Calcium Reactor

[Graham Bailey]

Hi all I am new to the whole calcium reactor thing and was wanting some advise on which model I should get.I have narrowed it down to to the DELTEC PF501 or the KORALLIN C3001 just wanting to know what peoples thoughts are on these models any info would be grreat appreciated thanks Graham Bailey

[ReefWreak]

Deltec WAAAAAY over Korallin. As far as I've seen and heard around the forums, and with my personal experience with my Deltec, I now understand why people pay top dollar for Deltec products. It's not just about the name as I previously thought. They really do make awesome and consistent products.

The calcium reactor is on my 120g SPS dominated tank at my parents house while I'm away at school most of the year. I set the reactor up over the summer and left 2 weeks after initial setup for school. I came back a month and a half later with my tank's DkH at 9 and CA at 420. Perfect. I'll be home again in another 2 and a half weeks, so almost 2 months later, and I'm sure the tank will be just as stable.

[bergzy]

i would say that the deltec and korallin are pretty much equal in terms of efficiency, quality of build etc.

the deltec you're interested in is smaller than the korallin you mentioned. thus, you will be opening up the deltec more to replace media on a more frequent basis...which is no big deal if you dont mind doing this.

i just set up a korallin 4002 (older model but same size) and so far am very happy with it. once my friend and i get it set up and dripping the way i wanted it...it really does hold the drip rate consistently. sounds weird but i had a diy made by a local reefer and while really good...but it had problems that were more frustrating than it was worth.

what i like about the korallin is that i was told the body is made of clear pvc...which is tougher and less prone to breakage than acrylic.

things to look for in a ca reactor is:

- design - ALWAYS get a fluidized (upward flow) reactor. just more effective and efficient.
- design again - the simpler, the better. remember that it is much easier to make things complicated to achieve task A. it takes much more thought into the design to make something simpler to achieve task A. the more complicated. the more things that can go possibly wrong.
- quality of materials used. korallin uses eheim pumps for recirc. eheim has proven itself to be the most reliable pump in the business.

as for the purpose of a ca reactor dissolving ca media into usable ca for your corals? it's a coin toss for deltec vs korallin. it's more of just how much you are willing to open your wallet.