New Kalk Reactor
- Thread starter SPC
- Start date
Mitch
Thanks. I stopped using B-ionic when I got the reactor going and so far my PH has never been as stable.
Ernie
I started off with about a cup of kalk just to see how everything was going to work out, I still have some active kalk left after a week. From all the research I did on the boards however I found where some are using a half pound of kalk at a time. They also report that they can go a couple of months before they need to add more.
I am using a LiterMeter to draw RO/DI from my 40 gallon container. Before this I was using a float swich for top off and worried quite a bit about that thing getting stuck in the on position. The LiterMeter works very well although its quite expensive and louder than I thought it would be. The noise dosen't effect me sinse all of this is located in another room. The good thing about these dosing meters is that you can locate them a long way (60' I think) from where you are doing the actual dosing.
Steve
Thanks. I stopped using B-ionic when I got the reactor going and so far my PH has never been as stable.
Ernie
I started off with about a cup of kalk just to see how everything was going to work out, I still have some active kalk left after a week. From all the research I did on the boards however I found where some are using a half pound of kalk at a time. They also report that they can go a couple of months before they need to add more.
I am using a LiterMeter to draw RO/DI from my 40 gallon container. Before this I was using a float swich for top off and worried quite a bit about that thing getting stuck in the on position. The LiterMeter works very well although its quite expensive and louder than I thought it would be. The noise dosen't effect me sinse all of this is located in another room. The good thing about these dosing meters is that you can locate them a long way (60' I think) from where you are doing the actual dosing.
Steve
I have been speaking with Andy about building me one.
I have a few quesions for you since you have had it running for a while.
How much water does your system hold in total?
How long does it take for it to settle out once it stirs?
How long after it stirs does it deliver a good concentration of kalk? Does it taper off over time until it stirs again. In other words, how do you dial it in in your experience? Is it easy.
I have a system with 800 gallons of total water volume and I will need to run anywhere from 9 to 14 gallons a day through this thing with my litermeter. Since it holds around 2 to 3 gallons total then when you have run 3 gallons through it do you then mix or do you need to do it before?
I will also keep running a small calcium reactor with it and possibly add a second chamber to that.
Let me know your thoughts.
I have a few quesions for you since you have had it running for a while.
How much water does your system hold in total?
How long does it take for it to settle out once it stirs?
How long after it stirs does it deliver a good concentration of kalk? Does it taper off over time until it stirs again. In other words, how do you dial it in in your experience? Is it easy.
I have a system with 800 gallons of total water volume and I will need to run anywhere from 9 to 14 gallons a day through this thing with my litermeter. Since it holds around 2 to 3 gallons total then when you have run 3 gallons through it do you then mix or do you need to do it before?
I will also keep running a small calcium reactor with it and possibly add a second chamber to that.
Let me know your thoughts.
Ernie, yes that would work fine, thats all the LiterMeter really is. I am sure it would be a nice Birthday present or how about Anniversary LOL.
SBok, it does use a magnetic stirrer which makes for easy control over mixing amounts. One of the things I discovered early on in my research was that mixing had a direct relation to how strong the limewater ends up being. I wanted to have a lot of control over this aspect and the magnetic stirrer gives me this control. I have the stirrer plugged into a timer so that I can control both the mixing speed (with the magnetic stirrer) as well as mixing times.
Steve
SBok, it does use a magnetic stirrer which makes for easy control over mixing amounts. One of the things I discovered early on in my research was that mixing had a direct relation to how strong the limewater ends up being. I wanted to have a lot of control over this aspect and the magnetic stirrer gives me this control. I have the stirrer plugged into a timer so that I can control both the mixing speed (with the magnetic stirrer) as well as mixing times.
Steve
Posted by Jeff:
How much water does your system hold in total?
- The kalk reactor I have holds about 2.5 gallons. It is 6" OD and 18" high.
How long does it take for it to settle out once it stirs?
-This depends on how vigorously you mix the kalk. With the adjustment for the magnetic mixer and the timer I use I am able to mix where the cloudy Kalk mix only comes about half way up the reactor. It then takes about 45 minutes to settle out. Now let me say, I am still experimenting, but I can see where this design will allow me the flexibility that I was after.
