reactors and why?

So been on and about looking for supplementation for corals. As some of you know im coming from a 20 to a 90 and really never supplemented because I would do water changes and it was enough to keep lps going and some sps. Now reactors, which one can I use, how is it effective by using it in a reef system and what does what exactly. Ive read things going back and forth espeicaly about biopellets vs gfo/carbon. Any and all help would be appreciated.

 

I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Reactors are a tool. A successful reef required you use a mix of tools that works together.

What basic system of filtration do you intend to use? Once you know how you'll keep your tank healthy, we can discuss how reactors and other tools can help you implement that plan.

 

I have currently a 90 reef ready in the works with a 20-25 gallon sump/refugim along woth some filter socks and a skimmer rated almost for a 210. This is more for reference and a look back if needed. Im just not to familiar with supplementation and quite honestly I dont see myself doing to well supplementing liquids. Ive heard horror stories on both sides of the team and Im warming up to reactors vs liquids if that makes sense. I have a bit of know how on basic water chemistry so anything to help me through and to keep a stable system is a okay with me.

 

I'm not really sure If I understand your lingo. When you say "supplementing" are you talking about dosing alkalinity , calcium and Magnesium or using GFO, pellets ect to help bring down nutrients? or both?

 

What I mean by thst is dosing calcium, iodine all thst good stuff. What I am aimming to use is reactors. No doing. Sorry I havent been clear, was having a brain fart trying to describe whst information im looking for while working.

 

I use a reactor and am very happy with it. This is one of the big things in the hobby where people feel strongly one way or the other. From all I've seen and after using both I simply prefer a reactor. It needs occasional tweaking but for the most part it's very little maintenance. Mixing up two parts seems to take up a good bit of time for me. Seems like both have their failure points and merits. If you read through all the calcium reactor threads about why it failed it seems like most were problems with the regulator/solenoid/needle valves. If you go that route I would get the aquariumplants.com regulator. The solenoid and needle valve will never fail because it simply doesn't have one. It's expensive but a super important piece of equipment.
I put zeomag in my reactor and that takes care of the magnesium part. The pump could fail, the PH probe could go bad.. just be aware.
I have the aquamedic dual dosing pumps. It got mine used for $80. They normally sell for $310 so if you look for deals they're out there. If my alk or calcium gets low I just press a button on the Apex and it turns on my dosing pumps but they usually just sit there as a back up for the calcium reactor. The main thing is stability. I would suggest starting out with dosing Alk and calcium by dosing pumps. Dosing magnesium by hand is easy enough.. Then over time if you think it's a chore you would rather do without look into a reactor.

 

Ok cool thats what I needed to know about the calcium reactors now my question is, what about biopellet vs gfo/carbon? From what I gather they basically do the same thing but i dont know.

 

Carbon is basically charcoal heated to create pores that absorb things you don't want in the water like gelbstoff, chemicals all kinds of unknown things like heavy metals and odors. Gelbstoff is yellow organic matter. Using carbon will make the water appear clearer.
I use Carbon and I think most people do. I always found if I didn't my tank would start to smell after a while. My water is noticably clearer too. However not everyone uses it or believes it's even necessary. It's just one of those things I like to use.
GFO absorbs phosphates. Corals need phosphates to live but too much hinders growth and color. If keeping SPS corals it's best to have a low range test kit like the hanna checker.
Both GFO and Carbon can be used by putting it in a mesh bag in a high flow area but in my experience the GFO needs to be in a reactor. For me it doesn't seem to work unless it has a slow tumble in a reactor. Your mileage may vary. Carbon will also be much more effective in a reactor.

BioPellets you will sometimes hear referred to as a "carbon source". That means it's a food for bacteria. It's a bacteria that eats nitrates (NO3) and phosphates(PO4). Other carbon sources that do the same thing are:
Dosing vinegar
vodka
sugar or a (combination of all three) called VSV method
Prodibio system
Zeovit system
All of those are of the concept of feeding a bacteria that eats and reduces nitrates and phosphates.
The amount of biopellets, vodka ect. is used to control the amount of that bacteria.

 

So in a since would it be better to use biopellet reactor, calcium reactor and to save space use a carbon bag?

 

Well... It's one of those things that I can't really answer. People debate all day long about these things.. ( which is the best method) . You'll have to try out some things and see what works for you and your tank. Buy the way I am not saying a person even needs to use carbon dosing .. I was just stating what it is. I use prodibio and have had great results but it cost more. It's generally accepted to be one of the safer routes. I haven't heard of any negative results. It goes on sale often at Marine Depot for half price.
I just got a biopellet reactor so I don't really feel qualified to comment too much on that yet. But for the most part I am a believer in what it does since Prodibio BioTim does basically the same thing as pellets in liquid form. My plan is to use Prodibio biodigest (which is the bacteria ) in conjunction with biopellets. There are many bacteria products on the market. Whether or not it is really necessary to add bacteria at all when using biopellets is debatable and may not be necessary. It's just the route I choose since I've had good success with Prodibio and some well respected reefers went that route with success.
The main thing if you get a biopellet reactor is use a smaller than recommended amount of pellets for a while. Seems like people who have issues put too much.. that goes the same for vodka and vinegar.
If you really don't have space for a carbon reactor running it in a bag is better than not at all.. just try to get it in an area where flow is heavy.