Ca reactor Vs. Kalkwasser

I would love to hear more about the 2 part method!  Pics would be great.  It sounds like the ticket and the price would be wonderful.  Not to mention it would take up a lot less space than 2 more reactors and co2 tank.  Can anyone do a specific write-up on this method with some pics thrown in for those of us who have trouble reading? 

It is really simple actually that is the whole beauty about it. You can get all the powders on www.bulkreefsupply.com
You can buy every thing you need that will last almost forever for really cheap. I actually only buy the cal chloride and mag chloride from them because the soda ash is just baked baking soda and mag sulfate is just Epsom salt. Both of those you can buy at any grocery store. I bought my peralistic dosing pumps from BRS as well cause they are top notch quality and are cheaper than most other retailers. Once you have everything you just make them by mixing with RO water and put them in 1 gallon jugs and you are good to go. For information on the specific ingredient measurements Dr. Randy Holmes Farely wrote up really detailed instructions here.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php
The trick is to get your alk, cal, and mag levels where you want to keep them by dosing by hand and then set up our dosing pumps. I dose alk and cal every day split up in 4 increments. Then dose mag every time I go through a gallon of alk and cal. I have my dosing pumps set up on digital timers that can dose down to the minute and can be programmed up to 24 on/ offs. I have them set up to dose cal first the alk 10 mins after the cal shuts off to avoid precipitation. I then test every few weeks and add or decrease time if I need to. Here are a few pics of my setup.









Sorry for the crappy pics they were taken with m cell phone.

Mark Peterson wrote: I don't think of it as one vs the other. They each have specific purposes and their purposes overlap. I commend you for asking and finding the input from these very experienced and excellent hobbyists.

I am going to give the 2 part dosing a try.  Sounds like it will work great as long as you test about twice a day for the first week or so and then keep up the testing periodically over the life of the system...  I already made an offer on my pump!!  I am tired of just pouring products into my tank.  I think this will be much more stable and constant for the system.  Plus it seems to me that it will give the corals exactly what they need.  Just like the Kalk Reactor and Calcium Reactor.  I just don't see how having the two reactors can be that much better than the drips...  What am I missing???  There has to be a reason to go with the reactors.  Is it the stable PH?  Is that the only benefit of the reactors over the dosing?

Just my 2c...  I have a 57 gallon rimless and run through about 8+ gallons of ATO water a week which is made by putting 8 tsp or KalkPaste in 7 gallon of water with 8 tbsp of vinegar.  Its delivered by continuous drip through a peristaltic pump.  I have around 15 different SPS colonies 3-4 are softball size the rest are mostly baseball sized with a few frags.  To me, this is a heavy load of SPS.  Running this way for almost 6 months now and I have yet to do anything but dump in a tsp or two of Mg 2x a week and change water.  My Ca is always 390 or so, I have tested Mg once in 6 months which was 2 weeks ago it was 1300.  Corals grow like crazy, I still have head room on the Kalk if I need to increase it.