How do you guys feel about........

[jdnumis]

The Kent Auto Doser and Kalwasser? I was thinking about getting these for my 90gal for now. I will be purchasing more coral than fish for it in the future. Any other suggestions would be great. I will get a reactor in the future.

Thanks in advance

~James

 

[seldin]

I had the Kent aqua doser and it caved in, when it got hot. Not sure why. Remember, it really is a plastic milk bucket. When mine caved in, I took the tubing and drilled the correct size hole into a 5 gallon bucket and was much more happier.

So for me, if you want to go that route, you may want to buy the attachment tubing and make your own. I also used a ball valve with RO/DI tubing, so I can control the flow better.

However, I think you would be better off with an electronic timer that can meter the dosage more accurately.

 

[jdnumis]

thanks Larry. Do you think I can add the Kalwasser in with my auto-top off water instead of getting the drip system?

 

[seldin]

...Do you think I can add the Kalwasser in with my auto-top off water instead of getting the drip system?...

James,

I don't drip Kalwasser. However, when ever adding a liquid, a limitation is the vehicle you are using. For instance, in some ATO's, they don't want anything but water to be dripped. However, like for me, I use a regular pump in a bucket, so if I want to add elements to my bucket it would not matter.

I will tell you that the problem, for some ATO's is that the ATO float valve can stick, so they need stay clean, so they don't stick. On my new tank, I have an ATO that is a couple of weeks old from from AutoTopOff which I use dual floats. I already, had the bottom float stick, and the unit stopped the water coming into tank, with the backup float.

Anyway, the concept is that some types of ATO are sensitive to anything but water. You have to check the manufacturer on whichever you choose.

 

[jdnumis]

bump

 

[dmr2000]

build one

 

[kaOzGrUnT]

bump

 

[jdnumis]

I have one built with a 5 gallon Poland spring bottle and a float switch. Is it safe to say that I can add kalwasser to the top off water?

 

[jrobbins]

the room wont explode or anything if you throw some kalk into your top off bucket, but you will kill your pump very quickly and you should really stir the power occasionally, which a reactor is great for. there are quite a few ways to make cheap DIY kalk reactors. Do a search on it.

 

[batt600]

I dont use kalwasser. kalwasser is bad to use becuase it binds pO4 and stores them in live rock and sand . witch will lech out over time causeing big problems.

 

[ming]

I dont use kalwasser. kalwasser is bad to use becuase it binds pO4 and stores them in live rock and sand . witch will lech out over time causeing big problems.

The theory is kalkwasser should be dosed before the water reaches the skimmer... so the skimmer skims out the binded PO4. Ofcourse it won't get 100%, but nothings perfect.
I don't use kalkwasser, but then again, I don't use anything specific to remove PO4

 

[jdnumis]

My ato is gravity controlled and not pumped. Would that affect me mixing kalwasser with ato water?

 

[jdnumis]

So what should I use instead of kalwasser? my ato is gravity controlled not pumped would that be a problem?

 

[ming]

the kalk might clog your ATO

 

[NYPDFrogman]

I have a gravity fed top off that flows through a Kalkwasser reactor(GEO)
than to the sump.
is fed from my RODI
My PH is a constant 8.4 considering my effluent from my CA reactor is 6.65

 

[jdnumis]

Bump

 

[ryangrieder]

i have an old 2 gallon bottle od nutri-seawater that i drilled the bottom of and put a adaptor to a rubber tube then went ito my sump that i used for kalk. dont use it any more. if u did not live so far away i would say u can have it