ATO res. water height and kalk dripper - advise

[debbythefowler]

Folks:

thanks for taking time to check this out for me and comment/correct/etc. A little background; I live in manhattan and have to have a complete, closed system that includes my ATO res/sump/skimmer/doser - etc in the cabinet under 180 gallon display tank. The cabinet stands 40"high, 72" long and 30" wide. I have an ATO reservoir that stands 36"high, in the cabinet under my tank. I also have a KALK reactor that stands 18" high. We all know the challenges with siphons, and when I switched from 2-part dosing to KALK dripper I began to realize that my siphon would stop working when the ATO res. was 1/2 full.

Has anyone else dealt with this, and if so, may I ask for suggestions?? I have a few in mind (and one in use) but I'd like to hear what others say.....

thank u for your help!

 

[edd]

raise the ato reservoir. if its 3' you will need a smaller one or put it on the side of stand.

 

[noelskii]

Get one of these http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aqua-lifter-vacuum-pump.html and put it on a timer.

 

[debbythefowler]

Respectfully guys (Not sure if you are guys), but I understand siphons and lifter pumps. I do not want a smaller ATO, nor am I putting that unconcealed into my living room! (I'm living in Manhattan, no 'fish room', basement, laundry room, etc!) The reason I have such a large (high) cabinet is so I could put a GIANT ATO into it. I didn't anticipate switching from 2 part dosing to kalk....Regarding a timer, great until a failure of some type (like the timer stuck)....



Can I ask you to think more 'deeply' about the problem? In order to keep the CA/ALK/PH in acceptable range, I need a certain amount of 'drip' from the reactor. I don't want to overflow the sump, and I think I need more liquid for dripping than I am evaporating daily. Lastly, even if I could have the kalk dripper run 24/7 without raising the sump water level significantly, I would like a fail safe, and the only way to fail safe a dripper is to 'disable the siphon'

I'm now considering using a dosing pump on the output of the kalk reactor instead of a drip. turn it on for several conditions, a switch in the sump (low), a low PH.

this allows me (with a second, high sump water level) to turn off the dosing pump, and alarm) - It also allows me to skip dosing "on" when ph is high enough

I have an apex.

any thoughts now that I've given more 'background'?

thank u

 

[reef.right.corals]

Well, using your Kalk dripper with a Neptune Apex would be an option, as the Apex could kick the dripper's pump off if the PH reaches a certain point, like 8.5. It could then kick the pump back on if the ph drops back down. A ph controller could do something similar. If Kalk isn't balancing your alkalinity/ph/calcium based on the amount of water you're evaporating daily - it may not be suited for your needs. Kalk works well at replenishing ca/alk in low to moderate demand tanks, but anything more often requires something along the lines of a calcium reactor.