Kalkwasser Question especially for Litermeter owners

[reefing in LA]

I just purchased a litermeter from Marine Depot and was wondering what kind of reservoir I should use to hold the Kalkwasser liquid? Does the container need to be airtight? I want to have a reservoir that is about 5 gallons that will be dosed about a gallon a day using the litermeter. Thx!

 

[golfish]

Yes, it should be air tight. Since you spent the $$ ( BTW good choice) on the Liter Meter you should setup a kalk reactor. I had George Weber (Geo) builb me one about 6 months ago. Their evry easy to use and setup in minutes. They tie right into a liter meter.

I live in Azusa, your more then welcome to come by and check mine out.

Mark

 

[liquid]

For a complete description on how I plumbed mine, check out http://www.liquidreef.com/ in the Equipment --> Calcium/Alkalinity supplementation section. Here's a couple pics:

Pretty simple and straight forward.

Shane

 

[danmhippo]

I have the litemeter. The way the pump designed, the container does not have to be airtight. As long as the airline you are using has no leaks, the litemeter will work fine.

 

[Chucker]

:idea: Call this a nitpick if you like, but the container cannot be truly "airtight", unless you're referring to using the LiterMeter to dose from a kalkwasser (Nielsen) reactor. There has to be some air getting into the container to replace the liquid that is dosed, or the container would be pulled inward as air pressure drops.

In any case, the top of the container should be tightly sealed, as exposure to atmospheric CO2 will rapidly drop the pH of your kalk after it is first mixed. There are a few more details on this in the AAOLM chemistry if I recall correctly.

 

[Len]

The reason why the container should be sealed is not for the litermeter's sake, but for the kalkwassers. Kalk will react with atmospheric CO2 in low quantities to form calcium carbonate: an useless precipitate. That's why kalk solutions should be sequestered from as much atmospheric air as possible. It's possible to use "additives" like acetic acid (white vinegar) to spike your kalkwasser so bicarbonates instead of carbonates are formed. Here's how breefcase described this method (Bingman and other's have suggested it as well):
http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/bree ... asser.html

Here's a container that would suit your needs well:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/produc ... t%2DPak%AE

 

[bowfront]

Good move on buying the Litermeter. I think you will like it. The container I use to store my kalk is simply a 5g drinking water carbouy with a small hole drilled in the air vent to accomodate the tube from the LM. I feed the tube into the hole and down to the bottom of the carbouy. Lasts about 5 days since I use about 1g/day like you. Whatever container you use keep it sealed but doesn't have to be air tight. Leonards response tells you why.

 

[reefing in LA]

Thanks for all the responses and I have this board to thank for steering me into purchasing the Litermeter to begin with. Dosing Kalk manually in the evenings over the last two years has become a drag. And its always been hit and miss. Sometimes, my IV drip would stop right in the middle of the process due to clogging.

Anyways, lately my pH has been a problem also with it being too low. I'm hoping the litermeter will help by dosing Kalk 24/7 and on a more consistent basis.

 

[danmhippo]

They are right, I apologize. Chucker is right, I was using litemeter to feed a Nilsen kalk reactor. It has been a while since I dose kalk mix the old ways, and I forgot about the air CO2 part.

Glad other people corrected it for you.

Good reefing

 

[Mouse]

You can hook up an RODI directly into one of these.

Its a Kalkwasser stirrer.

 

[Len]

I highly endorse the Nielson reactor I use from Ecotech Marine (www.ecotechmarine.com). It seriously takes most of the hassle out of using kalkwasser, and is the single best delivery method for kalkwasser.

 

[Paul A. Ifkovits]

I just use a sealed 5 gallon bucket to store the mixed kalk.

Leonard, how does the reactor work and where does the Litermeter interface? Looks very interesting. I have a litermeter but my RO/DI unit is a bit too far to plumb directly.

Thanks!

Paul
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inflation causes

 

[Len]

You fill the reactor with 1-2 pounds of kalkwasser, seal it, and set the stirrer on a time to mix fresh batches of kalkwasser every few hours. The litermeter feeds freshwater to the reactor, and the effluent goes directly into the display tank. The concept and operation is very simple. Kalkwasser should last several weeks, circumventing the hassle of weekly mixing. The downside is you can only add as much calcium as you evaporate. If your system has high Ca demands, you might want to use it in conjunction with a CaCO3/CO2 reactor and/or employ several fans to increase evap.

 

[Paul A. Ifkovits]

Looking around to see who sells them. Do you know where are approx. price?

What prevents you from adding a milky solution? I would be concerned about adding too much too soon (or too strong) and precipitating alkalinity? Any other drawbacks you may have experienced?
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u.s. recession history

 

[Len]

Every now and then, you'll end up adding small amounts of milky solution when the batch timer and dosing pump are both operational at the same time. But this event isn't common, and not a major concern (that is, benefits far outweigh the drawbacks).

As for precipitation, this will occur only if you have inadequete CO2 in your system. Generally, with big skimmers and high water turnovers of reef tanks, CO2 levels are more then enough to drive the kalkwasser to "good" bicarbonates versus precipitated carbonates. Because the reactor is air-tight, the kalk does not prematurely precipitate out of solution ... one beauty of using these reactors. If you don't think you can supply your solution with enough carbon dioxide, spike it with acetic acid like breefcase and bingman suggest.

Unit retails for $250 shipped (I believe), including the built-in stirrer (nice unit), only available directly through Ecotech. I assure you, the build quality is top notch, and CS perfect.

 

[golfish]

:roll: Here's a picture of the one George built for me. Its doesn't use a magnetic stirrer so the cost is less then half. I wont say what I paid but I think George sells them for around 100.00