When to buy a doser or calcium reactor

vinnytan · 02/01/2016, 01:10 PM

Hi everyone:

I'm wondering at what point will I need to buy a doser or calcium reactor for corals. Currently i have 5 frags and one being a SPS (slimer coral) I would like to add more SPS corals but worried they will die as i only do water change now.

Will weekly 10-20% water change be enough to replenish the water and how many SPS coral frags can i keep before i need to worry about adding more equipment?

toothybugs · 02/01/2016, 01:46 PM

Test and record your results. You'll see a trend. Things will probably spike a little with water changes; note that as well as anything you do to the tank. Blowing out your rocks will probably spike your nutrient levels a little, etc. You need to look at dosing/ supplementation when your drops are not being met by water changes.

Taking notes on your tank behavior is the best thing you can do to get to know how it works.

Sk8r · 02/01/2016, 03:05 PM

If your tank is under 75 gallons, you can simply toss kalk powder into your ato and it'll do fine. If over that, if heavily stocked with stony, as in wall-to-wall, a reactor becomes increasingly necessary to keep up with their appetite for calcium.

SnoopyDaPimp · 02/01/2016, 05:05 PM

An additional note about what Sk8r said. When you add it to your ATO or top off water test more often when beginning. I did not when I started dosing that way and my Ca got 500+. I watched it for a few more weeks and now have the supplement were it stays fairly constant.

02/01/2016, 01:10 PM	#1
vinnytan Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 18	When to buy a doser or calcium reactor Hi everyone: I'm wondering at what point will I need to buy a doser or calcium reactor for corals. Currently i have 5 frags and one being a SPS (slimer coral) I would like to add more SPS corals but worried they will die as i only do water change now. Will weekly 10-20% water change be enough to replenish the water and how many SPS coral frags can i keep before i need to worry about adding more equipment?

02/01/2016, 03:05 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	If your tank is under 75 gallons, you can simply toss kalk powder into your ato and it'll do fine. If over that, if heavily stocked with stony, as in wall-to-wall, a reactor becomes increasingly necessary to keep up with their appetite for calcium. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

02/01/2016, 05:05 PM	#4
SnoopyDaPimp Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Peoria, AZ Posts: 492	An additional note about what Sk8r said. When you add it to your ATO or top off water test more often when beginning. I did not when I started dosing that way and my Ca got 500+. I watched it for a few more weeks and now have the supplement were it stays fairly constant. __________________ ( 0 \ l / 0 ) & no tanks for now

02/01/2016, 01:46 PM	#2
toothybugs In Memoriam Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: The smallest county in Illinois Posts: 1,986	Test and record your results. You'll see a trend. Things will probably spike a little with water changes; note that as well as anything you do to the tank. Blowing out your rocks will probably spike your nutrient levels a little, etc. You need to look at dosing/ supplementation when your drops are not being met by water changes. Taking notes on your tank behavior is the best thing you can do to get to know how it works.