Calc reactor vs Doser opinions

Ok so I have always manually 2 part dosed my tanks but im finally ready to purchase a new toy. I'd like your opinions as to why 1 or the other is better,im currently debating over the Profilux 4 pump stand alone doser,or a GEO calc reactor.

 

How much time do you have?
http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-chemistry/2-part-dosing-vs-reactors-74496.html

 

Great read !

 

now thats alot of reading, thnx for the link I think im liking the profilux stand alone doser more and more

 

Ca reactors can be good for extremely large tanks, with lots of ca/alk usage. However, they can be tough to dial in, sometimes resulting in alk swings in the process and they inherently reduce pH. So, these are issues I would prefer to avoid if possible.

On the other hand, with high ca/alk consumption, 2-part gets expensive. Also, if a dosser fails "on" it can nuke your tank easily.

So, there is no perfect solution.

My preference is to use mostly kalk, as it's cheap and raises pH as opposed to lowering it. I use it on an ATO, with a dosing pump on a timer that can only 2.4gallons per day (my evaporation is ~1.5g per day). Also, I have it on a pH controller, so, if the pH gets too high, it turns off the ATO for a bit.

If this was enough, that would be perfect, as it is extremely redundant. However, unfortunately, this still isn't enough though, so, I also have a dosing pump for 2-part. This definitely makes me nervous though. I was manually dosing 2-part, but the amount needed was getting to be too much. So, I had to switch. However, I still only leave about 2-3 days worth of 2-part in the containers and make sure to add some every day or two. Unfortunately I haven't figured out any better, more automated, safeguards against dosing pump failure and I have waaayyyy too much invested to rely entirely on one little pump...

I'm not convinced that a ca reactor is less likely to nuke a tank though, so, for now that's what I have...

 

Yea I guess anything is prone to failure, with everything automatic it kind of spoils us, and I like kalk in an ato as well it just isnt enough thus the dosing,the only add enough for 2-3 days isnt a bad idea though. But if the pump fails (on) even 2-3 days worth could kill the tank. Im home all day so I could literally continue to dose it manually, which I trust more than anything *automatic* but new toys are appealing. But you had to mention pump failure (on) and freak me out lol. Still undecided I guess.

 

True

True - done that - though not quite a nuke, my Alk got super high and did some damage.

Yep.

Here is where I differ in opinion (if only slightly) from m2434. I run my kalk supply on a timer off a separate pump to allow me to dial in the kalk dose. It should be noted that if you load your kalk powder in relatively small amounts more often then nuking a tank shouldn't happen.

Agreed, and far more of a pain to set up than a simple kalk doser (or kalk reactor).