Calcium Reactor Or Sulphur Filter

V

Victorio

AC Members
Oct 30, 2006
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Right guys here are the specs, i have a 90 gal marine tank up and running for a while now. Protein skimmer, around 70 -80 Lbs of live rock, rather large sump. Contents, anemone's a few corals and polyps.

Now i have the chance to either purchase a calcium reactor or a sulphur / Nirtrate filter.

I am adding calcium at the moment, so i was just wondering which one would benefit my tank most. I am aiming towards a reef and fish set up but more towards the reef.

Thanks in advance for all your help
 
I guess the real question is which do you need more?

A friend of mine had a large carpet anemone in his 120g and battled high nitrates all the time. It took him almost 2 months after removing the anemone to clear up his nitrate problems. If your tank is like his, then the nitrate filter might be the better choice.

In my tank, I have no problems keeping nitrates at < 5 ppm, but find myself needing to add calcium often to keep up with the demand / consumption of all our corals (only softies and LPS -- couldn't imagine what it would be like if I had SPS). If I was to buy one or the other, a calcium reactor would be the better choice for my tank.
 
Sulphur denitrators need to be fed and set up properly. They also need to be sized to the nitrate load(PPM) not the tank/system size. If you are unfamiliar with these units I would not recommend them. Water changes with high quality RO/DI water and the use of either a properly set up plenum or Deep Sand Bed(DSB) would be a better option. Use aragonite sand instead of crushed coral.

As far as the calcium reactor is concerned...again this is a piece of equipment that requires maintenance, CO2 calibration, pH meter and calibration, and media replacements. I have kept very nice reactors and have now opted to remove them from my systems and use the ESV Bionic 2-part system. I buy in 5g bulk concentrate from Premium Aquatics. This really forces me to test calcium/ALK levels and adjust properly. I have had no problems. Reactor discharge may require additional buffering to raise the pH back up or severe agitating to degass the CO2. Keep that in mind also.

I would slow down and give things some thought on how to proceed. Setting up or re-building things right the first time will help alot in the end. I rushed a system building my sump on a flow chart of 1500gph and didn't take into consideration the problems I would have with a 5,000gph pump. I learned the hard way and I have had to make the necessary modifications over and over. Research things a little more before making your purchases and make sure you are comfortable with all the long term maintenance of each device.
 
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