How does a calcium reactor work

[Sdeluca10]

Can someone give me the “run down” on calcium reactors? How they work? Do they sit in your sump, out of your sump? Do they make it so you no longer have to dose calcium? I see that some people have them and some people don’t have never really had a conversation with anybody about it so I don’t know what the pros and cons are and if it may or may not work for myself currently I only dose calcium. Not sure what the difference would be with the reactor.

 

[DylanCameron]

Here’s a link that will explain it more thoroughly than I can. It provides calcium and alkalinity. You only dose calcium, no alk? Typically tanks will consume a bit more alk than calcium

 

[Sdeluca10]

I’m really looking for someone to “dumb it down” for me. Like, if I go and purchase and calcium reactor brand new or used, how bad can I mess up my tank. Can I easily overdose my tank? I’m scared to try something I know nothing about or how it work and I don’t really understand how it works.

 

[ReeferSutherland]

Check out bulk reef supply on youtube! They dumb it down to simple terms in what you need to know.

 

[Mike Lemming]

Coming from a guy who is only been using calcium reactors for a couple of years, I can dumb it down for you. Basically, you have a cylinder filled with dead coral skeleton that you are circulating water through. You slowly adding CO2 to bring down the ph level in the reactor. Lowering the PH in the reactor dissolves the coral skeleton therefore, creating a mixture of dissolved coral skeleton (effluent) that has everything in it that the coral originally needed to grow (cal, alk, mag, etc). Then, you slowly add that dissolved mixture (effluent) back to the tank via a peristaltic pump. Easy peasy.

You just have to purchase everything which is a pretty large start up cost but, is worth it down the road. To answer your question, yes you can mess up a tank pretty bad by not dialing it in right and over dosing the tank.
In my opinion, the easiest way to dial in a calcium reactor is to start with a slow drip rate back into the tank and adjust from there. Some people with tell you to adjust the Co2 level but, in my opinion, keep the reactor at a steady PH and adjust the amount of fluid (effluent) dosed back to the tank. If it gets to the point where you are dosing a lot, that's when I would adjust the PH and make the effluent a stronger mixture.
Hope this isn't too geeky of a response.
Good luck!

 

[Ttran102]

Can someone give me the “run down” on calcium reactors? How they work? Do they sit in your sump, out of your sump? Do they make it so you no longer have to dose calcium? I see that some people have them and some people don’t have never really had a conversation with anybody about it so I don’t know what the pros and cons are and if it may or may not work for myself currently I only dose calcium. Not sure what the difference would be with the reactor.

We need to know what kind of reactor you using and what setup are you planning to get. Most people use a reactor with ph controller and carbon doser for the regulator. If you have the same set up the easiest way is get a peristaltic pump and set a steady stream on your effluent. Then set your co2 regulator to turn on at 7.4 and off at 7.3 and set your carbon doser to 1bubble per second. Let it run for 1 day and if your dkh drop bump down the ph to 7.3 and 7.2. So in the tuning process use your 2 parts to make up the consumption. So in a couple of days you will tune in then your alkalinity will be stable. If you get a swing of less then 0.5dkh that should be fine but some people like less than that. Another way of tuning is base on your alkalinity effluent and this way will make your regulator constantly turning on and off through out the day. But in the end tuning it slowly you can't overdose the alk. And if you decided to tune in by effluent then you need to start with really low ml per minute. And bump it up slowly but keep ph at 6.5.

 

[Mike Lemming]

I am running a skimz CM122 reactor with a planted tank co2 regulator. All controlled by a PinPoint PH monitor and a Kemoar peristaltic pump. It a cheaper alternative to going all out with the carbon doser and a tank controller but, it seems to work fine for me..

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

I run my geo 8-18 with carbon doser, kamoer fx-stp and pH probe inside the he reactor all controlled by my @Vinny@GHLUSA Profilux P4.
Just as stated above by @Ttran102 this is how I run mine as well.

 

[Skmaiden]

First determine if you even need a calcium reactor. Ca reactors are economical for large tanks with a high calcium and alk demand. For most smaller systems, 2part dosing is more economical. Both however, are only needed if your tank consumes Ca and alk beyond what can be replenished by waterchanges.

Ca reactors work by injecting CO2 into a media (often coral skeleton) which essentially dissolves the media over time and introduces new Ca and alk to your tank. Like any dosing, you want to monitor it so you dose the correct amount. I could be wrong but I don’t think there is a huge risk of overdosing at any one time as Ca reactors take time to work, but if you set it to overdosing and don’t have some type of controller monitoring then ya, you can OD the tank.

I’ve always heard GEO makes nice equipment though anything from reefocopus or comparable reputable brands are likely fine.

 

[Ttran102]

I run my geo 8-18 with carbon doser, kamoer fx-stp and pH probe inside the he reactor all controlled by my @Vinny@GHLUSA Profilux P4.
Just as stated above by @Ttran102 this is how I run mine as well. View attachment 191028

That's the reactor I'm going to get when my kalkwasser reactor can't keep up with demands.

 

[Cpage101]

I run my CR140 varios ca reactor like others. pH controlled through apex and milwallkee solenoid tithe tunze CO2 regulator. This video explains how most run their reactors setup pretty good easy to understand the process.

 

[Greg Hiller]

you can also make your own reactor for little to nothing. I show you how here:



I've never purchased a reactor before, I only use my homemade ones. I've been using them for >15 years.

 

[mind]

I don't (yet) run my CaRx hooked up, however the most IMPORTANT thing I read was this: run it in pull mode.

ie: PULL the fluid through the CaRx and dump it back into the tank. That way if a pipe bursts or the reactor leaks, then you are not forcing fluid out of your tank and onto your floor !

Other pieces of advice:
- use an in-line filter to filter the tank water
- use a one-way valve in between the CaRx and the Co2 Needle-valve
- if you DIY the solenoid, then it should be "Normally Closed" so that it shuts off when there is a power failure

Gratuitous image: my DIY CaRx which is a clone of a well known brand, but in nicer colors (which I have STILL not hooked up!)