Anyone with Kalkwasser Reactor

[RainycityB]

Im thinking about hooking one of these up. Im getting tired of manually dosing kalkwasser four times a day. My tank is 60 gal. w/ 10gals in sump and im trying to avoid the calcium reactor costs. I currently dose the kalk per Anthony Calfo in his book (adding slury, just mixed, right to the tank/sump) I like the results but my PH drops to 7.8 in the morning and is about 8.2 at peak. Alk is around 4.0 meq/l. Anybody use these?

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

I don't currently use one, but here is a bump for you....let's see if we can get some input. Do you have a particular set-up you are looking at, or is this a DIY project?

 

[bradreef]

a lot of people use these. not as good at maintaining calcium from what I know but people use them in conjunction with there CA reactor.

 

[DonW]

It all depend on your system and why you are using Kalwasser.
If your using it as a patch to keep the ph up. A reactor is a good choice but you can do the same thing with a bucket. You will still have to connect it to some sort of top off system.
If CA Alk are the issue I think a CA reactor would be a better option. You quickly max out kalkwasser, meaning your demands are going to exceed the capabilities of the kalk as your tank grows.
I think the optimum would be a CA reactor and top off with Kalkwasser from a seperate tank.

Hope this helps
Don

 

[jjaramillo]

Anybody have a recommendation on how to top off with kalkwasser from a separate tank? What is a good way to automate this top-off ? Can a ro/di unit be connected into the system somehow?
thx

 

[DonW]

Anybody have a recommendation on how to top off with kalkwasser from a separate tank? What is a good way to automate this top-off ? Can a ro/di unit be connected into the system somehow?
thx

Sure you can. Just need more info on equiptment and container locations.

Don

 

[jjaramillo]

Sorry RainCity, didn't mean to horn into your string. Have a 100 gallon, sps and lps corals. EuroReef, manual 5 gallon kalk top-off (want to get rid of), new MRC calc reactor. Thats' it. Open to ideas.

 

[DonW]

Sorry RainCity, didn't mean to horn into your string. Have a 100 gallon, sps and lps corals. EuroReef, manual 5 gallon kalk top-off (want to get rid of), new MRC calc reactor. Thats' it. Open to ideas.

Assuming your kalk reactor is going under the tank and you can run your rodi output to the tank.
I would just connect the rodi directly to the reactor. Put a selonoid on the rodi side and controll it with a float switch in the sump. I would dual selonoid and switchs high/low. This should prevent floods and overdosed in event of a failure.

Don

 

[RainycityB]

Thanks for the responses guys. I just found a kalk-reactor set up that looks promising. It comes with a float switch and feed pump so its plug and play. Its at Sharkey'sReef.com for $230 complete. The main reason these appeal to me is I dont have an auto top off system now so I manually add around two gallons per day that I mix kalkwasser with. I also use Reef Builder for Alk. and Reef Advantage Calcium for a calcium bump. This seems to work pretty good (calcium is 425ppm and Alk is 4 meq/L). I think the kalk reactor would kill two birds with one stone. Dennis at Sharkey's also said I can put a timer on the feed pump so that its on at night and then just drips during the day for better Ph control.

 

[RainycityB]

Just caught your thread Don, thanks. I think Id rather use a feed pump from my make up water so I can keep my RODI water going for water change water and so forth.

 

[DonW]

Just caught your thread Don, thanks. I think Id rather use a feed pump from my make up water so I can keep my RODI water going for water change water and so forth.

Also easy. Split your rodi line, put a float valve in your rodi tank and connect as I said above.
Or use a aqualifter and float switch to feed the reactor from the second tank.

Just depends on how easy you want to make it.

Don

 

[jjaramillo]

Don: is there any issue with possible problems using the aqualifter/float switch?. I travel and I'm trying to make this as automated and fool-proof (no flooding/mess) as possible.
thx

 

[DonW]

Don: is there any issue with possible problems using the aqualifter/float switch?. I travel and I'm trying to make this as automated and fool-proof (no flooding/mess) as possible.
thx

My single switch set-up has run for the past year without a single clitch.

Don

 

[dgasmd]

OK, you guys bing 2 different ssues here. Let me tackle the kalk reactor first.

It is simply a vessel that mixes kalk with incoming water to dose mixed water into the display. It requires water feeding to the reactor, which most people use as the replenishment or evaporation water. As someone already pointed out, they will max out in terms of Ca and ALK supplementation. The top end is dependant on how much evaporation you ahve daily as this is how much kalk you can dose. Kalk reactors are asy to use and only will save you time and maintenance efforts. They supply kalk, which is relatively very cheap. Using kalk to raise the pH that comes down with your Ca reactor is a band-aid. You should fix the reason the pH is low in the first place.

Top off surce/method is a long discussion in itself. I don't trust float switches at all. Have read and seen one too many stories about them getting stucked and diluting a tank to crap, calcification build up, snails sitting on them, etc. It is just a matter of time. Same things with timers as they will get stuck on the day you go on vacation out of the country for 10 days :shock: I ersonally use a dosing pump like the litermeter. I did a very extensive search and was not able to find a single person with a litermeter that went loco on them and diluted their tank. Actually, I do know of a person that claims this, but I am almost sure he was lying to use that as an excuse to sell his tank and such. Anyway........ Are litermeter pumps expensive? You bet they are. They are crazy expensive, but my livestock and peace of mind is a lot more expensive.

 

[RedEyeReef]

OK, you guys bing 2 different ssues here. Let me tackle the kalk reactor first.

It is simply a vessel that mixes kalk with incoming water to dose mixed water into the display. It requires water feeding to the reactor, which most people use as the replenishment or evaporation water. As someone already pointed out, they will max out in terms of Ca and ALK supplementation. The top end is dependant on how much evaporation you ahve daily as this is how much kalk you can dose. Kalk reactors are asy to use and only will save you time and maintenance efforts. They supply kalk, which is relatively very cheap. Using kalk to raise the pH that comes down with your Ca reactor is a band-aid. You should fix the reason the pH is low in the first place.

Not to derail this thread but I suffer from low PH (I sound like a commercial). I have both CR and KR. dgasmd, any tips for me to fix this?

 

[NaH2O]

See if this helps - Low pH: Causes and Cures