SPS Corals & Calcium Reactor?

[Tank2379]

Does anyone know how many SPS corals you can have before needing a Calcium reactor? I want to get a few but I don't want to get to many that are going to consume more calcium from my LPS corals... ?

Let me know....
Thanks

 

[neilanh]

It's gonna be dependant on a lot of things. Really the only way to know is to monitor your calcium levels and see what they're doing in between your water changes. If you are consistent on you water changes, unless you really have a lot of corals the PWCs should be sufficient to maintain the levels where you want them to be.

 

[melosu58]

If you can maintain your calcium through PWC`s and calcium supplement then you might not need one. But as neilanh said it really depends on how your testing goes.

 

[Ziggy953]

I really don't think there is a magic number of calcium demanding corals to have before needing a reactor. There are a lot of very successful SPS tanks out there that don't use a reactor at all. As already stated, make sure that your CA levels are where they should be and maintain that level and you will be fine. I still don't have a CA reactor on my system and I grow a lot of SPS corals.

Using a good salt mix and doing frequent PWCs to replenish trace elements (CA included) will take care of your CA level. When the time comes using a 2 part system to dose your tank will cover any increase in CA demand. I'm using B-ionic now but am doing research on mixing my own 2 part solutions.

 

[Tank2379]

Thanks guys just FYI I do weekly water changes and probably do them from here on out just so that my water parameters stay in check.

 

[Ziggy953]

That is a very good idea...I do every other week...