on the fence about Calcium Reactor guidance please

I have never had a calcium reactor before, and I am rebuilding my system and getting ready to launch it in a few months. In the past I was dosing two part and kalkwasser using a triple dosing pump. I was thinking about buying a calk stirrer, but I really like the idea of the calcium reactor. Can I use my Reef Keeper Lite controller to control the calcium reactor? If I can do this and not have to get a separate ph controller that would save a lot of money. Also the Reef Octopus protein skimmer comes with a PH sensor, would I even need this? I already have a PH sensor that runs with my Reef Keeper Lite. If i correctly understand how a calcium reactor works (and i probably don't), the monitor will watch the PH in the tank and kick on the feed pump which will run thru the reactor and out the affluent valve into the tank which raises the PH.

If I use a calcium reactor will I need to dose Magnesium?

 

Yes you will need to pH probe and SL-1 module to go along with the RKL. This is how I control my Geo calcium reactor after selling my old Milwaukee pH controller and buying a RKL a few years ago.

The best way to control it is to monitor the pH in the reactor, not the tank. There are tw ways to do this, one is to drip the reactor effluent into something like a Lee's specimen container and suspend the pH probe it the container so when the pH rises the CO2 comes on and lowers the pH in the reactor until it reaches your setpoint and shuts the CO2 off. Another is some reactors have a probe holder in the lid or on the side so it reads what is inside the reactor.

Go to Geo's Reef - Geo's Reef and click on his calcium reactor page and you will find some very good instructions on how a reactor works and how to set it up and fine tune it. It applies to any reactor not just his.

You can add magnesium media to the reactor along with the calcium media or dose magnesium separately.

 

I was looking at the reef octopus calcium reactor and the description states - Includes pH Probe port for easy integration with pH controller. I could always add a second PH probe, if I added a second one, would this be internal on the reactor? Reef Octopus CR-140 Reverse Flow Calcium Reactor By CoralVue*
That is the brand

 

You would not need a second pH probe. Your RKL probe will fit in the port on the reactor. The "port" is a compression fitting that the probe sticks in and then you tighten up the nut which squeezes a gasket or O ring down so it seals the probe in and doesn't leak under pressure.

 

Tex,

I've tried a Calcium Reactor before and found it to be somewhat of a pain to dial in and maintain. A number of years ago I switched to a Kalk reactor and I have been happy ever since. I prefer Kalk because it is easier to maintain, far less expensive and gives very good results.

Take a look at the links in my sig. You'll see the results I'm getting as well as a link to how I built my DIY reactor.

 

I am really leaning more towards a calk reactor for that exact reason, and i already have a triple doser, which was expensive. I am thinking about getting a reef octopus Kalk stirrer and hooking up a single dosing pump to it. I would like to attach this to my reef keeper lite and set it to turn on the dosing pump when my PH drops past a set point and stop when it reaches a set point. This should keep my PH stable day and night. Can anyone tell me if there is an issue with a setup like this?

 

I have the Reef Octopus CR3000D.
It has been a breeze to set up and tune. I also have the carbon doser regulator which is great.. from my reading the biggest failure in the calcium reactor world is needle valve type regulators.
Honestly It hasn't been any harder than adjusting the dosing pumps... which I still have.
An extra PH probe isn't gonna break you financially. I would spring for the SL2 or whatever you need to run two PH probes.

 

I've never had mine hooked up to a PH monitor. I have the dosing pump turn on for 30 minutes at a time at varying intervals throughout the day - with a higher concentration at night. Has seemed to work well for me.

 

Calcium reactors are as close to plug and play as it gets when done right. I have never had problems with either of mine in 10 years of use. Taking the little bit of extra time to get parameters correct in the beginning and setting the drip and bubble rates is crucial, from then on its a piece of cake. Media and CO2 last for 6 months or more without any attention.