the amount of calcium and alk you need to dose depends on your coral load
softies dont use much LPS use more SPS use lots and clams use TONES (apparently -Ive never had a clam)
I use dry chemicals for dosing I did the daily hand measure and dose but that got old REAL quick so I invested in an automatic doser worth every penny - my favorite upgrade Ive done
never use Kalk or a Ca reactor but from my planted tank days refilling CO2 gets to become a pain in the ass So thats why i went the dosing pumps route
takes me in total about 15 min a month to make up new solutions.
heres a good read on dosing
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php