calcium reactor vs. 2-part dosing

Terry Martin

Well-Known Member
BRS Member
I've been running a reef tank for about five years now and just do 2-part dosing for calcium and alkalinity (currently about 280ml of brs 2-part a day). I have 5 gallon reservoirs so I only have to mix it up every three months or so. I buy the big 5 gallon containers so cost is not too bad. Is there any reason to switch to a calcium reactor? Is it better in any way for the health and growth of your corals?
 
Here’s one of the reasons I’m piecing together a carx. If the reactor fails it won’t dump anything into the tank since normally the failure is getting clogged

so if/when your doser fails on the on position you’ll dump all the alk you have in that reservoir in the tank. I know there’s some fail safes that you can incorporate. I just think the simpler the better.
 
So what's making you looking at CaRx if you're been doing just fine for 5 years with dosing?

Good question! I was just curious if the CaRx had any positive effect on coral health/growth/color, etc. as one always hopes to do a bit better!
 
In theory, calcium reactor keeps the level more stable as it is dosig every second instead of every hour. In reality, I don’t see the difference in growth as long as the level is maintained daily.
But having a 5 gallon alkalinity bucket for a dosing pump makes me nervous. I have not yet seen Coralbox dosing pump malfunction but I heard many cases of Jebao dosing pumps empty the whole containers into the tank.
Also, the calcium solution is reacting with carbon dioxide once it is opened, so it loose potency over time.
 
It depends...
If you have a 300G full of softies, you probably don’t need a reactor. If you have 150G packed with SPS, you might want a reactor.
The reactor media supposedly supply other trace elements since it’s basically dead coral skeletons. But these trace elements can be found in salt mix as well.
If you can manage the salinity (and higher PH) the supplementary adds to the tank and the corals are looking good, stay with dosing.
If you’re dosing so much that your salinity is drifting higher by your next water change and the PH is up the roof, then a reactor is worth considering.
I’ve had success with both system and it really depends on your corals needs and the system environment.
Reactor is just as dangerous when your regulator failed or PH probe that dump a bunch a co2 into the reactor and turn the media into mush.
Having a reactor still requires you to have supplements on hand when you need to boost one of your parameter. Ex. Your calcium is high but your alk is low and vice versa. You can live with a doser and not know what a reactor is.
I’m not leaning toward one or another. Just know how to use both to your advantage and understand the shortcomings of these two methods.
 
Very well said.

On a side note, one of the beauty of calcium reactor is self balanced calcium and alkalinity. It is the fundamental science behind a calcium reactor. So with a calcium reactor on a balanced reef tank, it is highly unlikely that you need to balance the calcium and alkalinity level by manually dosing.

On another note, the latest advanced calcium reactors have done away with pH controller, which always keep the CO2 saturated in the reactor, in turn allows you to adjust the drip rate alone to control the dosage.
 
In order to let the calcium reactor to suppliment trace elements, you need to use TLF Reborn reactor media, which is dead coral skeletons. Or you can make your own media by crushing dead SPS skeletons.
 
Yes there is a chance that the reactor media can turn into mush but most likely due to the reactor was not setup or run correctly.
 
A very helpful thread.
I am on the cusp of moving my main system over to a CARX and have been wondering a lot of the same.
This system has been setup now for around 4 years using BRS 2 part and a kalk reactor. Times I have added trace element dosing I have seen definitive benefits. I figure why not do It right and move over to the CARX.
 
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