Calcium Reactor?

[rich19020]

Do most people use a calcium reactor? Are there pros and cons to them?

What I'm really wondering if my calcium is fine but my magnesium is low how does it increase one with out raising the other?

[James77]

No idea of the numbers, but dosing 2 part and calcium reactors are both very popular. Both have pros and cons, neither is superior to the other as far as success.

You can raise magnesium with additives or magnesium chloride sold by bulk reef supply. Magnesium is usually very slow to change, calcium and especially alkalinity change farw quicker and usually require daily additions on a reef tank.

[rich19020]

what is 2 part?

[James77]

It is a balanced additives, both alkalinity and calcium are added in equal amounts to compensate for uses by coral.

Choosing:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/chemistry

2 Part:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

[rich19020]

right now I add them all seperate. I add Mag, Calc, and Alk w/ Ph buffer. Is that what part 2 dose do ?

[Sk8r]

If your tank is over 75 gallons and tightly packed with stony coral, a calcium reactor can be useful. If you're under that, kalk powder added to your autotopoff water should suffice to hold both alk and cal steady for weeks, IN THE PRESENCE of sufficient magnesium, ie, above 1300 mg. Calcium supplementation is useful only for a tank in which there are growing stony corals, and in which calcium addition has passed from weekly necessity to daily necessity. You begin it by creating a lidded autotopoff reservoir, raising your magnesium, your alk and then cal in that order by hand dosing, to acceptable levels, then starting the kalk mix as your topoff water, stepping back and only testing weekly for mg. Keep the mg up where it belongs, and the kalk-ified topoff will maintain nicely balanced and feed your corals without your doing a thing.

[James77]

Yes. But it can be a lot cheaper than the solutions bought at stores, BulkReefSupply is the most well know for selling all the needed supplements at very good prices.

I have used both a reactor and automatic dosing, I like the dosing better for its costs, ease of use, and better reliability IME. With a calcium reactor, both alk and calc are added in equal amounts. You can also add dolomite to it - i believe 10-15% of the media, and it will also add magnesium as well.

[Sport507]

Magnesium has nothing to do with a calcium reactor. You have to dose that separately it is a different element.

I do so get tired of all the new folk’s reading about the different types of reactors and wasting hard earned money. Visit the chemistry forum and do some Sticky work by Randy Holmes-Farley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI52IyBtjp0&feature=related By the way Randy gave them the recipes free of charge just because he care about the hobby.

So what is a reactor? It is one of these filters things which can be helpful for use with GFO over even for GAC. If so I have one. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/deluxe-brs-gfo-and-carbon-reactor-1.html Mine sets in a box most of the time unless I need the extra help.

[James77]

Magnesium has nothing to do with a calcium reactor. You have to dose that separately it is a different element.

Dolomite can be added to the media in a calcium reactor to maintain magnesium levels. It will not work to correct magnesium levels though.

A quote from Randy with a link about magnesium:

Thanks Randy

You're welcome.

Be sure to not try to boost magnesium that way, only to maintain it. If you boost it, alkalinity will rise too much. I discuss that here:

Magnesium in Reef Aquaria
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm

from it:

It has been suggested that adding dolomite to CaCO3/CO2 reactors can help with magnesium problems. Dolomite is a material that contains both magnesium and calcium carbonate. If dolomite is being added to the reactor to maintain existing appropriate magnesium levels against the continual depletion via calcification (for example, if the calcium carbonate being used is too low in magnesium to maintain adequate magnesium) then this is a fine approach.
However, this method is unsuitable if the goal is to raise magnesium levels. The problem is that for every magnesium ion released from the dolomite, 2 units of alkalinity are also released:

MgCO3 ---> Mg++ + CO3--

Consequently, if one wants to raise magnesium by 100 ppm, the alkalinity will necessarily rise by 8.2 meq/L (23 dKH). The only way around this problem is to add a mineral acid (not vinegar) to the aquarium to reduce the alkalinity, and that may be more problematic than just adding magnesium in the first place.