calcium reactor

[werp]

What would be a good calcium reactor and pump for a 65g tank? (36X18X24). It will only be used until I get my larger tank set up later this year so I dont want to spent a fortune.

Thanks

[::pete::]

It would be wise to get one to meet the needs of the new system that could be used later.

[matt]

I agree with Pete, and I'll add that there is no such thing as "too large" a reactor. You simply dial back the flow and CO2, which increases the efficiency of the reactor by increasing media contact time. The ULTIMATE reactor would be huge; you could probably run a very high ph and still get effluent with great alkalinity. Get one that holds at least 8 lbs of media; my small ones hold 12. Bigger is better, at least in theory.

About the pump, the best pumps for calcium reactors are small pressure pumps, like the little giant mdq1.5 or the pan world PX20 and PX30. This is contrary to what most manufacturers sell; big surprise there. You're pushing water through dense reactor media, which really slows down pumps like mag and eheim. I know this affects reactor performance; I'm not sure exactly how much. But, I'd bet anything that a large capacity reactor, say 16 lbs of media, would have a very noticable performance improvement with a good pressure pump for circulation.

I've been meaning to do this exact test with my reactor, which is now run by an eheim 1250. (300gph) When I put a little giant or pan world (same "rated" flow as the eheim, but pressure rated) on a reactor the same size, I notice very different action within the reactor; the media really gets pushed around. The thing that's kept me from doing it is that my rector has such high efficiency now and delivers more than I need for my 110, so there's no urgent reason to do anything other than satisfy my curiousity.