Yes its crazy - but it works for me and since I got it dialed in Alk has been the most stable its ever been in my reefing career. I hope you enjoyed the story!
AWESOME T-shirt. And another great video. I don't have a calcium reactor on my system....yet, however, I am considering on purchasing one in the near future. I'm basically waiting for that perfect hand me down opportunity due to the cost.
Hey guy. I live in the STL area and just set up my tank. It's been over a month and I added Dr. Tims for the fishless cycle. I just ordered 2 fish. What club do you meet with. I'd like to come out and meet you folks since You Tube and books are all that I use.
Lol, Crazy Bryan, this was a great video! I’m a total Apex skeptic and I have no plans to use a calcium reactor and I still watched right to the end!! Nice job! I completely understand why you made the choices you did - I used to use a dosing pump as an ATO on my 29G cube and I dosed Alk that way via my top-off water. Worked a treat! Sometimes you have to think across the street from the box......😁 👍🏻👍🏻
Nice vidio man. Im still adjusting for affluent flow swings myself. Went from manifold to aqua doser then to 2 aqua dosers in series and still getting needle valve clogs. I don't have an apex so will be getting one of those new silent peristaltic pumps. Hopeful I get similar results like your getting.
@tha bizness reef tank, I found a source for proper type silicone tube for the DOS heads and have been swapping in new tube as needed. I just keep an extra head ready to go. www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=22671&catid=864
I was considering a DOS for my calcium reactor but due to the volume I need to run and the duty cycle of the DOS I am not sure if I would attempt to try using one. I agree that needle valves and pinch valves have some drawbacks. I oversized my feed pump to my reactor and recently I moved the check valve to a new location that has created a more constant drip rate but I feel that eventually the drip rate will begin to shift once again. I have considered an aquaculture duty peristaltic pump but for now I am sticking to an oversized feed pump. I like the method using the DOS with the intervals and I agree a constant flow is not required. I think that even if the flow changes slightly it should not create much of a negative impact as long as the pH in the reactor does not lower to the point where the CO2 supply is turned off due to a low pH in the reactor. Great video.
Hi, I assume you are aware but just wondering if you had happened to take a look at the Pacfic Sun Calcfeeder pro controller. Am I correct in thinking this is how you are using the Neptune DOS
Yes I have seen it. Its looks like a nice device and if I was considering buying a new continuous duty pump for a CaRx it would be at the top of the list. I would use it the same as I use a DOS.
I would be really interested to know how it would get on with your setup as I have also been looking at adding it to a calcium reactor I am setting up.
I would just replace the dos with it. I can tell the total amount of liquid the DOS pumps per day. I think it's like 51ml/min. I would start there with the calc feeder on my tank and go from there
Yes and I actually have that setup with the 1/4 tubes ran but the 2nd head isn't pumping anything right now. I really want to know how long the head will last on its own. Also I am thinking of that second head as room for growth but I have a long way to go before I need it. My reactor pH can drop some ways before I need to use the head. I was also thinking of dosing some kinds of refrigerated foods with the second head since the DOS is close to my fridge that I keep my frozen food in - but that's a video for another day.
It ain't crazy it it's working. It would have been crazy if you bought a calcium reactor and bought a dos to run it as there are way cheaper ways to do it. Since you got a reactor for free and had the dos it makes perfect sense. Use what you got to save money.
Really don't understand why you had so many problems with the ways people been running calcium reactors for 20-plus years. I've been running one for 25 years with some pretty prehistoric equipment and not a problem. Probably should have stuck with the pinch valve and gave it a shot dialing it in. Just takes a little patience that's all. This video is this telling people that you have to spend more money than needed to run a calcium reactor when it's not true just a little patience.
Just because it works well one way doesn't mean it couldnt work better another. While you can definitely tune one in without a dos, the level of information it provides (or at very least the ease of accessing this information) seems to be unparalleled. I agree it's far from necessary, but you have to admit it's pretty cool
