Two part dosing vs reactors

[Acronuts1]

Hey all I am thinking of whether to switch my current regime of dosing two part solutions.
I have heard a lot about ca reactors but lots of confusing info. As well a lot of different equipment. I don't want to go overboard but in this hobby it is very easy to do so.

Therefore I decided to ask you guys.

What is your current method?
Did you choose this method from the start?
If you switched, why?
Any pics of tanks or individual corals with before or after results would be great to see guys.

Thank you all in advance!
Juan

 

[Anonymous]

I've tried a handful of different approaches. These are just from my experiences (YMMV)...the progression with my last tank into my current tank went roughly as follows...


A&B
* Easy to use, easy to forget to use
kalkwasser
* Easy to use
* Accidental spiking of pH possible
* A fast growing reef can outpace kalkwasser additions
A&B + kalkwasser (started a combined approach to reduce cost - also, my growth started to outpace kalkwasser)
* Easy to use, easy to forget to use
calcium reactor (switched to a Cx reactor because I felt it would be more stable)
* Easy to use once dialed in
* It uses a CO2 bottle - how cool is that?
* Maintenance/tweaking was much higher than I thought it would be though - I had the ever present threat of clogging lines
* Low pH
calcium reactor + kalkwasser (added kalkwasser again to maintain a better pH in the tank)
* Same problems with Cx reactor mentioned above
* pH better
DIY two part on dosing pumps (wanted to simplify so I switched to DIY two part on BRS Drews Dosing pumps and an electronic timer)
* Easy - set it and forget it
* My batches last about a month
* Cheap (<$50/year for a 140 SPS tank)
* Can raise your NaCl over time - normal water changes are enough to cope with this issue though

 

[Len]

My experiences are similar but I've used a dosing pump for my A+B and a kalkreactor for kalkwasser, so it's all pretty automated. Bottom line for me is they all work pretty well. Kalkreactors will probably be the cheapest solution in the long run.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought it would be too. After doing the math I found out that DIY A/B was my cheapest option. $9 for an 11lb back of baking soda (Costco) and $7 for a 9lb jug of Driveway Heat (Home Depot). Mrs Wages pickling lime is $3/lb.

Here is some of my math...

 

[Anonymous]

Lucky booger! Since it doesn't snow here "driveway heat" is not possible, closest I get is a pool supply store "hardness plus" which goes for like $60 for a 35lbs jug.

 

[Len]

Wow. You did some serious homework I stand corrected.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm sure you're familiar with this...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

Two things...
1) RHF didn't look at a DIY two part approach - the DIY recipe was yet to have been determined.
2) He was buying his lime for $0.50/lb (1/6th of what I was buying it for) which significantly changes the math. It would have made kalkwasser cheaper for me. However, kalkwasser alone doesn't meet my demand so it wouldn't work anyways.

Lastly, the math I presented above was for a dual approach consisting of DIY A/B + kalkwasser. I never revised the spreadsheets for a straight DIY A/B approach. Once I realized the I wasn't going to be saving money by using the dual approach, which is why I planned on including kalk in the first place, I quickly made the decision to go straight A/B.

Note to anyone using A/B....my original dosing pump died and I went for about a month doing manual, daily dosing. That sucked. I kept forgetting if I had dosed or not. Worse, sometimes I would just not think about dosing for a few days then I wouldn't even remember the last time I had dumped in a shot. Buying a dosing pump is worth the money! My entire setup, including pumps, an awesome to-the-minute electronic timer, and two jugs that include handy pour spouts set me back about $220 including shipping.

 

[Acronuts1]

Thank you all for your input! I knew that this would be a very interesting step to take.
Here is what I intend to do:
1. Monitor Ca, Alk and Mg every Monday and Friday ( I dose 2 part sol. on Tues,Wed.,Thurs, and dose Kalk on Sundays)
2. Read more about the relationship for these parimeters. The more I understand the more I can do.
3. After reading I will make a decision based on my findings and all of your help of course.
Then off to go shopping!

 

[trido]

Maybe I'm missing something and have become paranoid for no reason.........

At the end of "06" Dow quit removing the bromide from their calcium chloride. There were threads all over the forums pertaining to this last year and in "07".

Here is a quote for Randy Holmes-Farley regarding continuous use in dosing the new stuff.

That said, all Dow calcium chloride products of all grades have too much bromide in them for continuous routine supplementation of calcium in reef tanks.
Randy Holmes-Farley
Club 65535

Here is one of the many threads that discuss this. Started by Randy himself. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... genumber=1

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying dont dose two part. I'm just recommmending that you dont use driveway heat. Either find an old bag of dowflake made in "06" or before, or buy it from a reputable supplier like Two Part Solutions. If you look around long enough, you just might end up with three five gallon buckets of the old stuff for $20 like I did.


__________________

 

[Anonymous]

I'm familiar with that thread but I haven't read it in a while. Personally, I'm not too concerned about the elevated bromide these days (I did wrangle with the concern before changing though) but I might switch to BRS when I run out of Driveway Heat. However, I expect that water changes are plenty enough to keep the bromide concentration within the tank at acceptable levels regardless of which product used. Plenty of people have used the newer Dow products for quite some time without any issues. Randy has agreed with this on many occasions - 'if you are having success, continue as you are'.

Agreed though - good point. If you want to be extra cautious, use the BRS product. Here's a link. A bucket like this would last me a few years. The price is comparable to driveway heat.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Calcium,- ... _info.html