How long after it stirs does it deliver a good concentration of kalk?
- I would say right away Jeff, but I haven't measured the concentrations comming out of it. My PH monitor is in the sump about 4' down stream from the reactor, so I have mainly been watching it. So far I haven't seen any effect on the reading.
Does it taper off over time until it stirs again. In other words, how do you dial it in in your experience? Is it easy.
- Yes, but how much I can't say for sure. Again I am going by the consistency of PH meter to sort of judge if all is OK. Dialing it in is comparable to dripping kalk, check PH, alk and calcium levels until you are comfortable with the sytem.
I have a system with 800 gallons of total water volume and I will need to run anywhere from 9 to 14 gallons a day through this thing with my litermeter. Since it holds around 2 to 3 gallons total then when you have run 3 gallons through it do you then mix or do you need to do it before?
I will also keep running a small calcium reactor with it and possibly add a second chamber to that.
- My reactor holds my evaporation rate for a day. If I was going to evaporate 14 gallons then I would build a reactor to meet that need. The magnetic stirrer I am using is probaly turned down 2/3 and I don't think there would be any problem mixing 14 gallons with this stirrer.
I am currently mixing 4 times/day for 3 minutes at a time. Also each time the doser kicks on it mixes a little of the kalk. Again, I am still experimenting with this so this may not be what I will be doing next week.
Steve
How much water does your system hold in total?
- The kalk reactor I have holds about 2.5 gallons. It is 6" OD and 18" high.
How long does it take for it to settle out once it stirs?
-This depends on how vigorously you mix the kalk. With the adjustment for the magnetic mixer and the timer I use I am able to mix where the cloudy Kalk mix only comes about half way up the reactor. It then takes about 45 minutes to settle out. Now let me say, I am still experimenting, but I can see where this design will allow me the flexibility that I was after.
How long after it stirs does it deliver a good concentration of kalk?
- I would say right away Jeff, but I haven't measured the concentrations comming out of it. My PH monitor is in the sump about 4' down stream from the reactor, so I have mainly been watching it. So far I haven't seen any effect on the reading.
Does it taper off over time until it stirs again. In other words, how do you dial it in in your experience? Is it easy.
- Yes, but how much I can't say for sure. Again I am going by the consistency of PH meter to sort of judge if all is OK. Dialing it in is comparable to dripping kalk, check PH, alk and calcium levels until you are comfortable with the sytem.
I have a system with 800 gallons of total water volume and I will need to run anywhere from 9 to 14 gallons a day through this thing with my litermeter. Since it holds around 2 to 3 gallons total then when you have run 3 gallons through it do you then mix or do you need to do it before?
I will also keep running a small calcium reactor with it and possibly add a second chamber to that.
- My reactor holds my evaporation rate for a day. If I was going to evaporate 14 gallons then I would build a reactor to meet that need. The magnetic stirrer I am using is probaly turned down 2/3 and I don't think there would be any problem mixing 14 gallons with this stirrer.
I am currently mixing 4 times/day for 3 minutes at a time. Also each time the doser kicks on it mixes a little of the kalk. Again, I am still experimenting with this so this may not be what I will be doing next week.
Steve
Steve,
Thanks for all the info. I was also wondering if the timer was included, or if you bought it seperately. If you bought it seperately, where did you get it and how much was it? Is it the same as the digital timers you can get at Home Depot?
Ernie
Thanks for all the info. I was also wondering if the timer was included, or if you bought it seperately. If you bought it seperately, where did you get it and how much was it? Is it the same as the digital timers you can get at Home Depot?
Ernie
Ernie, I got mine from Radio Shack and it was about $30 (not cheap
). It was the only one I found in my area that could be set at short time intervals and I think it has 14 different programs.
Reefmut, please see my above posts for the answers to your questions.
Steve
Reefmut, please see my above posts for the answers to your questions.
Steve
Thanks for the info SPS.
