubing going down to the bottom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Or use good reservoirs made for dosing. The ones with rigid tubing going down to the bottom I think we need bigger reservoirs. It looks like everytime I turn around Beth is refilling the darn things and we learned our lesson about the tubing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Me too. I was thinking about building mines. I was thinking about 3 gallons for alk and ca and 1/2 gallon for Mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Me too. I was thinking about building mines. I was thinking about 3 gallons for alk and ca and 1/2 gallon for Mg How are you going to build yours them Alex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I was thinking acrylic. Squared, since they don't settle much and it is easier. I have a couple of things to build first, then I will start this project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I have not dosed so I cant comment on that, always ran a Calcium Reactor. Once set up and running only minor adjustments need to be made as demand changes which I assume is the same with dosing. When I had my 180g I only ran it about 12hrs (same as light cycle) and could make adjustments with time to keep Alk and Calcium balanced. I do not run it with Ph turning on and off, I have a high and low set but adjust C02 to maintain 6.4 high demand/6.5 low, am running it 24/7 with the 250g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 What about running Kalk. I use to manualy dose BRS 2 part plus Mag. What a PITA. I changed to Kalk a few months ago and love it. I still use the 2 part to make small adjustments but for the most part I mix the Kalk put it in my ATO, test every two weeks adjust if needed. Done! If you go this route start slow and adjust from their. Her is a great article if you have not seen it. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php Well, I am tired of manual dosing and I want to leap into automatic. But, is a calc reactor or 2 part the right method for me? Right now it is a 100 gal tank but it will become at least a 210 or possibly a 300. Which one will work the best? I have read plenty about the damage that can be caused by the sudden drop in ph from the reactor and all the cool gadgets. What I really want is to watch everything grow and not fiddle with the gadgets so much. I am contemplating the Litermeter III or a Korallin Calc reactor. Opinions? What would you choose and why? I know the end expense of 2 part dosing is more expensive, but it also seems like it is a bit safer. Don't misread this, I have not made up my mind yet. Thanks for the help. Gene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 What about running Kalk. I use to manualy dose BRS 2 part plus Mag. What a PITA. I changed to Kalk a few months ago and love it. I still use the 2 part to make small adjustments but for the most part I mix the Kalk put it in my ATO, test every two weeks adjust if needed. Done! If you go this route start slow and adjust from their. Her is a great article if you have not seen it. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php The problem with the kalk for me was that it would be thick and would eventually plug the line and all of a sudden it would dump a bunch of kalk. Fortunately nothing ever happened to the corals but I was afraid that one day it would just dump a bunch of kalk and kill everything similar to what happened to oxx. Things were doing well enough without it. At first we had some fluctuations with the alk but bottom line the corals were doing well without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 What about running Kalk. I use to manualy dose BRS 2 part plus Mag. What a PITA. I changed to Kalk a few months ago and love it. I still use the 2 part to make small adjustments but for the most part I mix the Kalk put it in my ATO, test every two weeks adjust if needed. Done! If you go this route start slow and adjust from their. Her is a great article if you have not seen it. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php The problem with the kalk for me was that it would be thick and would eventually plug the line and all of a sudden it would dump a bunch of kalk. Fortunately nothing ever happened to the corals but I was afraid that one day it would just dump a bunch of kalk and kill everything similar to what happened to oxx. Things were doing well enough without it. At first we had some fluctuations with the alk but bottom line the corals were doing well without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Kalk dosed with ato is in relation with your evaporation rate, which is not constant. Usually you end up with high ca and low alk. At night, when you need a ph boost, you dose less because the evaporation is low. During the day you dose more. So the delta of the ph is big, adding stress. If you can split your ato pouring kalk or just ro water depending on ph, then it is a great way to dose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Read about oxx's kalk disaster... Anything that can destroy years of work in a matter of hours is scary to me... I've used dosers, reactors, but am back to the tried and true method of manual dosing. Takes maybe 20 seconds per day...I prefer micromanagement. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigjohnwoody Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I just switched from 2 part to a calcium reactor. My PH has dropped about .2 points but I also just got Co2 absorbing media and hoping to finally get it installed in the next couple of days. Been really really busy. I like both options, but in the end I like the reactor better. It is a constant consistent drip so all of your levels stay the same all the time. Plus it drips back in trace elements from the coral skeletons that you are not going to get with 2 part. However I also do weekly 10% water changes so I don't know how much that really matters. I like this a lot better than the constant rise and fall you get when dosing 2 part. I had my 2 part on dosing pumps as well, but being the anal person that I am, I always would have to run my tests for calcium and alk 10-15 minutes before my dosing pumps would come on. This way I figured I would get the most accurate reading of how I needed to adjust. I had them both coming on 6 times a day. I think both have there positives and negatives and it's just a matter of what appeals to you, and how you like things to tick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Here is abreakdown cost/beifit on CA vs 2 part vs Kalk: http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/component/zine/article/44 I started out with Kalk dosing via slurry. Moved to Kalk reactor dosing on a controller up to 5 times per night on a very short cycle. Would adjust my CA and Alk with 2 part manually (maybe once a week). I was doing this without my ATO because my evaporation is inconsistent. One of the main problems with higher Kalk dosing is Mag depletion. Mag dosing is expensive. I still Kalk dose but I only run it for 2 cycles a night. I have had a CA reactor set up for about a month and absolutely love it. It is not as difficult as might be thought although the initial expense is high if you get good equipment. CA equipment is not a good place to "cheap out". There are great examples of significant coral growth through all three methods. For me a CA reactor has been a godsend. I have some very happy corals now!(laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I also use Kalk as a benefit to the system and to maintain Ph a little. I have a reactor that My ATO runs thru, it is gravity fed based on evaporation. I only stir the kalk twice, once at night and once early in the am. Normally my Ph will run 7.9-8.1 with the kalk, I dont chase Ph numbers I like the lower range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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