Calcium reactor Q's...

[Son Of Skyline]

I've been looking at calcium reactor diagrams, and they all have a CO2 inlet. Where does this CO2 come from? Do you need to buy a separate CO2 canister that you have to keep filling/replacing when you buy a reactor? Also, do you have to have a sump to run a calcium reactor? Or can I just have it going through the main tank? TIA smile.gif

[titus]

Hello,

You need:

1) Calcium Reactor + Media (of course)
2) CO2 bottle
3) CO2 Regulator + Needle Valve + Solenoid (Optional)
4) pH monitor (Optional but highly highly recommended)

You can get the CO2 bottle from JL Aquatics. The rest of the items you can either get it from Canreef or JL.

[DJ88]

CO2 is inputted into the reactor from a CO2 bottle. Usually it goes through a buble counter of some sort so you can see at what rate it is going into the reactor. You will need to refill this bottle as it empties. The time frame for this will depend on how much you use teh CO2 and how large/small a bottle you have.

Due to the low pH it is more desireable to run the effluent intoa sump where it can mix in an area without corals or anything like that. This is especially important if you are running a higher effluent rate. Say 120ml/min or more. (rough guesstimate). As well running the effluent to your sump allows for you to let any escess CO2 be released by the effluent in your sump rather than in the main tank.

[titus]

Hello,

Sorry forgot to answer some of your other questions. I think as Darren said running effluent in the sump is better. However, you could always try to drip the effluent in areas of high water flow (ie outlet of powerhead), or intake of a skimmer. This allows rapid pH buffering of the effluent by large amount of tank water.

[Son Of Skyline]

Thanks for the clarification guys. Looks like it's even more expensive to run a reactor than I thought!

[DJ88]

Mason,

The initial start up costs can be a bit much. But witha DIY reactor it isn't that bad. Esecially when you look at the costs of addatives and such. The time saved is well worth the investment.

IMO IME

[titus]

Hello,

Yes it'd be expensive. And also make no mistake, it'd take quite some effort (more like patience) trying to get used to tuning the reactor if you have never run one before.

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Complete Reactor setups run in the $350 to $1000 range. Usually, $250 to $350 of it is CO2 setup costs (the bottle, regulator, needle valve and tubing). The rest is for the design of the reactor. Once you get it working, you'll wonder why you didn't get it earlier. pH monitor isn't really necessary, but you can get one if you wish.

- Victor.