Kalkwasser vs 2-part additives vs ???

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of kalkwasser,
two-part additives, and calcium reactors? It seems like each is used to
maintain calcium and alkalinity, but perhaps I am missing some
subtlety. Why use one or the other?

Links or replies are fine.

Martin

"Martin Streicher" wrote in message
news:2004083021164150073%supergiantrobot@NOSPAMncr rcom...

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of kalkwasser,
two-part additives, and calcium reactors? It seems like each is used to
maintain calcium and alkalinity, but perhaps I am missing some
subtlety. Why use one or the other?
Links or replies are fine.
Martin


Kalk is cheap, but lots of work. It can't raise your Ca/Alk, but can
maintain it in lightly loaded tanks. Overdosing with it can be disastrous.
The pH of saturated Kalkwasser is about 12.

2-parts are easier, but EXPENSIVE in the long run, especially in a tank with
a high Ca demand. Some 2-parts raise your salinity over time.

A calcium reactor requires a generous outlay up front, but is very cheap to
run over the long term. A reactor can raise your Ca/Alk, even in high demand
tanks. Reactors tend to supress the tanks pH, but this can be overcome
easily with Kalk additions.

Each method of supplementation has its place. What you have to decide is,
how much work do you want to do to maintain Ca/Alk? How much Ca/Alk does
your tank consume? How much automation do you need?

HTH,
Kev

I elected to go with a kalk reactor from ecotech. Simple dosing and a
well-engineered system. I'll wait and see if I also need a calcium
reactor (with CO2), but hopefully, the aragonite sand bottom will be
enough.



On 2004-09-04 11:21:03 -0400, "KevinM" said:


"Martin Streicher" wrote in message
news:2004083021164150073%supergiantrobot@NOSPAMncr rcom...

Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of kalkwasser,
two-part additives, and calcium reactors? It seems like each is used to
maintain calcium and alkalinity, but perhaps I am missing some
subtlety. Why use one or the other?
Links or replies are fine.
Martin


Kalk is cheap, but lots of work. It can't raise your Ca/Alk, but can
maintain it in lightly loaded tanks. Overdosing with it can be disastrous.
The pH of saturated Kalkwasser is about 12.

2-parts are easier, but EXPENSIVE in the long run, especially in a tank with
a high Ca demand. Some 2-parts raise your salinity over time.

A calcium reactor requires a generous outlay up front, but is very cheap to
run over the long term. A reactor can raise your Ca/Alk, even in high demand
tanks. Reactors tend to supress the tanks pH, but this can be overcome
easily with Kalk additions.

Each method of supplementation has its place. What you have to decide is,
how much work do you want to do to maintain Ca/Alk? How much Ca/Alk does
your tank consume? How much automation do you need?

HTH,
Kev

"Martin Streicher" wrote in message
news:2004090610244675249%supergiantrobot@NOSPAMncr rcom...
I elected to go with a kalk reactor from ecotech. Simple dosing and a
well-engineered system. I'll wait and see if I also need a calcium
reactor (with CO2), but hopefully, the aragonite sand bottom will be
enough.


That's cool. Alot of folks use Kalk reactors. Just keep in mind that at the
pH we run our tanks, there will be very little to no dissolution of your
sand. Sandbeds play no appreciable role in maintaining Ca/Alk.

FWIW,
Kev