Litermeter III or Calcium Reactor

[SPS20]

Ok, here is my situation:

 

I have been manually supplementing my 20L reef with Bionic 2-part, and it has lately become a bit of a PITA to keep up with. So, I have been looking at my options as far as automated Ca/Alk supplementation, and I have arrived at two possibilities, both of which seem like they would do the job admirably, and both would cost about the same amount of money. So, I would like some opinions, especially from people who have experience with one or the other technology, or both. I am open to suggestions as far as makes/models as far as the Ca+ reactor goes, but I will not budge on the LMIII. Reliability is not negotiable.

 

Option 1: Litermeter III with one additional external dosing pump. This would allow me to continue dosing Bionic without any of the hassle of having to attend to it on a daily basis.

Upside: I can continue using a known good, without any actual changes to my methodology. The LMIII is an extremely reliable unit, the best dosing pump out there by all accounts. Very simple to set up and maintain.

Downside: I will have to continue buying Bionic or some other 2-part buffer.

 

Option 2: Calcium reactor with regulator, CO2 tank, and all the fixings. I am leaning toward the Korallin brand, all the reviews I have seen are positive.

Upside: Very low cost to run once it is set up.

Downside: I have limited experience with Ca+ reactors, and am somewhat concerned that I could push my Ca+ levels too high if misused, or otherwise mess up what has thusfar been a very stable and happy little box of water.

 

Other considerations: In either case, I will be purchasing with an eye toward future (larger) systems. I am confident that both systems could meet my needs long term, and would purchase a Ca+ reactor (if that were the option I chose) that was sized such that it could handle a larger system in the future. The monetary cost of the two options are roughly equivalent, so money isn't really a large concern.

 

Some questions regarding Ca+ reactors:

Is it easy to overdose Ca+/Alk with a Ca+ reactor, or do they tend to self-stabilize? If I get a unit that is larger than needed, do I run the risk of hurting my tank, or is that not really an issue? Do they tend to run stably over time once properly adjusted? (assuming a quality unit) How long will a 10lb canister of CO2 last me? Will I be filling it every week or will it last me for months? What pitfalls should I look out for in the use of a calcium reactor? (I am aware of the issue with Ph and CO2 gas)

 

I am looking for advice from people who have experience with Ca+ reactors.

 

Thanks in advance,

- Josh

[tike]

Ok, here is my situation:

 

Some questions regarding Ca+ reactors:

Is it easy to overdose Ca+/Alk with a Ca+ reactor, or do they tend to self-stabilize? If I get a unit that is larger than needed, do I run the risk of hurting my tank, or is that not really an issue? Do they tend to run stably over time once properly adjusted? (assuming a quality unit) How long will a 10lb canister of CO2 last me? Will I be filling it every week or will it last me for months? What pitfalls should I look out for in the use of a calcium reactor? (I am aware of the issue with Ph and CO2 gas)

 

I am looking for advice from people who have experience with Ca+ reactors.

 

Thanks in advance,

- Josh

I started out doing 1 drip of effluent a second to keep my numbers at cal:450 alk:10. The key is to get it dialed in. Start with a drip per second and let it run 24 hours. Then test your numbers. Adjust the drip rate up or down depending on your target number.

 

They will run stabily once set.

 

I have a 5 lb bottle of co2 for a 60 gallon I am at 50% bottle volume and I filled it sometime over year ago.

 

Ph is a big one! I use a pH meter in my calcium reactor so the pH doesn't go below 6.6 going lower then that will lower your tank pH....not good!

 

HTH

[filefish949]

lieter meter, 100g is generaly accepted as to where a ca reactor starts to make sence, I am runing a 180G sps and 2-part +kalkwasser is working just fine

 

and yes, I ran a knop reactor on my 100g tank for years, back when know was about the only one offered. it was nice, but expensive, 2-part is much simpler to adjust

[jasonf08]

I would recommend a reactor if your going to go sps. i can tell you that besides lighting this was equally important in regards to keeping my sps growing. I used 2 part and looked at the dosing pump, but decided against it because of the long term costs. The reactor is super easy to tune in and keeps my ca levels at a solid 450. alot of people are timid, but i have not seen any ph problems because i keep my skimmer on 24/7

 

 

 

here is where i got mine from

 

Aquatic Systems Design

[SPS20]

Thank you for your replies. In the end, I decided to go with the Litermeter. I installed it over the weekend, and I must say I am very pleased with the ease of setup and its performance so far.

