Bob replies...

Hi Louis,

Thanks for the follow up and would probably go with the AquC 1000, as its always possible to reduce skimming by using it mainly at night, but not possible to increase if the unit is undersized.

As for the calcium reactor, the few pennies extra to operate its pump will more than pay for itself in the long-term when it comes to having the proper alkalinity and calcium levels! And I wouldn't recommend a substitute, as there are none in my opinion if you want the best.

As for the Kold unit, if your tap water is already excellent and has no phosphate or silica, then the unit is okay. However, if you read their literature it clearly says it will only take phosphate as low as 0.1 ppm. That's still far too high for reef aquariums. It also say's you have to buy an extra unit for their aluminum media to take out silica. That means the regular unit doesn't do that. Also, aluminum is not too good at taking out silica! Neither will it take out any colloidal silica. Your best bet is the SpectraPure unit.

You won't need Kalkwasser if you use the Cal-Pro! And the following is the way to handle the make-up water as it worked great for me and if you want more about water quality read my Water Quality Guidelines for Marine Aquariums booklet.

"When purified water is used for water changes or evaporation makeup it contains no calcium. And its pH, especially that of reverse osmoses and deionized water is usually quite low, e.g., 6. 5. Now take into consideration the aragonite particle enters a condition of equilibrium at a pH of 8.2. That is to say it begins the reversal of the very process that originally formed the particle and starts to dissolve. This can be quite beneficial, as the aragonite particle is about 97% calcium. Most of us have seen calcium reactors where carbon dioxide is used to lower pH to a point where the water becomes acidic enough to dissolve its calcareous gravel. But, what if you didn't need carbon dioxide to accomplish a "modest" dissolution process. Why not use RO or DI water to dissolve some aragonite gravel in a storage container. Water with such a low pH is an excellent solvent for almost any type calcareous gravel. Yet aragonite, because it is so pure, is a much better choice than crushed coral or oyster shell and contains much less phosphate.

I should note this method is not for maintaining the calcium level in a reef aquarium. It is simply a process by which the water used for evaporation make-up or water changes will be "enhanced" prior to use. I use about 50 pounds of aragonite in a strong plastic container that in turn holds about 35 gallons of RO and DI water. It is occasionally stirred to prevent any anaerobic areas from forming. When water is needed for my aquarium it is drawn from this container and what is remaining is topped-off with more purified water that is stored in other large containers. I have found enhanced water to contain somewhere between 50 to 100 ppm of calcium and have a pH of 8.4. I want to thank Leo Wojcik for this idea."

Hope this helps,

Bob