Brand of salt

[L|o]

Kel...

Tks for ya concern..as usual...I appreciate it....

Tell me all about marketing and its gimmicks man....I m after all working in the marketing field Anywayz...it is precisely based on the fact that I dun wanna fall into such....hence I m relying more on tests results....which were conducted by an independent body....

Moving on....if anyone koes where I can find Bio-Sea brand of salt...pls let me koe....

All help rendered is always muchly appreciated by me...

5ible

Ps* As 4 which salt is better...I dun have enuff experience to tell yet...as I sd....TM seems to make my corals flourish....as compared to CL. Now I wanna look for BS to experiment n c how.... [] Me shall be this forum's guinea pig.

[Spiff]

hahaha go ahead then......i think u shld get a ca resctor...very good in the long run.
r u planning to keep hard corals?? if not then dun bother gettinga reactor.i olso saving to buy....considering if i shld get an aquamedic wan from germany...............

DA SPS GUY hehehe

[L|o]

Hi there spiff...

Need ya advice....

How much will a CA reactor cost me? U may like to give me a price range for it?

This equipment is something new to me.

Yup...I am keeping hard corals....and am planning to keep lots of them actually.

All help is muchly appreciated.

Tks...

[kelstorm]

Lionel.. u asking the right person for this.. as i dun keep hard corals.. so, i dun really know much of this product.. in fact, i try not to keep corals as all if possible..[]

[Spiff]

hi lionel
how big is ur tank again??? aquamart selling a small model by aquamedic. cost abt $240.cedric has 2 of these.will ask him post his pics.the bigger model is abt $300-400. aquamart price very ex..so i m considering to import from germany without any calcium media.or u can get the marco wan from pac marine. however it does not come wif media so u hv to fork out more...but im scared tt aquamart wont sell to non-medic users cos their supply is short.n importing the media is very ex...
another choice is diy............

[L|o]

Hi Spiff...

My tank is 5 by 2.5 by 2 feet...

I agree with you...aquamart price is way over the top.

I heard that some models come with a carbon dioxide canister? Pardon me if I sound 'sua-koo' about this as I am very new to such a product.

How much will the one from Germ cost?

Does it come with the carbon dioxide thingy?

And the one that Pac Marine sell...issit good?

Ghee....I am puzzled already...how silly...



Ps* Tks Kel....I kinda wished I was as environmentally frenly as u....keeping these corals...can be quite damaging to the reefs....sigh.

[kelstorm]

Ps* Tks Kel....I kinda wished I was as environmentally frenly as u....keeping these corals...can be quite damaging to the reefs....sigh.
----------------
well.. lionel, u can be one as well.. just dun buy hard corals.. simple as that.. and i know u can do it.

[Cedric]

Hi all,

I'l using the Aquamedic Calcium reactor 400 meant for 100 gal. I bought 2 of these ($225 each) and I'm running them in series. It comes with all things necessary such as tubing and media. However, you will have to purchase everything concerning CO2 yourself. Got myself a dulpa CO2 tank, CO2 tubing and bubble counter, check valve and pH controller. Charge my CO2 tank at Soxal for $7.65 and lasted me 9 months and counting.

Helped my friend source a new aquamedic calcium reactor 1000 meant for 400 gal for $300. Its retailing for $495 at Aquamart. There is a distinch difference between these two units other then size. The 400 runs pressurised while the 1000 is open to atmosphere which IMO translate to CO2 lost. I find this surprising or it may be due to the fact that the 1000 is a older design.

Just my 2-cents. Hopes this helps!

[L|o]

Hi Cedric..

Tks heaps for the info...

Pls advise me what should I buy?

My tank is 5 feet....I have hard corals....and for convenience sake I think I will prefer one that cums with a CO2 canister (correct me if I am wrong....with the CO2 canister in place it will be more conve?)....

How much will a reasonably good calcium reactor cost me?

Sorrie if I m repeating myself....

Tks.

L/o

[Spiff]

lionel no such thing leh...all ca reactors need an external source of co2

[Cedric]

Hi,

sad to say, you will have to obtain the CO2 accessories yourself. I do not ever recall seeing one "that cums with a CO2 canister". I do not believe that you need my advice on what to get. What you need is all the information you can get before making a sound decision by yourself.

Let me summarize for you:

Aquamedic 400, Cost $225 with media, for 100gal
Aquamedic 1000, cost $495 with media, for 400gal
Macro brand, Cost $120 without media, for 400gal

Media from Aquamedic $10kg for $75

What you need for a complete CO2 set:
1. CO2 Tank
2. Regulator
3. CO2 tubing
4. Bubble counter

Optional:
1. pH Controller
2. Selonoid

I have helped my friend set up both the Marco brand and Aquamedic reactors. I must say there is quite a difference in build quality. The Aquamedic 1000 comes with needle impeller! Both Aquamedic models's pumps are build in and the body is tough acrylic (I think). The Marco body is more fragile, comes with a china pump and requires odd size piping. But, it offers substainial cost savings and offer your tank inhabitants the same benefits.

I guess you have to make your own call.

Hope this helps.

[Spiff]

cedric how? u found any reactor for me liao?

[L|o]

Mine Cedric!

Tks a million for the summary above!

I am very clear about the whole thing now...

One quick question....am I right to say that once I have the equipment in place....I will not need additives like Kalkwasser / Calcium etc?

Once again...tks heaps for ya help!

Spiff...tks too

L/o

[Spiff]

ya no need to dose kalk n add calcium additives once u got ur reactor. no need to disturb kh too..

[Cedric]

Er...

not entirely, a CA reactor will maintain your CA and dKH levels and certain trace elements such as strontium but only after you manually dose it up to the desired level. Also, many ppl do continue to dose/drip with kalkwasser at night to counter the low pH caused by a CA reactor. Remember that the effluent from the CA reactor is around 6.5 and the pH of the tank equiped with a CA reactor usually hovers around +/-8.1(not absolute, may defer from tank to tank).

I hope this helps!

[L|o]

Tks Spiff & Cedric...

I am a little confused with this point....wats the diff btw Reef Kalkwasser & Reef Advantage Calcium (both from Seachem)....?

I bought both quite some time ago (b4 deciding to get a Calcium Reactor)....

Pls advise.

And ps* Sorrie for asking so many questions...I juz cun seem to get it based on the info found on the web.

[Spiff]

kalkwasser is lime water in german.
advantage calcium is equivalent to dry Reef Complete.(dunno if its calcium chloride or carbonate).Unlike limewater (kalkwasser), Reef Advantage Calcium™ does not have a caustic pH and will not deplete magnesium. actually both will maintain calcium.i find using kalkwasser is very inconvinient.

[Cedric]

Hi,

Reef advantage is just what Spiff has explained, calcium chloride. Kalkwasser is calcium hydroxide and it has a pH of 12 at saturation which is why you must not simply "pour" it in, but drip it in. Main difference IMO is cost. I remember reading from some overseas forum that you will suffer from ionic inbalance more quickly from using calcium chloride than if you use calcium hydroxide. I used both until I got my CA reactor. Now, I just dose kalkwasser as my top off.

Hope this helps!

[L|o]

Okie dokie...

The usual rule applies...tks a million guys!!!

Cheers...