Kalkwasser...

[CarlaW]

Your evap. is 8g/day? Damn, that's pretty high.

Get rid of the bucket and get a Deltec stirrer. Sorry to point you in the expensive direction, but that is the ONLY reactor I would buy based on my experience. Or switch to a 33g Rubbermaid garbage can.

I think that right now, the bucket brigade/garbage can is my best option. Aguy can only afford so much ya know.
I will do some research on the Deltec tho, thanx.

 

[jnarowe]

there are some decent DIY trash can builds you can search around for. Pretty simple to do. The Deltec is wicked expensive, especially in "my size", but it is the best design.

 

[CarlaW]

there are some decent DIY trash can builds you can search around for. Pretty simple to do. The Deltec is wicked expensive, especially in "my size", but it is the best design.

I am not sure about your size, but I am trying to keep a 300 gallon fed. I'll do some looking around in the DIY forums and see what I can find. My stirrer is usually a wooden spoon.

 

[jnarowe]

Maybe you can find a small Deltec used too. At 300g you have to get this nailed down so that your alk is stable.

 

[CarlaW]

The alk. is pretty stable right now, but I think that is due to the fact that I only have a bunch of small frags. Remember, I am basically starting over. I expect to see a little bit of fluctuation in the next 4-5 months or so, as most of the frags were added in April and May. They haven't even begun the growing process yet!!!!

 

[jnarowe]

well, now is the time to square away your method.

 

[CarlaW]

Yeah, you are right there!!

 

[jnarowe]

Did my first round of tests today.

7:00pm:
Tank
Temp = 81.4
pH = 8.13 (probe)
Ca reactor pH = 6.42
dKh = 8.4 (Salifert)
PO4 = 0 (Merck)
NO2 = 0 (Seachem)
NO3 = 0 (Seachem)

Kalk Effluent
dKh = 92 (Salifert)
PO4 = 0 (Merck)
NO2 = 0 (Seachem)
NO3 = 0 (Seachem)
Silicate = 0 (Seachem)
Ammonia = 0 - .01? (API)

Reactor is crystal clear and low on powder. I was very happy to see my calcium reactor running normally today. That was very nice to see such an immediate change.

The ammonia result is probably incorrect but I included it because I did the test 3 times and it seems like there may be a trace amount. Because I never test for ammonia in my display, the test is old and of dubious condition.

 

[ziggy]

Which brand is the above outcome for?

 

[jnarowe]

Sorry, I should probably put that in each results post eh?

It's for the Two Little Fishes Kalkwasser.

 

[GoCougsKev]

Okay, so it has taken me a while to get myself involved in this thread too. I cleaned out my reactor this evening and added 1/4 of a cup of Rowa Kalk to my reactor. My current alkalanity is 8.0 dKH (Salifert), tank calcium level is 420 (Salifert), tank pH 8.03 (probe), CA reactor pH 6.39 (probe) and temp is 77.8. I have been having a lot of alkalinity troubles over the past few months. My alkalinity wants to dip below 7.0 and I have had to dose B-ionic Alkalinity buffer every week along with B-ionic Calcium buffer since my calcium reactor is hardly ever on due to low pH levels. My calcium reactor does not turn on unless my tank pH is above 8.10.

 

[jnarowe]

Thanks for the post Kevin.

So I have a tank alk of 8.6 dKh as tested by my 11-year-old son. I also added more kalk to the reactor (still Two Little Fishes) since there was nothing but about a 1 inch ring around the bottom.

 

[jnarowe]

My tank pH was above 8.10 for much more of the day, keeping my calcium reactor running much better than I have seen it in quite a while.

 

[jnarowe]

Kevin brought up an interesting point that adding more kalk is like re-setting the clock, but I am not convinced that is true. I think because of the size of my reactor, the saturation point is quite high, so 250g just isn't enough to get it "online" and run for a while. Although I have never measured the amount, I would guess that I generally put in about 3+ cups at a time.

 

[ziggy]

To be more scientific you and kevin need to figure out the ratios each are using. ie: reactor volume + kalk powder added = measured outcome

We havent seen kevins but we all know that Jonathan's kalk is large.

I think I forgot reactor in that last sentence:lol:

 

[matts125]

I keep like 6 cups of Kalk in my reactor..

Matt

 

[jnarowe]

BITE ME ZIGGY.

Matt: Honestly, I really don't know how much I keep in mine. I think six cups would be too much. There is a fine line between enough and mud. The mud condition means the magnetic stirrer won't move. When I bought this reactor I had to, against his advice, push to get the larger reactor. As it turns out, I can't keep a larger amount because it defeats the stirring.

If I had a Deltec, I am sure it would be a lot more.

 

[ziggy]

BITE ME ZIGGY.

 

[jnarowe]

I have beenthinking more about that and maybe I am off-base regarding the saturation point, since I do run a lot of top-off water each day.

 

[matts125]

BITE ME ZIGGY.

Matt: Honestly, I really don't know how much I keep in mine. I think six cups would be too much. There is a fine line between enough and mud. The mud condition means the magnetic stirrer won't move. When I bought this reactor I had to, against his advice, push to get the larger reactor. As it turns out, I can't keep a larger amount because it defeats the stirring.

If I had a Deltec, I am sure it would be a lot more.

my reactor is pretty big, it is 7'' diameter and 28'' tall it does a very good job of stirring and keeping the slur about 4 inches from the top (took lots of planning when building it to get the slur right) but I am very happy with it.
here is a picture, it is just ran with a simple maxijet 600...