SixtyFeetUnder July 30, 2015 Share July 30, 2015 I run a fairly small system (100g) and have always done manual supplementation. Of course it can be tedious but if it goes wrong I only have myself to blame. After all, going "Office Space" on a machine isn't going to bring your coral back. It's also a space issue for me now. But I'm planning a move up to a larger system when my wife and I move and realize the more i can automate the better (more stability) when my system grows 2 or 3 times in size. Maybe it would even make sense to add a dosing pump sooner rather than later. The question is what is benchmark best practice for using reactors and what is best done through dosing pumps? Magnesium for example i've seen people do both ways. Just wanted to get some thoughts on this; i'm not sure if technology is changing/improving or research has made innovations of late. I seem to hear more about dosing pumps and less about reactors. If anyone can help me see the smoke it would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbyatv July 30, 2015 Share July 30, 2015 I wrote an article that talks about some of the stuff you are discussing. It might be interesting to you? https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QJJLprX7aQclZsN2pyLU1zTU0/view Good luck with your larger tank. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sethsolomon July 30, 2015 Share July 30, 2015 (edited) I wrote an article that talks about some of the stuff you are discussing. It might be interesting to you? https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QJJLprX7aQclZsN2pyLU1zTU0/view Good luck with your larger tank. Bruce This is a good article for the most part. A few things I would like to add is that a calcium reactor can also increase some trace, and magnesium if quality media is used. Two Little Fishies reactor media is a fantastic media for this. ARM media will not increase magnesium and is lacking in most trace elements. EDIT: Also the setting the ph to 6.4 is a bad suggestion as every tank is different and has different nutrient requirements and different media has different melting points. ARM starts melting at a ph of 7.1, 2LF starts at 7.3, Aqua medic media starts melting at 6.8. So straight of suggesting a ph shut off of 6.4 is a bad idea IMO. I like to recommend starting at a ph of 7 and adjusting from there what fits your tank's nutrient needs. Edited July 30, 2015 by sethsolomon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 1, 2015 Share August 1, 2015 Thanks for the highly informative article Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 Thanks Bruce! I wrote an article that talks about some of the stuff you are discussing. It might be interesting to you? https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QJJLprX7aQclZsN2pyLU1zTU0/view Good luck with your larger tank. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 August 5, 2015 Share August 5, 2015 (edited) Mag is still replaced by water changes in my system. Calcium I manually dose still but thinking about a dosing pump for laziness. Alk in my opinion should always be done in slow dosing pump. Edited August 5, 2015 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda August 5, 2015 Share August 5, 2015 I use a reactor on one system, and a doser on the other. Pluses and minuses to both. The Ca reactor has been great on the 90 with SPS, because I have been essentially been able to ignore it after I got the flow and pH optimized. Keeping a small bag of dolomite {=Ca(MgCO3)2} in the chamber helps keep Mg up. If it is properly tuned, Ca and alkalinity remain stable and optimized. The only expenses are refilling the CO2 cylinder and refilling the medium chambers (I use a DIY two-stage reactor) once or twice a year. I like the dosing pump for the ability to change the rate of addition to match desired levels. Is one parameter too high or too low? Increase or decrease the rate of addition by punching a few buttons. This has worked great on my office slug system, where demand is low and I also want to dose nitrate for the macroalgae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder August 5, 2015 Author Share August 5, 2015 I use a reactor on one system, and a doser on the other. Pluses and minuses to both. The Ca reactor has been great on the 90 with SPS, because I have been essentially been able to ignore it after I got the flow and pH optimized. Keeping a small bag of dolomite {=Ca(MgCO3)2} in the chamber helps keep Mg up. If it is properly tuned, Ca and alkalinity remain stable and optimized. The only expenses are refilling the CO2 cylinder and refilling the medium chambers (I use a DIY two-stage reactor) once or twice a year. I like the dosing pump for the ability to change the rate of addition to match desired levels. Is one parameter too high or too low? Increase or decrease the rate of addition by punching a few buttons. This has worked great on my office slug system, where demand is low and I also want to dose nitrate for the macroalgae. Do you have a link you would recommend for your DIY reactor? Feedback much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda August 6, 2015 Share August 6, 2015 Do you have a link you would recommend for your DIY reactor? Feedback much appreciated. I posted a build thread somewhere over 10 years ago, but the thread and photo host have since disappeared. At some point I should resurrect it, with improvements upon version 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle August 6, 2015 Share August 6, 2015 Great, tagging along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder August 10, 2015 Author Share August 10, 2015 I posted a build thread somewhere over 10 years ago, but the thread and photo host have since disappeared. At some point I should resurrect it, with improvements upon version 1. If you do I would be interested to study it. I'm interested in soaking up all I can about building DIY components prior to my next build. The more I can build on budget the less wife objections to handle! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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