Preferred Ca/Alk Maintenance Method

[chvynva916]

Starting a new 30 gallon tank and I'm trying to decide on my Ca/Alk/pH maintenance method.

 

I'm thinking calcium reactor and kalkwasser dosing (no nilsen though, yet).

 

Would a nilsen be better?

 

Also, which calcium reactors do people like best for a 30g size tank? I'm thinking either the myreefcreations nano reactor or the knop. I know they're not as good as the precision marine, but they're a bit cheaper.

 

Thoughts?

[BKtomodachi]

What will the drain on your calcium be? SPS? LPS? Clams? How much/many? This is really the first thing to consider.

 

In my old 10g nano, I had one smaller crocea, and a few SPS frags. For me, water changes with oceanic and topoff using a calcium hydroxide solution were all that was needed to maintain calcium sufficiently.

[cmador]

I would first attempt controlling with a 2 part like b-ionic. If you want you could also drip kalk. I wouldn't recommend using a reactor on a tank that small, maybe, just maybe if you had an enormous amount of sps.

[masterbuilder]

+1

[scottyreef]

two part b-ionic though a drip doser

[chvynva916]

I plan to keep mostly sps, some lps/clams, but I would like to stock it fairly heavily with sps.

 

I'm not so much worried about my ability to maintain ca/alk/ph with b-ionic and kalk dosing as I would just like to eliminate daily tank chores. Rather than deal with pouring in estimated amounts of b-ionic every day/other day/etc., I'd rather have a more automated dosing system. Ca reactors, once dialed in, don't need that much maintenance. I'm just trying to automate things.

[Sexy Shrimp]

Following as I am having alk drop problems and associated pH drop. Calcium stays a steady 440-460. I don't dose anything and my SG is 1.025. Fresh mix is fine, hits the tank and falls I'm lost

[JustReef]

Following as I am having alk drop problems and associated pH drop. Calcium stays a steady 440-460. I don't dose anything and my SG is 1.025. Fresh mix is fine, hits the tank and falls I'm lost

 

What's your magnesium level?

[rhunter513]

+1 on B-ionic ESV make a doser - it's expensive but maybe the design can be copied.

 

http://www.esvco.com/prod9.html

 

 

 

Following as I am having alk drop problems and associated pH drop. Calcium stays a steady 440-460. I don't dose anything and my SG is 1.025. Fresh mix is fine, hits the tank and falls I'm lost

 

Are you dosing alk and Ca buffers, or just Ca buffer?

[Sexy Shrimp]

Are you dosing alk and Ca buffers, or just Ca buffer?

 

I'm currently not dosing anything, just weekly W/Cs. I think I may have to dose this tank... Never had a tank that I have had to dose before... Oh and my Mg is at 1290.

[TR3XX]

i've been dosing DIY 2-parts for about a year and it has kept my alk/ca in check. however, i just got the via aqua acro-cal calcium reactor last week. i decided to go with a CR because i plan to take a few week long vacations this summer and don't trust any of my friends with dosing my tank. it's only been running for 6 days but the results have been great. it took 2 days to dial it but since then my alk/ca has been steady. we'll see how it performs in the coming weeks. the CR was only $60 and is rated for tanks 10g-70g

[filefish949]

you would be amazed how much calcium/alk you can get form kalkwasser alone, especialy if you are employing fans to help with cooling, I have a complete 2 part dosing system on my SPS tank, which I am not even running because i can't seem to get the ca below 450 and the alk below 11, I add 10 gallons of saturated lime water every 5 days or so

 

though a very cool gadget indeed, I think the $$$ for a CA reactor on a 30, could well be spent elsewhere

[rhunter513]

I'm currently not dosing anything, just weekly W/Cs. I think I may have to dose this tank... Never had a tank that I have had to dose before... Oh and my Mg is at 1290.

 

As a tank matures it needs more alk (and Ca). Most salt mixes at around 10dkh(Ca 380). If you don't dose an alk buffer (along with a ca to balance things out) your alk will slowly begin to fall. Sound like this is happening to you. W/C's are not enough to keep a reef tank in ionic balance, no matter what kind of corals you keep.

