Kalkwasser Reactor or stick with Two part?

[MatthewScars]

Ive been researching this and was wondering for those of you who use a reactor how it is working out? Does it keep your levels pretty steady?

I am upgrading to a 120g DB tank (LINK IN SIG) and have been looking at a dedicated KW reactor. I dont want to put the Kalk in the ATO water because of varying amounts of evaporation and dosing two part has become a massive hassle on my 40g, and im assuming more so and more expensive for a 120g.

I dont really do SPS, just some caps and a clam that are CAL hogs.

I was looking at the Aqua Medic 1000 (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aqua-medic-kalk-reactor-1000.html). Im looking to hooking up a PH probe to my RKL to control it or try to find a good constant drip and avoid the RKL upgrade.

Thoughts? Personal experience?

 

[timberwolfny]

i am running 2 part and a kalk reactor through a dosing pump mainly using the kalk to maintain levels and to keep ph relatively constant

 

[Spsnut]

Do all your top off with limewater. Don't fight ph swings. Check your alk and Ca regularily and adjust with calcium chloride and baking soda or soda ash. Evaporation changes very little, and will average itself out.

 

[CristianD]

I use the TLF kalk stirrer with a tunze osmolator ATO (works great) as well as dose via bubble magus triple doser. My tank is 75g SPS dominant.

I started dosing kalk first when the tank wasnt as heavily stocked with sps then started dosing 2 part as well when my levels started to drop. Kalk is very good at maintaining stability IMO.

Best of luck

 

[tunicata]

Hey Cristian,
Do you have pics or a video of your set up?

I am trying to set up my TLF kalk stirrer and would prefer to set it up with my tsunami ATO but am not sure how/what it looks like (visual person).

Also, to the Original OP:
Depending on how easy the kalk reactor/stirrer is, I may just end up using hte kent aqua doser.
It's pretty straight forward, I have a sump large enough, and the gravity fed drip is not as likely to fail as opposed to a pump run system ( My ato dispersed too much fresh water once and killed coral as opposed to when I did something simpler to replace evap so now im wary of complicating htings to save time).

EIther way, the kalk reactors do not hold much more than an aquadoser, would require the same if not more maintenance (calcium build up on pump, etc) and would still take up space in the sump.

 

[tomtoothdoc]

i like the avast kalk stirrer. mine is hooked up to an ato, aqua lifter, aqua controller 2 with ph probe and skimmer shut off solenoid. i run it in conjunction with a calcium reactor.

you should some kind of a controller/timer and dosing pump if you don't hook it up to an ato with some safety measures.

i like kalk a lot....but it also nuked my 300 gal. system when i got lazy and bypassed my controller and the skimmer safety shut off solenoid.
totally my own fault not the fault of the equipment.

 

[Jarrett]

id check google, alot of good information on there just gotta search it !

 

[MatthewScars]

id check google, alot of good information on there just gotta search it !

Jarrett, you missed the prefix of the OP when i said 'I've been researching'. :cat:

I have an old three part aqua media doser that just needs new tubes that i might use because its cheaper.

Party at my place when the tank cycles!

 

[tunicata]

hey, never mind the Kent Doser endorsement.
I just set it up and the thing leaks!!
It's leaking from the bottom where it connects with the hose and the screw top itself.
Annoying.

Anyway, that doser is the same as whatever milk jugs are made of with an IV drip which can't cost more than $5

 

[captbillm]

Kalk Stirrer

I have a Aqua Medic 1000 and I set mine up a little different then they say to. I have taken a Rio 800+ pump and put it in a RODI water container and ran 1/4 inch line up to the reactor. I put a 3/8 ball valve on the output of the reactor and I can adjust the drip rate there at the ball valve. I have been running this setup for about 2 weeks now and it is working great this way. My PH stays very steady and my other numbers are ok. I got the idea to try it this way because the calcium reactor that I was using worked that way. Pressure in the head unit then adjust the drip rate. I have another Aqua Medic set up on another tank with the ATO. It works good as well but you have these PH swings when the water is added to top off the tank. The way I am doing it now is more constant. I know it is a little different ,but it works great and you don't have to worry about nuking your tank with an overdose.
As you can see I had to be a little inventive as far as the connections go.

 

[ecvernon]

When I tried kalk I first tried it within my ato reservoir. The fluctuation in amounts dosed was too much due to evaporation rates. If I were to use kalk again I would set it up with a continuous drip or control the dosing via timer so the same amount is being dosed all the time. This would especially better on smaller systems. I use a two part system with BRS dosing pumps now. Extremely stable until I forget to fill alkalinity reservoir.