 

I looked into Ca+ reactors, and decided that I would wait to go down that road until I had a larger tank. I figure that the LMIII is a great piece of equipment that I can use to dose other (non Ca/Alk related) additives in the future should I decide to go with a Ca+ reactor down the line. In a tank as small as mine, I think it would be a little foolhardy to run a Ca+ reactor without also having it be controlled by a pH controller. Once you factor in the cost of the controller, CO2 rig, and the reactor itself, I was looking at spending alot more money for the same functionality as the doser gives me. I know that it would have been possible to get a cheaper reactor, but I would rather just wait until I have a larger system and get a really good one. The thought of putting a "bargain" reactor on my tank just didn't sit right with me. Do it right or don't do it at all has always been my philosophy as regards reefing. I have tried saving money before, and it always just ends up costing me more in the long haul.

[bdare]

Good man. I have a LMIII and LOVE it as well! They are expensive, but worth EVERY penny!

[SPS20]

Good man. I have a LMIII and LOVE it as well! They are expensive, but worth EVERY penny!

 

So far so good. I decided to test it by putting the discharge on one of the two dosing pumps into a measuring cup for 24 hours. (I just manually dosed that part for that day.) It was absolutely dead on accurate, exactly on the line. This machine is wonderful, and extremely well made.

 

The only complaint I have (and this is a minor complaint) is that it can't pump less than 50ml per 24 hours per channel. So, I just diluted my Bionic to a 25% solution by mixing each part of Bionic with 3 parts RO/DI water, and quadrupled my dosage. This is an easy workaround, and is working perfectly so far. When I upgrade to a larger tank, I can switch to dosing undiluted additive, since I will be dosing more of it. So this isn't really a problem at all, just an extra step required when I refill the reservoirs.

[TR3XX]

I think you made a good decision with the LM3. I was in the same situation as you but opt for the CR since I already had a ph controller from my RK2. I would definitely be using a LM3 if I didn't have a ph controller to regulate the CR.

[bdare]

One thing I just discovered... Make SURE your outputs are not under water. I just pulled mine out and they were cloged.

[dtfleming]

how much does it dose per hour? so 50ml a day?

[bdare]

how much does it dose per hour? so 50ml a day?

 

According to the manufacturer it CAN do less than 50ml / day but no accuracy is gauranteed (hence the dilution that SPS20 spoke about. If you want to know how much in an hour do the math... 50ml / 24 hours = 2.08ml / hour

[SPS20]

I think you made a good decision with the LM3. I was in the same situation as you but opt for the CR since I already had a ph controller from my RK2. I would definitely be using a LM3 if I didn't have a ph controller to regulate the CR.

 

Ultimately, when I move to a larger tank, I may end up setting up a Ca+ Reactor, but regardless, my new dosing pump will serve me well regardless. If I get a Ca+ reactor, i'll just use it to dose other additives, or automate water changes, or whatever. It is a terribly useful device.

 

One thing I just discovered... Make SURE your outputs are not under water. I just pulled mine out and they were cloged.

 

Duly noted. My outlets tubes are shoved into the standpipe in my external overflow box, so they are semi-submersed, so to speak. For the moment I can't think of where else to put them, so i'll just pull the tupes out and clear the ends with a toothpick regularly for now.

 

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

how much does it dose per hour? so 50ml a day?

 

According to the manufacturer it CAN do less than 50ml / day but no accuracy is gauranteed (hence the dilution that SPS20 spoke about. If you want to know how much in an hour do the math... 50ml / 24 hours = 2.08ml / hour

 

It can (accurately) dose anywhere from 50ml to something like 27 gallons per channel per 24 hours. You can do less, but as bdare noted, it starts to get fairly inaccurate as you get toward the lower end, so I chose to dilute my Bionic to preserve accuracy. I currently have mine set to dose 150ml of each part per day, and have diluted my Bionic to a 25% solution. So, essentially I am dosing 37.5ml of each part per 24 hours. This dose isn't quite sufficient to keep up with calcification in my system; I am measuring daily and tweaking the pump bit by bit until it runs steady. I would rather start with too little and adjust upwards than overshoot. I can always add a little manually, but taking it out isn't so easy. I imagine it will be another week or so until I really have it dialed in, then I can slack a little and test maybe twice a week just to be sure it is still on track.

