Dupla Ca-Reactor

[Catfish]

Dear Fellow Reefers,

I'm currently looking for a CA Reactor and came across this unit at aquatechnic which look very compact and space saving!

Was wondering any reefers currently using this model and would like to comment on its performance.

Many thanks.

[kais]

Just installed mine for 2 weeks. It function well, but pricy.

[alvy]

I've used this reactor before. My review:

Pros:

a. Compact and neat. Can fit into tight spaces

b. Easy to reload and maintain

c. Good quality construction

Cons:

a. Capacity too small to supply enough calcium for a tank above 3 ft with clams and SPS.

b. Tends to collect excess CO2 in the canister and disrupt the close loop pump.

c. Very difficult to adjust once the calcium load in tank becomes very high which means injecting a lot of CO2 gas into the canister. Due to it being too small, the limited amount of calcium medium cannot be dissolve fast enough to the match the injected CO2. Hence go to point "b."

Overall: Not too good for large tank. Also the price for such a small system is quite steep!Consider DIY one!

Alvin

[Catfish]

I've used this reactor before. My review:

Pros:

a. Compact and neat. Can fit into tight spaces

b. Easy to reload and maintain

c. Good quality construction

Cons:

a. Capacity too small to supply enough calcium for a tank above 3 ft with clams and SPS.

b. Tends to collect excess CO2 in the canister and disrupt the close loop pump.

c. Very difficult to adjust once the calcium load in tank becomes very high which means injecting a lot of CO2 gas into the canister. Due to it being too small, the limited amount of calcium medium cannot be dissolve fast enough to the match the injected CO2. Hence go to point "b."

Overall: Not too good for large tank. Also the price for such a small system is quite steep!Consider DIY one!

Alvin

Hi Alvy,

I would appreciate if u could explain further on your highlights: Cons( what do u mean when u mention theres disruptionin the close loop pump? Izzit some form of clogging or blockage?

Btw, r u still using yours? If not what r u using currently? a DIY kit? Dont know whether to consider DIYing cos if not working properly no warranty then waste effort n time!

From your vast experience,what would u recommend for a 300gal tank considering minimal SPS n clams.

Thank you.

[waverider]

I've used this reactor before. My review:

Pros:

a. Compact and neat. Can fit into tight spaces

b. Easy to reload and maintain

c. Good quality construction

Cons:

a. Capacity too small to supply enough calcium for a tank above 3 ft with clams and SPS.

b. Tends to collect excess CO2 in the canister and disrupt the close loop pump.

c. Very difficult to adjust once the calcium load in tank becomes very high which means injecting a lot of CO2 gas into the canister. Due to it being too small, the limited amount of calcium medium cannot be dissolve fast enough to the match the injected CO2. Hence go to point "b."

Overall: Not too good for large tank. Also the price for such a small system is quite steep!Consider DIY one!

Alvin

c. the amount of CO2 release is best controlled with the help of a pH controller. Typical pH is 8.2+ and should pH starts to drop due to excessive CO2 supply, the controller will cut off its supply and the problem of collecting excess CO2 may be avoidable.

[alvy]

wave: I am using a ph controller!!

like i say the capacity of the dupla reactor is limited..with the ph controller, things become even more complicated as the controller shuts down the CO2 when ph drops below 8.0 (tank ph) but the calcium level in my tank is still too low!!Even though the water recirculating in the reactor is of low ph, capable of dissolving a fair bit of calcium carbonate, there is not enough media to react with!! you can run up to 1 bubble per second or more, knocking down the ph, but you will only get a limited (relatively less) increase in the dkh and calcium ions in the effluent. Compare with my other diy reactor which runs with 30 bubbles per min, i get much more calcium dissolved in the effluent than the dupla reactor!!

the conclusion is quite clear here, size does matter!!hehe:p they dun build 2 ft bulky reactors for no reason..rite, phang and robe??Dun get me wrong! i'm not saying the dupla is no good!! The dupla is really fine for 3ft tanks and below, with minimal sps and clams, but it is definitely inadequate for anything larger.. also it's preferable to have a ph controller to work with it in this case as this small reactor can really adversely affect the ph in the main tank!

CAT:

I've been running a 3ft tank then with this reactor, but i have to dose 3 part calcium supplement in order to maintain my dkh and calcium level!! Now I'm preparing for my new tank and i've already diy a 2ft calcium reactor and a kalkwasser reactor to handle the future load!

I've since ran my own 2ft diy

[Catfish]

Hi Alvy,

Thanks so much for your comments. Well how big is your tank now? izzit anywhere around 300gal. DIY reactor, hmmmm...How much does yours come up to? Can PM me if it is private.

Many thanks again.

[Catfish]

Hi Alvy,

What do you think about the Schuran Jetstream 1 CA Reactor? Izzit better? I guess it is in terms of volume of water it can support. Anyone using it?

[spiff]

y dun u order the aquamedic wan. so cheap over there

[Catfish]

Hi Spiff,

From your experience, izzit one of the better choices? for a 300gal tank?

[spiff]

eeeeeek wrong question. nvr use a reactor be4

but the schuran is pretty small compared to the aquamedic.

schuran can only supply a tank of 500l whereas the aquamedic wan is for 1000l

i think it comes wif the media too. not to sure abt the schuran though

[Catfish]

Thanks for the info.

Well there's another model, schuran jetstream 1 which can support 3000L tanks. Again I guess there are many other brands available in the market which one has to consider; the price, specification, after sales support, etc.

Will continue sourcing for a while before deciding.

Many thanks all again to all gentlemen for the advices. Cheers!

[waverider]

y dun u order the aquamedic wan. so cheap over there

do they have the stock now? kind of slow overthere in shipping in stocks.

[TTBoy]

sorry ah...just want to see got any feedback on aquamedic's calc reactor. anyone using it at the moment?

[waverider]

Thanks for the info.

Well there's another model, schuran jetstream 1 which can support 3000L tanks. Again I guess there are many other brands available in the market which one has to consider; the price, specification, after sales support, etc.

Will continue sourcing for a while before deciding.

Many thanks all again to all gentlemen for the advices. Cheers!

your tank sure big hor..

[robe]

HI cat,

If you don't want a DIY which cost like $150. Then get a Korallin brand reactor, you can order it from an HK on-line shop. BUt then you have minimal SPS then maybe the Dupla can serve your tank well enough. In the future though if u decide to get SPS then u need to buy a bigger reactor for you 300 gallon tank.

I have a 48 x 20 x 20 inch tank ( around 90 gal) but I use a double chamber (4 inch diameter x 2 feet high each) DIY reactor and dripping ~2-4 drops per second to maintain 11 DKH.

[Catfish]

Well, 300+gal lah, is that big? so-so lah, I suppose this is what most ppl end up with after upgrading their tank from a 3ft or 4ft.

I believe there are much bigger tanks to be found in sgreef, and more to come I suppose with more reefers joining in. That would be great izzin it!

With regards to aquamedic products, rumours has it that there may be a change of hands but to be confirm lah. So I guess they are keeping orders slow cos sales are slow too,again rumours lah.

[Catfish]

Hi robe,

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

I'm also confused with the double chamber reactors. I've seen those 2 chamber ones meant for bigger gal tank, but an example of the schuran jetstream is as compact and small as Dupla but it can support 3000L (abt 700+gal), very suprising. Makes me really confused!

[Flower Horn]

Don't always belive what is stated on the package. Like skimmers, the volume that is there is "most" of the time over stated.