My buddy has an extra Calcium reactor set-up laying around, and I am going to give it a shot. Not sure how many out there are actually using one. I know it's a dual stage reactor, and i'm wondering what types of media people are using (ie: ARM, Gen-X, BA CoraLazarus, etc.) I have seen some people using 2 diferent brands in each reactor, and some just using different grain size of ARM. I am wondering if using 2 different products would be possible due to different pH ranges to dissolve the media. Any help is appreciated.
I used a mix of the LARGE Arm, and a gravel product by SeaChem called "Gray Coast" in mine. The gray coast is actually a calcite, rather then aragonite, and it has a crap ton of Magnesium in it. (I had some VERY large caps, and though I do not have statistical evidence to back it up, I swear the caps drink the Mg as fast as the Ca.)
As for the pH range, I set my effluent pH by the alk, not what the manufacturer said. Usually an effluent pH of double where you want to be is a good place to start. Since my tank has so many growing colonies, I was a 4X.
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Oh, and I bet there are more SPS keepers that use them, then those that don't.
I use Aqua Medic Hydrocarbanat medium or large size in my reactor.
For some good tips on how to set up a reactor visit Geo's Reef and look in the reactor section for his instructions, it applies to any reactor really. Good stuff.
Thank you both for the info. I am considering ARM Extra-Coarse in one reactor and Gen-X in the other, just not sure on it though. Very informative link also. Keep any other ideas and info coming. i appreciate it.