Calcium & Alk. Additives - What's best?

[reeferious]

had been considering getting calcium reactor package until i came into possession of some bulk ca and alk supplies. now i spend 30 seconds every other nite double dosing recommended amt into my sump. 2 months went by and all my critters are doing fantastically well. haha why babysit them when we all know those creatures are a lot tougher than you and i. relax, sit back and stop all those worryings.

[Tailored Aquatics]

Originally Posted by MikeP

I used a liquid additive called DKH plus for a while (can't remember the brand name, I bought it at Elite though). On a small tank like yours a bottle would last quite a while and as I recall it wasn't too expensive.

That would Be Tailored Aquatics dKH Plus and yes a bottle does last a small tank quite a while. http://www.tailoredaquatics.com/index.html?a=0&d=43

[fkshiu]

It's no secret that it's all pretty much the same stuff: calcium chloride and sodium carbonate (a.k.a. washing soda). Buy the CaCl in bulk and make your own washing soda from plain old baking soda.

While your at it, pick up some magnesium chloride and/or magnesium sulfate (a.k.a. Epsom salts) as well and you're well on your way.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

All you're paying for with the LFS stuff is the fancy labelling.

[marie]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Agreed. I fill my reactor twice a year, and top off the CO2 maybe that much. The dosing might be a great way, but I think more work, and fairly costly to start up. Again, a reactor ain't cheap either, unless you make your own.

With this topic though, one really should know what the Ca/Alk consumption is, then decide how best to deal with it.

Brad did you use the same with the big tank you used to have? and how much media does your reactor hold?
I'm refilling my reactor every 5 weeks or so with about 6lbs of media and I'm finding it a big pain in the butt

[Aquattro]

Marie, my comments were based on my old tank, my new one isn't growed up enough yet

My reactor holds about 18 pounds of media, so I don't need to change it that often. I find the first annual change is just to remove the finer sludge, it tends to slow the flow after 4 or 5 months.
Still, I never used a pound/week, even at it's peak of growth.

[marie]

I'm pretty sure most of my calcium goes to coraline algae. I have lots and lots of coraline algae

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by marie

I'm pretty sure most of my calcium goes to coraline algae. I have lots and lots of coraline algae

Perhaps. I got to a point where I had none on the glass, not sure why. Corals grew like crazy though....