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Calcium Reactor vs 2 part (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter soymilk
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I've been around a while, was way more active in forums in years past (spent too much time on ReefCentral and TheReefTank for a lot of years). Set up my first saltwater tank in 1998, have had a few iterations, current one is a 300 gallon display with over 200 gallons of sump+refugium). My tanks are generally a bit more humble than some of the SPS monsters you'll see, but I've had success through the years. And I've run a calcium reactor for probably 15 years. I'm not disparaging them at all. But, I think they have cons. And, more so, I think dosing can provide equivalent performance.
I'm typically a data driven person, a systems engineer and program manager in aerospace industry, hence my request for data to back up the claim that a CaRx will provide twice the growth. It's data (albeit a small sample set) that shoved me to make the change to gain experience with coral growth as it related to pH. I've been very happy and surprised with my switch to dosing over the last 6 months from the calcium reactor. Maybe I'll go back to the calcium reactor at some point. But in all my time in the hobby, including significant observations of other's tank builds either online or via local friends, I've never concluded that a CaRx is vastly superior to Dosing.
Jared gets quite excited at times, even "aggressive". Take it all with a grain of salt and let your own experience guide you
So how much are you mixing up for a 500/G SPS dominated system?? Gezz!
If you’re totally against a reactor…then switching over to ESV would be a good move since it has some light traces and it’s 48% stronger than BRS 2-part so it will save you time. Plus it’s tried and true and one of the only true 2-parts on the market…since the Magnesium is in the calcium component.
The DOS is a good pump…HUGE…but good and can get you down to a 0.1mL dose, but I’m not sure how many times it can spread the dose out in 24 hrs.
I wouldn’t say aggressive, but PASSIONATE…and only with what I know to be true. It is a fact that if you took two pro reefers (if you will) with the same salt, water volume, sump, tank, lighting, bacteria, skimmer, flow, etc. Everything exactly the same…the reactor will definitely arrive at big colonies faster than the doser. Hands down.Jared gets quite excited at times, even "aggressive". Take it all with a grain of salt and let your own experience guide you
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soymilk
Supporting Member
whats crazy to me is that you actually took the time to create then recreate that bad graph 2 times
that in no way is representative of how alk spikes would be dosing 150x. Why would 150x be rounded off? The shape should still be what the 10x is but with smaller deviations between high and low.
that in no way is representative of how alk spikes would be dosing 150x. Why would 150x be rounded off? The shape should still be what the 10x is but with smaller deviations between high and low.
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soymilk
Supporting Member
since your argument is stability is key, why would you suggest a high potency 2 part.
If anything you should agree with his choice, since a lower potency 2 part will induce lower alk swings that you're advocating for.
Like it’s going to be a perfect graph. Come on. I drew that in like 20 seconds.
If you cannot look at that paper and understand that a reactor is a 50,000x more stable than a dosing pump and adds back many more trace elements…this conversation needs to go no farther. I just can’t help you. It would be different if I’ve never owned a dosing pump or if I only had experience with a Jebao pump that can only dose like 20x a day or something…Or maybe if I hadn’t tried any of these trace element programs on the market. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
So you don’t think stability is key?
Why would you torture yourself with a 500/G system dosing BRS.?
Just throw something even weaker on there like AF and mix that 2-part solution daily. That would be fun.
Don’t worry though…you think the feeble reactor pH will give you the edge huh.
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A reactor will do that and you only touch it once in 6 months or a year vs mixing that 2-part on a 500/G weekly and you’re still out in left field when it comes to stability.
Just think that every time your pump is dosing that 5300 dKH solution…
My reactor was already dosing 24/7 365…a steady stream of 20-50 dKH.
My reactor was already dosing 24/7 365…a steady stream of 20-50 dKH.
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soymilk
Supporting Member
sure stability is good. But at what point does it not matter anymore. Will corals react to a change of .00001 dkh? Is the ocean water 100% homogeneous or does it change with different currents and bodies of water.So you don’t think stability is key?
Why would you torture yourself with a 500/G system dosing BRS.?
Just throw something even weaker on there like AF and mix that 2-part solution daily. That would be fun.
Don’t worry worry though…you think the feeble reactor pH will give you the edge huh.
Believe it or not, a calrx is not a straight horizontal line. Its either going to be trending up or trending down as your corals will either uptake more or less carbonate for growth. You said it yourself that you'll have a doser on the side to suppliment dose. If you're dosing on the side, then you're actively not as "stable" as you claim to be.