[chvynva916]

i've been dosing DIY 2-parts for about a year and it has kept my alk/ca in check. however, i just got the via aqua acro-cal calcium reactor last week. i decided to go with a CR because i plan to take a few week long vacations this summer and don't trust any of my friends with dosing my tank. it's only been running for 6 days but the results have been great. it took 2 days to dial it but since then my alk/ca has been steady. we'll see how it performs in the coming weeks. the CR was only $60 and is rated for tanks 10g-70g

 

Please keep me (us?) updated on your acro-cal cr use. I've been looking at that one. I'm in the same boat as you; while I don't mind monitoring, I want to avoid dosing every day and even more so want to be able to take vacations.

[TR3XX]

chvynva - PM'd you some info on the CR.

[Izzue]

Bulk solutions...2 Part. (nano sponsor)

Unless your gonna have one hell a stocked tank...this should work fine.

0.02

Izzue

[SPS20]

Bulk solutions...2 Part. (nano sponsor)

Unless your gonna have one hell a stocked tank...this should work fine.

0.02

Izzue

 

Even if you have some extremely dense stocking, 2-part works fine. However, once you start getting into large doses, it would be a good idea to use a dosing pump or drip system to administer it, as you could spike your pH badly if you try to add large amounts all at once.

 

Also, you have to make sure you monitor your salinity closely when heavily dosing 2-part. It can rise fairly quickly if you are dosing this stuff heavily.

[Wawawang]

Wouldn't the Tropic Marine Bio Calcium be an option also?

Works great for me.

[Sexy Shrimp]

Also, you have to make sure you monitor your salinity closely when heavily dosing 2-part. It can rise fairly quickly if you are dosing this stuff heavily.

 

I thought the idea was to dose in RO top up water? Or does the 2-part come ready made in saline?

[SPS20]

I thought the idea was to dose in RO top up water? Or does the 2-part come ready made in saline?

 

If you try to add both parts of the 2-part together in RO water, it will very likely precipitate in the RO water. Hence, why it is packaged in two separate containers. (The two parts are strongly reactive with each other)

 

The reason it raises your salinity is because 2-part additives are essentially seawater, separated into cations and anions, with EXTREMELY high levels of the minerals that corals absorb as they grow. The end result is that your water slowly becomes more saline with use. When I do my weekly water changes, I just siphon out a little bit more water than I replace, and make up the difference with RO/DI water. It isn't really a problem at all, just something you need to be aware of if you are using it.

[chvynva916]

I don't doubt that I could maintain calcium/alk levels with two-part additives, but remember I'm going for automation here.

 

I could go with a two-part auto dosing system, but frankly that's going to cost ~ $250 (with the dosing pumps and additives), and for the same price I can (and just did :-)) put together a nano-reactor setup (via aqua CR, 20 oz paintball CO2, dual guage regulator w/ solenoid, and arm media).

 

I'm interested to see how well the via aqua works. I was surprised to find that people are generally pretty happy with it.

[SPS20]

I don't doubt that I could maintain calcium/alk levels with two-part additives, but remember I'm going for automation here.

 

I could go with a two-part auto dosing system, but frankly that's going to cost ~ $250 (with the dosing pumps and additives), and for the same price I can (and just did :-)) put together a nano-reactor setup (via aqua CR, 20 oz paintball CO2, dual guage regulator w/ solenoid, and arm media).

 

I'm interested to see how well the via aqua works. I was surprised to find that people are generally pretty happy with it.

 

I very recently went through the same process of trying to decide between a Ca+ reactor vs. a dosing pump and 2-part. I opted for the Litermeter III. I know it costs about the same as a Ca+ reactor, but I really like the simplicity of it and the reputation for extreme reliabilty of the Litermeter.

 

Please do share your longer-term experiences with the via-aqua. I for one am curious as to how well it works.

[Neal]

Do you have any pictures of your Acro-cal setup? I'm interested in setting up one of these too.

Thanks,

Neal

[chvynva916]

Do you have any pictures of your Acro-cal setup? I'm interested in setting up one of these too.

Thanks,

Neal

 

I'll be sure to share when I get it up and running. Part of my decision to go calcium reactor over two-part dosing is that I've never set one up (just maintained tanks with currently running reactors), and I wanted to give it a shot.

[SeeDemTails]

B-ionic works great for my stocked 37g SPS reef.