 

[CristianD]

Hey Cristian,
Do you have pics or a video of your set up?

I am trying to set up my TLF kalk stirrer and would prefer to set it up with my tsunami ATO but am not sure how/what it looks like (visual person).

Also, to the Original OP:
Depending on how easy the kalk reactor/stirrer is, I may just end up using hte kent aqua doser.
It's pretty straight forward, I have a sump large enough, and the gravity fed drip is not as likely to fail as opposed to a pump run system ( My ato dispersed too much fresh water once and killed coral as opposed to when I did something simpler to replace evap so now im wary of complicating htings to save time).

EIther way, the kalk reactors do not hold much more than an aquadoser, would require the same if not more maintenance (calcium build up on pump, etc) and would still take up space in the sump.

Yea i can send you a video if you want. Pm me your number or maybe I can just post it on this thread when I get home

 

[MatthewScars]

I decided to get two of the BRS 1.1ml dosers. Seems right for the price, and I can hook it up to my controller.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html

 

[tomtoothdoc]

I decided to get two of the BRS 1.1ml dosers. Seems right for the price, and I can hook it up to my controller.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html

do a test with a measuring cup to calibrate the exact rate. most pumps i had dealt with had varied rates. the rate also depends on several variables.....length of in/out tubes, height of fluid containers, head/height of output area, etc.
easiest way is to set it up exactly how you would dose, then hold a measuring cup under each of the output hoses and jot it down. test it at one minute intervals, use that to calculate the exact rate(ml/sec) then reverse the process...how long does it take(sec) to dose the required volume(ml). that should give you a fairly accurate rate.
also watch the output end of the alk....it gets clogged quite often if it's too close to the water surface.

 

[CristianD]

Hey Cristian,
Do you have pics or a video of your set up?

I am trying to set up my TLF kalk stirrer and would prefer to set it up with my tsunami ATO but am not sure how/what it looks like (visual person).

Here are a few pics of my set up. The tunze osmolator uses a 1/4 in tube I believe and the TLF kalk reactor uses a 1/2 in tube. I went to lowes and bout a fitting to connect the two hoses. This set up works great IMO. The kalk is stirred every time the ato goes off. My ph and levels are stable.

 

[fishman1069]

Hey Cristian,
Do you have pics or a video of your set up?

I am trying to set up my TLF kalk stirrer and would prefer to set it up with my tsunami ATO but am not sure how/what it looks like (visual person).

Here are a few pics of my set up. The tunze osmolator uses a 1/4 in tube I believe and the TLF kalk reactor uses a 1/2 in tube. I went to lowes and bout a fitting to connect the two hoses. This set up works great IMO. The kalk is stirred every time the ato goes off. My ph and levels are stable.

So the kalk stirrer only turns on when the ato kicks on? How does the stirrer operate?

 

[tomtoothdoc]

So the kalk stirrer only turns on when the ato kicks on?

if that's the case, the water in the reactor is not quite saturated compare to say an avast kalk stirrer. the avast slowly stirs 24/7 therefore the lime water is always saturated.

 

[CristianD]

if that's the case, the water in the reactor is not quite saturated compare to say an avast kalk stirrer. the avast slowly stirs 24/7 therefore the lime water is always saturated.

The kalk stirrer had a long 1/4 in tube with a "sprinkler" head at the end which spins when water is pumped through it. This agitates the kalk and saturates the water. While the kalk is not stirred 24/7 the ato goes off about once every hour for about 30secs. I think this keeps the top off water pretty saturated. I agree that it may not be 100% saturated like a continuous stirrer or reactor but it's pretty high in concentration. This method eliminates the use of an extra power head or power supply and fits my set up very well.

 

[fishman1069]

The kalk stirrer had a long 1/4 in tube with a "sprinkler" head at the end which spins when water is pumped through it. This agitates the kalk and saturates the water. While the kalk is not stirred 24/7 the ato goes off about once every hour for about 30secs. I think this keeps the top off water pretty saturated. I agree that it may not be 100% saturated like a continuous stirrer or reactor but it's pretty high in concentration. This method eliminates the use of an extra power head or power supply and fits my set up very well.

Won't it dose more in the summer, when evaporation happens at a faster rate?

 

[CristianD]

My tank is in the basement and tends to stay fairly cool. It does evaporate a little more but that that significantly that I need to make huge changes. If anything I just dose a little less. I usually test once a week and adjust if need be.

Also from what I understand kalk doesn't raise your levels. My tank already consumes more than the kalk supplies. If anything the more dosing of kalk in the summer helps me keep my ph up since there are usually higher levels of co2 in the house from the AC being on and no windows open