Calcium Reactor Or Sulphur Filter

[Victorio]

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

[fsn77]

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.

[Mr.Firemouth]

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.