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You’re missing the point though. I’m trying to explain it as clear as possible because I want you to get it. I once argued for my dosing pump too. I thought for sure it could match that of a reactor but at the time I was only dosing 20x a day. Then I got a GHL and started dosing 150x a day. I’ve tried the weakest solution on the market and unfortunately the strongest (Triton Core7). When I hooked up a reactor…God as my witness…nubs started appearing on bases of my Acro’s. Corals sitting started to grow. Corals thriving took off. I’m just passionate about things I know to be true. The trace elements alone in the media are enough to make me run a reactor over 2-part. The entire biological function of everything in a reef depends on a lot of these elements. The bacteria, microfauna, etc.
If you want to get from A to B the fastest way possible to big colonies, you’ll review what I’ve already said above and think about it.
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soymilk
Supporting Member
I think you're missing the point. I'm not advocating the use of one piece of equipment over another. Its not a zero sum game. I think you are overstating your take on "stability". Doing the math on crvz's tank.
Dosing 250ml of alk solution into 500 gallons is a drop of .7 dKh per day.
.7 / 150 doses a day is .004 dKH.
You literally have a sample size of 1. We are all trying to go down the path of success. There is more than one road to success. There would literally be no dosers on the market if what you said is true. I am not opposed to a calcium reactor, hence me even starting the thread. But I just wanted to poke a few holes in your argument. I just don't believe 2x growth by using a calc reactor vs dosing.
Here's jakey adams showing off his "flagship" red sea montipora tank that uses a redsea reefdose
here is his waterbox penisula tank using dosers again with ecotech versa dosers.
So you have someone that can get pretty much anything in the industry sent to him for free or him even paying for it, yet he still chose dosing for both his flagship sps tanks. I'm not trying to disparage calc reactors. I think they are great. Maybe just maybe you don't know as much about dosers and you think you do.
He uses 2 calcium reactors to feed the rest of his tanks that are all tied together. So I imagine hes not bias against any particular piece of equipment
Dosing 250ml of alk solution into 500 gallons is a drop of .7 dKh per day.
.7 / 150 doses a day is .004 dKH.
You literally have a sample size of 1. We are all trying to go down the path of success. There is more than one road to success. There would literally be no dosers on the market if what you said is true. I am not opposed to a calcium reactor, hence me even starting the thread. But I just wanted to poke a few holes in your argument. I just don't believe 2x growth by using a calc reactor vs dosing.
Here's jakey adams showing off his "flagship" red sea montipora tank that uses a redsea reefdose
here is his waterbox penisula tank using dosers again with ecotech versa dosers.
So you have someone that can get pretty much anything in the industry sent to him for free or him even paying for it, yet he still chose dosing for both his flagship sps tanks. I'm not trying to disparage calc reactors. I think they are great. Maybe just maybe you don't know as much about dosers and you think you do.
He uses 2 calcium reactors to feed the rest of his tanks that are all tied together. So I imagine hes not bias against any particular piece of equipment
I think you're missing the point. I'm not advocating the use of one piece of equipment over another. Its not a zero sum game. I think you are overstating your take on "stability". Doing the math on crvz's tank.
Dosing 250ml of alk solution into 500 gallons is a drop of .7 dKh per day.
.7 / 150 doses a day is .004 dKH.
You literally have a sample size of 1. We are all trying to go down the path of success. There is more than one road to success. There would literally be no dosers on the market if what you said is true. I am not opposed to a calcium reactor, hence me even starting the thread. But I just wanted to poke a few holes in your argument. I just don't believe 2x growth by using a calc reactor vs dosing.
Here's jakey adams showing off his "flagship" red sea montipora tank that uses a redsea reefdose
here is his waterbox penisula tank using dosers again with ecotech versa dosers.
So you have someone that can get pretty much anything in the industry sent to him for free or him even paying for it, yet he still chose dosing for both his flagship sps tanks. I'm not trying to disparage calc reactors. I think they are great. Maybe just maybe you don't know as much about dosers and you think you do.
He uses 2 calcium reactors to feed the rest of his tanks that are all tied together. So I imagine hes not bias against any particular piece of equipment
You should setup a doser if not running one already. Good luck!
I mix up solution about once every six weeks. It’s not bad.
and for performance, I got these two frags on Oct 2. Hawkins enchinata and JF Yellow tips. The second picture is this morning, so about 3 months later. Growth is as good as I’ve ever had personally.
And FWIW I am NOT against a calcium reactor, I think I’ve mentioned that a few times. But I do strongly feel it is just 1 solution, and that dosing can be equally successful.
It can be equally successful, it will just take you twice as long to get there.I mix up solution about once every six weeks. It’s not bad.
and for performance, I got these two frags on Oct 2. Hawkins enchinata and JF Yellow tips. The second picture is this morning, so about 3 months later. Growth is as good as I’ve ever had personally.
And FWIW I am NOT against a calcium reactor, I think I’ve mentioned that a few times. But I do strongly feel it is just 1 solution, and that dosing can be equally successful.
