Calcium reactor

[seered247]

I was down at the LFS the other day and was talking about doing a plant tank. The owner of the LFS was asking me if i knew how to make a calcium reactor for cheap. I was like keep talking! So anyway its super easy.

2 liter soda bottle
air stone
air line
vinegar and baking soda
anyway you put the air stone in the tank and the line into the 2 liter and have it not into the mixture but just above and the owner said it last about a month. It's that simple

[skiitswitch]

this may be a dumb question, but what does a calcium reactor do?

[seered247]

puts calcium into your water which along with the correct lighting will make your plants grow like there is no tomorrow. Also this is not a dumb question i didnt know what the heck the LFS owner was talking about until he explained it. anybody know if this would work for real?

[83Street]

So, vinegar + baking soda = a source of calcium?

[Chad]

vinegar + baking soda = Co2 + salt + water

More specifically
HC2H3O2 + NaHCO3 = Co2 + NaC2H3O2(aq) + H2O(l)

Sorry no calcium in that equation, but the Co2 will help the plants grow :)

[seered247]

k well i couldnt remember the exact formula srry! but hey we got it down anyways!

[Geral]

Hello everyone, it's a nice idea using vinegar and baking soda as a source of CO2. Well, to enhance this tip, what about using a Skilter power filter (without the protein skimmer stuff of course) to extract the CO2 gas from the bottle (just connecting the air line from the skilter vaccum to the inside of the bottle and regulating the air output? I have some doubts about the way the gas will mix with the water and if the activated carbon could eliminate the CO2 at the time it passes through the cartridge?
What could I do?

[tanghappy]

I know a few people who use CO2 systems similar to the one discribed above. However, since I'm keeping Africans (and no plants), it doesn't seem to apply for me.

However, I was looking around Big Als yesterday, and saw that they do carry a "Calcium Reactor". This thing is supposed to keep the dKH up in a tank.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=21953;category_id=1697

All in all, that's an expensive unit. But, that shows that calcium reactors do exist. Anyone ever use a calcium reactor?

[tanghappy]

Okay, a little more searching seems to show that calcium reactors are a reef tank item. Looks like they're used to get enough calcium into the water for the corals to grow happily.

[Geral]

yes, it's is. I keep a 125 gal reef tank too and have a calcium reactor. It is for keep corals alive and in good shape. I think there is a mistake in the title of this issue made by the person who'd post it, in reallity it's about a CO2 REACTOR what we are talking.