I have been talking with Andy and we are coming up with a design to run this large system but a 14 gallon reactor is not very easy because of size and weight etc... He said a 6 inch diameter tube would need to be 8 feet tall....I don't think so..
Since we will stir multiple times a day a reactor half the evap. rate should suffice. The main thing is to keep all the water leaving the unit saturated as possible.
My biggest concern,like Andy's, is making it sturdy. this thing will probably be 8 inches in diameter and around 3 feet tall. Not sure of the volume. I will let andy determine this and tell me what he wants to build. I sure like the Idea of this thing. I hate mixing things by hand.
Thanks for the post and the info. any body else have experience with this type of reactor? All info is welcome. I have read many things about them. Any thing bad or troublesome that comes to mind.
Andy, You have mail
Jeff
I have been talking with Andy and we are coming up with a design to run this large system but a 14 gallon reactor is not very easy because of size and weight etc... He said a 6 inch diameter tube would need to be 8 feet tall....I don't think so..
Since we will stir multiple times a day a reactor half the evap. rate should suffice. The main thing is to keep all the water leaving the unit saturated as possible.
My biggest concern,like Andy's, is making it sturdy. this thing will probably be 8 inches in diameter and around 3 feet tall. Not sure of the volume. I will let andy determine this and tell me what he wants to build. I sure like the Idea of this thing. I hate mixing things by hand.
Thanks for the post and the info. any body else have experience with this type of reactor? All info is welcome. I have read many things about them. Any thing bad or troublesome that comes to mind.
Andy, You have mail
Jeff
I have been running a DIY version on my 55 reef for about a year now and it is truly a blessing. I built mine based one plans by Bill Espisito and Fabrice Poiraud-Lambert.
Mine isn't a pretty as SPC's, but performs the same function. I went with the power head design over the magnetic stirer for cost and ease of maintenence. I add kalk every 3 weeks and my pH, Alk, and Ca have been constant for the whole time I have used it.
The only problem (and it really isn't one) is that every so often the resivoir pump will kick on at the same time it is stiring and I will get a slightly high dose of kalk which intially casues some clouding, but that quickly goes away. Other than that, I clean or replace the effulent tube every six months since it tends to build up a little kalk residue in it. Other than that, which is very small, I have nothig but praise for these reactors. They beat mixing kalk that is for sure.
Mine isn't a pretty as SPC's, but performs the same function. I went with the power head design over the magnetic stirer for cost and ease of maintenence. I add kalk every 3 weeks and my pH, Alk, and Ca have been constant for the whole time I have used it.
The only problem (and it really isn't one) is that every so often the resivoir pump will kick on at the same time it is stiring and I will get a slightly high dose of kalk which intially casues some clouding, but that quickly goes away. Other than that, I clean or replace the effulent tube every six months since it tends to build up a little kalk residue in it. Other than that, which is very small, I have nothig but praise for these reactors. They beat mixing kalk that is for sure.
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by wade:
<strong>You are right Shane, looks a great deal like EcoTech's design. Although, looking at the picture, I am not sure if the quality is the same.</strong><hr></blockquote>
How many ways do you imagine there are to build one of these? Sure they look the same! Great eyesight wade to be able to tell a difference in quality from those pictures
Please point it out to me as I'm getting a little old I guess
<strong>You are right Shane, looks a great deal like EcoTech's design. Although, looking at the picture, I am not sure if the quality is the same.</strong><hr></blockquote>
How many ways do you imagine there are to build one of these? Sure they look the same! Great eyesight wade to be able to tell a difference in quality from those pictures
Hey Steve, if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for it?
And Shane, you don't happen to know the price of the one at ecotechmarine, do ya?
I saw a Nilsen style reactor here but the guy wants around 500 dollars for it. I think that that price is insane. So i am trying to put things together here to build one(DIY). By the way this is just the reactor no magnet stirrer and no timer.
B.
And Shane, you don't happen to know the price of the one at ecotechmarine, do ya?
I saw a Nilsen style reactor here but the guy wants around 500 dollars for it. I think that that price is insane. So i am trying to put things together here to build one(DIY). By the way this is just the reactor no magnet stirrer and no timer.
B.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
