Calcium Reactor Preference

Scarlett778

Scarlett778

New member
Hey Everyone,

Well looks like the Calcium and Alkalinity in our tank are finally equalizing and now Jake and I are considering purchasing a Calcium Reactor. I've been doing some leg work on the types of reactors out there, but wondered what other people's opinions were in regards to this topic.

There's many brands out there but what we're looking for is one to be next to the sump, (not in), and a small footprint but big enough for a 150 gallon. I'd also like one that is easy to install. The two I've been looking at are:
1. Korallin 1502
2. GEO CR612

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,
 
Have you considered just using kalk in your top off water once your parameters are all in check? It's relatively inexpensive and many people are having great results using it. I personally just dose 2-part with a pair of aqua lifters controlled from my reef keeper, but may switch to trying kalk when I eventually run out.
 
Kalk is a great way to keep things in check,but seeing that maybe your calcium demand may be too much for kalk alone,i have had the korralin 1502 reactor and it worked great,very easy to setup and maintanence is once a year re-filling the C02 bottle and topping off the media.I suggest running 10-15% dolomite to keed the magnesium up there.I did that for several years with great success.Good luck on your choice,Geo is also a great reactor,i have no personnal experience however.
 
@Fishbeard, I'm currently using Kalk in my top off but it is depleting faster and I can't seem to keep up.

@Badgus, yeah so far the instructions the Korallin seems to be the easiest. Have you had any issues with leaking? How big is your CO2 tank, we currently have a 10lb (i think) left over from our FW planted tank.

Thanks for the quick responses!
 
Wow, was unaware you were already using kalk and couldn't keep up! And I assume you don't want to dose since you are already looking at reactors so I won't bother suggesting it. :-p. good luck!
 
@Fishbeard, it's no prob. Yeah I would dose but in the long run, I think it's going to be more pricey. I know the starting cost with a CA Reactor is also pricey, but I'm hoping that in the long run it will balance out in cost.

Question though, how do you dose via the reefkeeper. What probes do you use to check if the calcium and alk are running low?
 
My dosing setup consists of two aqua lifters, with those little valves on the outlet to adjust flow. I initially set the valves so each pump would produce 5ml per minute, then thru the reef keeper set up timers to run the pumps at appropriate times for however long they need to dose. I have one 6ml dose of cal at 4pm, then five 1ml doses of alk every hour starting at 1am. I was testing daily to get these figures, and now just do weekly tests to make sure parameters are in check.
 
@ Scarlett778 if you are really considering a CA reactor, you should consider a CO2 regulator that is not going to give you troubles- Either CA reator would be fine but its more the regulator with an accurate bubble counter that is going to make the difference.
 
I use a 10lb C02 bottle and its lasts 7-8months before needing a refill.Never had a leak issue.I did replace the rubber seals as a preventive measure($12).I had an older model that didn't have the PH probe in the chamber,so i drilled a hole on the cover and presto.
 
Hey Frankie, yeah we still have our regulator that we used for the FW and I thought the bubble counter was built into the CA Reactor itself.

I'm no techy (why am I in I.T.? haha) but I'm hoping either one will be won't be crazy technical. Looks like they might not be from the responses I've gotten so far in this thread.

Korallin 1502 seems smaller than the GEO, which is also a plus in our tiny little condo.
 
Tank2379 said:
@ Scarlett778 if you are really considering a CA reactor, you should consider a CO2 regulator that is not going to give you troubles- Either CA reator would be fine but its more the regulator with an accurate bubble counter that is going to make the difference.
Click to expand...

We will run the reactor with a standard milwaukee regulator and needle valve using our aquacontroller to work the solenoid.

Which reminds me. I have a Milwaukee PH controller that I need to get rid of. Off to the Market forum.
 
jcarlilesiu said:
We will run the reactor with a standard milwaukee regulator and needle valve using our aquacontroller to work the solenoid.

Which reminds me. I have a Milwaukee PH controller that I need to get rid of. Off to the Market forum.
Click to expand...

Look into the Aquarium Plants digital regulator. A LOT can go wrong with a stuck regulator solenoid and the added redundancy is nice.

I would also look into GEO reactors. Not only is the product excellent, but the customer service is just as good.
 
BADGUS said:
I use a 10lb C02 bottle and its lasts 7-8months before needing a refill.Never had a leak issue.I did replace the rubber seals as a preventive measure($12).I had an older model that didn't have the PH probe in the chamber,so i drilled a hole on the cover and presto.
Click to expand...

Hey Gus how do you purge the air out of Cal reactor. I am running it now leak checking with no media. It seals well but I have noticed that the air bubbles collect on the top.
 
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