 

As for how it does it, it adds very small amounts of each channel every 20 minutes or so. (to add up to the total programmed into the unit every 24 hours) The benefit to this, of course, is that it allows me to add more Bionic per 24 hours than I normally would be able to, since I am not in danger of spiking my pH by adding large amounts all at once.

 

I am contemplating doubling the rate at which it pumps (set it to 300ml per day) and then plugging it into my Aquacontroller III such that it only recieves power during the 12 hours that the lights are off, thus helping to keep the pH up at night. I am not sure that this will not harm the reliabilty or performance of the unit, however, so I am going to wait a bit before I try anything fancy. I don't think it is designed to be swiched on and off every 12 hours, so i'm not sure how it will react. One tweak at a time. Also, I have considered using the ACIII to turn the LMIII off should my pH ever rise too high, as an added precaution. For now, i'll just let it do its thing and not get ahead of myself.

[bdare]

I am contemplating doubling the rate at which it pumps (set it to 300ml per day) and then plugging it into my Aquacontroller III such that it only recieves power during the 12 hours that the lights are off, thus helping to keep the pH up at night. I am not sure that this will not harm the reliabilty or performance of the unit, however, so I am going to wait a bit before I try anything fancy. I don't think it is designed to be swiched on and off every 12 hours, so i'm not sure how it will react. One tweak at a time. Also, I have considered using the ACIII to turn the LMIII off should my pH ever rise too high, as an added precaution. For now, i'll just let it do its thing and not get ahead of myself.

 

You can do this. It's noted on the sponsor forum on Reef Central. Works great.

[SPS20]

You can do this. It's noted on the sponsor forum on Reef Central. Works great.

 

Hmm, this opens up some interesting possibilities. I think i'm going to do this tonight. I'll set it to dose from 30 min after lights-on until 30 min after lights-off. I imagine this would be a great help in keeping my pH more stable. It isn't swinging too wildly for comfort (8.03 was the lowest it reached last night, we'll see what the pH peak during the day is tonight) but anything I can do to reduce the variability of my parameters can only be a good thing for the health of my animals.

 

Thank you for the tip, much appreciated!

[air_doc28]

Hmm, this opens up some interesting possibilities. I think i'm going to do this tonight. I'll set it to dose from 30 min after lights-on until 30 min after lights-off. I imagine this would be a great help in keeping my pH more stable. It isn't swinging too wildly for comfort (8.03 was the lowest it reached last night, we'll see what the pH peak during the day is tonight) but anything I can do to reduce the variability of my parameters can only be a good thing for the health of my animals.

 

Thank you for the tip, much appreciated!

 

Does anybody have any thoughts aabout the admiral dosing pump vs litermeter 3? it seems to have some extra features and the ability to dose a 2 part additive without buying a second pump.

 

http://www.reefdosingpumps.com/products/admiral1.html

[air_doc28]

bump

[bdare]

You get what you pay for...

[air_doc28]

not helpful.

[dubbly]

Have you used the admiral dosing pump? I have seen many positive statements about that pump. It is made from a medical device and those products are insanely accurate! Wondering what experiece you had with it?

 

Dubbly

[air_doc28]

i guess nobody has really tried the admiral.

[bdare]

Well... seeing as how you hijacked a thread about Ca reactors and the LMIII you prolly won't get many helpful responses. Try starting your own thread.

 

As for the LMIII. There is a reason it's regarded as the best in the business. It's made by reefers for reefers. All the others are simply modified pumps.

[SPS20]

The LMIII certainly has earned its reputation for extreme reliability. I don't know anyone who has used the Admiral, so I can't comment on it directly. So, let me note some differences:

 

- The Admiral can pump one or two channels, at the same rate.

- The LMIII can pump up to 3 channels, but requires extra add-on pumps to pump more than one channel.

- Each channel for the LMIII is calibrated and programmed separately.

- I am not sure if the Admiral can be calibrated, I was unable to find a manual online.

- For 1 channel applications, the LMIII is cheaper. For 2-channel applications, the Admiral is cheaper.

 

I did look at the Admiral when I was looking for a dosing pump, and in the end, I decided to get what is widely thought to be the absolute best dosing pump you can get for just a little more money than the Admiral.

 

When you are looking in that price range, why not just get the absolute best for a few dollars more?