No I do not use a reactor and it may be normal for the thing to take hours - days to start working. (Remember, nothing good happens fast in a tank!) However, just as a general guide, if you are adding
Ca, then its time to weigh in your
mg levels. Make sure they are not depressed (Should be as close to
NSW as possible, I like to see mine around 1350
ppm) Once your straight there, then you may consider bumping your
alk up to around 9 or 10
dkh (Slowly of course) And try and maintain a
ph of 8.2 +/- 1 (8.1, should be good). It is my opinion (and hey, who knows..) that you should get these levels at least corrected if needed (def raise the
alk, your borderline depressed at 8
dkh) and then stable. After they are good and stable, re-apply the
ca-reactor. But hey, thats just me..mr cautious ; ) Also, I am not sur eif the instructions say to test every hour..like watching water boil if you asked me (And you didn't) but I would give at least a couple hours and retest. (Since you are actually following the directions which is typically any man's 1st problem)
Either way, GL!