Suggestings for auto kalk drip system...

[jrgilles]

Hey guys, so I found out my pH is a bit low. Suprisingly both API and Elos kits say I'm at 8.3, but I got a neptune Apex system with a pH probe that reads closer to 8.05 to 8.1. I thought the probe was broken, so I contacted neptune and they told me the test kits are very often off, and give aquarists artificially high readings, because that is what they want to see....

I didn't believe this and brought some water in to test on a pH probe I have at work, and suprisingly, it read the same as my Apex probe.

So, I would like to get the pH up in my system, from the reading I've done, it seems important to get good air circulation in the room (to decrease CO2 from the air in the protein skimmer), but adding kalk seems like a good solution to bring the pH back up.

So, what I was thinking was to set up a kalk drip on some sort of pump. I could then have the Apex controller turn the pump on when the pH reaches a certain level (say 8.1 at night.) and shut it off when it reaches 8.2.

Is this a bad idea? Or does it sound ok? I also see people adding kalk to their auto topoffs, which I could also do, but it sounds like I could have more control using some sort of drip pump.

Anyway, is there something I could buy that would be suitable for adding kalk dropwise to the aquarium (very slowly) that I could have controlled by my apex controller via the pH probe? Or is this something I should be doing manually?

I really have no experience with using kalk, so any info from you guys would be awesome

rob

 

[jrgilles]

Hmm, so been reading on the web for an hour (slow day)...

It appears actual dosing pumps are pretty expensive, so maybe not the best way to go.

I see a lot of people doing this with their ATO. Seems OK, but could cause some issues. I do have a second float switch in my sump for safety, so that might make it better.

Anyway, what I'm thinking now is maybe picking up a cheap lift pump, and have it turn on at night if the pH is BELOW 8.1. See what that does. Does this sound like a risky idea? I could also just suck it up and do it manually.

Also, how much saturated kalk solution am I going to be dealing with? My tank is currently around 8.05 after lights are on all day, and the total gallons of the system is about 120 gallons (minus the volume of about 180 lbs live rock) so maybe 100 gallons?

rob

 

[roblou]

Hi Rob: yeah, i am one of those folks who add kalk to my topoff water. I make up 5g at a time, and add about 10 tsp of kalk per 5g. Mix it all up & then let the dust settle, literally (there will be kalk that doesn't disolve which will fall to the bottom of the container).

I then let my ATO dispense this into my sump whenever the sump water level drops. I have been doing it this way for a couple of years.

I will say that the way I do it, the kalk topoff water gets dispersed at various times during the day, at any given time, whever the sump level drops. So, it may not help your pH at night, like you seem to want to accomplish.

The way you describe setting it up, the only concern I would have is if the pump turns on at night whenever the pH is below 8.1, is it going to be possible to add too much water to increase pH, to the point it messes with your salinity?

As far as how much to use, etc, probably best to point you to this article (maybe you've already read it too): http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

HTH & good luck,

Rob

 

[jrgilles]

Hmm, good point about adding too much water. I guess once it gets in balance, this shouldn't be an issue, but might be at first. Here is what I am thinking right now:

Buy a Drew's Dosing Pump from Bulk Reef Supply
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/drew-s-doser-peristaltic-dosing-pump.html

This puts out 1.6 mls/minute (VERY slow rate, so less chance of problems) or they have one that does 50 mls/minute, with might be more reasonable? Both cost about 90 bucks.

Use the following program on my neptune controller:
OSC 005/015 ON/OFF Then DOS ON
If pH > 08.20 AND DAY Then DOS OFF
If pH > 08.10 AND NIGHT Then DOS OFF

OSC means oscillate. So it will go 5 minutes on (so with the pump I'm looking at, that is 8 mls) then 15 minutes off (to allow water to adjust)
DOS is the dosing pump.

I might have to define day and night also, but this seems easy and there is info on this on the forums. I could also just link it to the on/off status of my aquarium lights.

Might even be able to do this with a $lift pump if I set the ON time to only 1 minute with a 15 minute delay between administrations. I'll look into that next.

 

[jrgilles]

Oh, I would also put the default state of the outlet to OFF so if communication goes down between the controller and outlets, it will automatically turn off.

 

[jrgilles]

Also, I'm more concerned with getting my pH up for day and night. I'm going between 7.9 and 8.05 now. I'd like that to be more like 8.1-.2 at night and 8.2-.3 during the day

 

[NaTe R]

i just plumed in a kalk reactor on my syetem and i put a T inline with my ATO and fed reactor directly from RO unit with two 1/4 ball valves one turned allmost off and the second almost off so that the water going through the reactor with an unrestricted outlet drips 1-2 drops per second.

i say un resricted becasuse kalk reactors arnt built to withstand pressure from ro so you have to make the flow going through them about 4 psi max is what GEO told me.

 

[jrgilles]

OK, so I got my system hooked up.

I used a $12 aqualifter pump (wm-20 or something with a 20 at the end) that I got from barrier reef a few weeks ago for a different purpose.

T-ed the intake of this into 2 1.5 gallon tupperware 'ice-T' type pitchers, that are rectangular and fit easy in front of my sump.

I put a needle valve that fits into standard air hose inline on the drip tube for this, and dialed it down so it dispenses a drop every 2 seconds or so. ($5 for the needle valve). Probably not the best on the pump, but its only a 12 dollar pump.

Then I hooked this onto my aquacontroller with a program that basically says:

dispense kalk for one minute every 2 hours between the hours of 9:30 pm and 8 am IF the pH is less than 8.15.

I'll probably change this to pH 8.2 and every hour once I'm comfortable with its operation.

Anyway, this got the whole drip system set up for a very low price tag, and seems to be working great.

If people are interested in the program, post a message here and I'll add it (I'm at work right now and will have to get it off my controller when I get home.)

rob