Kalkwasser.
Strendo,
I used to run the same setup as you, but I found 3 problems for me.
1) Because I am lazy and travel alot I needed a setup that I could leave alone for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. I found that the quality of the kalkwasser as measured by pH seemed to decline very quickly so I needed to clean the bucket and start over weekly. The pH would fall from 12.4 to 10.5 in less than a week.
2) When the pump turned on automatically while I was away on trips small particles of kalk would be dripped directly into my sump clogging the output line and causing crystallization in the area of the addition which I could tell by white particles on the bottom of my sump.
3) The power heads only lasted about 6 months in my setup, but I was using super cheap Maxijets.
I know many people use setups like yours with great success, so if its working for you I would say don't worry. Part of my problem lies in the fact that I need to top off 4-5 gallons a day, and I have problems with excess CO2 in my basement sump room which may have accelerated the degradation of my kalkwasser.
Oh, and thanks!!
Joe
Strendo,
just wondering about the kalkwater stirrer, I us a 5 gal bucket with a powerhead in it to keep my kalkwater mixed and a top off pump. Any reason not to do it like that?
Sweet setup!
I used to run the same setup as you, but I found 3 problems for me.
1) Because I am lazy and travel alot I needed a setup that I could leave alone for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. I found that the quality of the kalkwasser as measured by pH seemed to decline very quickly so I needed to clean the bucket and start over weekly. The pH would fall from 12.4 to 10.5 in less than a week.
2) When the pump turned on automatically while I was away on trips small particles of kalk would be dripped directly into my sump clogging the output line and causing crystallization in the area of the addition which I could tell by white particles on the bottom of my sump.
3) The power heads only lasted about 6 months in my setup, but I was using super cheap Maxijets.
I know many people use setups like yours with great success, so if its working for you I would say don't worry. Part of my problem lies in the fact that I need to top off 4-5 gallons a day, and I have problems with excess CO2 in my basement sump room which may have accelerated the degradation of my kalkwasser.
Oh, and thanks!!
Joe