I want to make a Kalk Reactor

[Anonymous]

I need to get a Kalk reactor since I have had it with (not) dripping Kalk and it clogging constantly.

I will buy one if I have to but I would like to make one.

Is there a way to make one from stuff from Home Depot or Lowes. They dont sell clear acrylic tubing. Does it have to have that? If I used a Maxijet to stir the Kalk do they get clogged or leak?

I need a dosing pump but I guess I have to spend the $300 on a Vario or Litre-Meter.

Any other ideas or recommendations?
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stimulus plan

 

[tangir1]

Take a look at the library, I was surprised to see no mentioning of the ca rxtor or a kalk rxtor. However, there is a page about kalk rxtor:

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/n_will.html

It is easier to DIY than calcium reactor, and cheaper since you don't need gas cylinder and regulator like ca rxtor. However, the cost of kalk can be quit a bit, esp. if you don't have access to cheap powder like Ms. Ball's.

 

[ryan72]

www.reefdosing.com has cheaper dosing pumps than $300. I haveno idea how good they are, just remembered seeing the site somewhere else.

 

[tangir1]

I think the reefdosing people has been around for a few years. They sell used pumps that meant for medical application. It works, but you have to check around for price and service compare to others.

 

[jsbradbury]

They sell those same pumps on Ebay for $30-50. I've seen lots of them, but never picked one up. Something I was thinking about trying.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's an idea I kicked around awhile back to make a cheap kalk reactor. I never need build one yet because I don't really need one at this time.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Louey not a bad idea. But I have a problem with the kalk clogging the drip tube. Thats why I wanted a true kalk reactor (in a sense). If the drip line gets clogged then the bucket will overflow. Unless I use a large host and dump in allot of kalkwasser at once instead of a slow dose.
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[Anonymous]

Does the Kalk reactor have to be clear? Besides seeing the level of the Kalk remaining in the reactor?

Can I just use 4 in PVC and just check the levels every once in a while ?

Do you see a problem with sticking a minitjet 400 in the reactor for mixing with just the electric cord hanging out? This idea is to prevent the powerhead from leaking.

My tank evaporates approximately 1.5-2 gallons a day.


I have a auto-top off system now that consists of the following.

I have a float switch in the sump, connected to a maxi 600 in a FW tub that is connected to a timer that comes on twice a day for 1 minute each time. The reason for the timer is that it can only dump gallon of FW into the sump in a minute so in case when the float switch sticks (it has 4 times already) I cant flood the floor.

I can use this into the kalk reactor that I may buy or build but I think 1 gallon twice a day will be too much.

Do you think if I get a smaller maxijet and have the time go on 6 times a day that would be ok? I would try and match the pump so that in the 1 minute interval that the timer is on it can olny dose about 1/3 gallon in a minute.
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Mercedes Vario

 

[tangir1]

Clear: everytime when you open it up, you let the air in, and it is qite a hassle. Besides, you will want to show it off when a fellow reefer comes over to your house, and check your equipement under the stand. Compromise is to have a clear section on the bottom to inspect the kalk level, and the rest of the reactor as white PVC.

the minijet idea is fine.

Yeah, you don't want to flush the kalk readtor with gallons of RO/DI in one minutes. I will use a smaller pump and/or a needle valve for the RO line to make sure the flow rate is less than a few oz. per minute, and have the timer to be on for, say, 10 minutes. There are lots of way to do this.

 

[Anonymous]

They dont sell the clear PVC near me. Thats why I wanted to go with the white PVC only.
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[tangir1]

White PVC is fine. Trust me, after filling it up for 4 or 5 times, you will know when you need to refill the kalk next time. Assume everything works fine, there is no need to see inside.

But if you must, check out some plastic shop or sign ship... look at your YellowPage, for example. They will have the acrylic tub for you.

 

[utahsaltreefer]

Try here http://www.delviesplastics.com/rod%20tube.htm A 4" extruded tube is $25 for a 3' length. Or $13.50 for a 3" 3 foot tube.

 

[Anonymous]

Can Acrylic be glued to PVC? Using PVC cement?
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[Anonymous]

Nope. Acrylic can be glued to PVC using Weld On #40.

 

[Anonymous]

hmm, It may be worth buying one pre-made.
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[tangir1]

Don't give up yet! Check out usaplastics.com and look for clear PVC.... good luck.

 

[Baianotang]

too complex for me...

 

[whirley]

Hello.

I created my DIY kalk reactor with 4" PVC. Yes, it's white, but honestly, I don't care if I see into the reactor or not. It cost me ~$15 for all the parts.

Here is a site that I used.

http://jjgeisler.com/reeftank/diy_do_it ... ojects.htm

Honestly, it's very easy.

O...and I didn't use a dosing pump, I used a pump (like a powerhead) that pushed water out of my RO reserviour into my kalk reactor.

Works great, highly suggest it. Cheap !!!

whirley

 

[Anonymous]

Someone suggested this link:

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/n_will.html

So, when you drip, the results are good at the beginning, and are getting worse and worse.

After an hour or so, your drip is virtually useless, not a lot of Ca++ added, a lot of calcium carbonate that will form useless sediments.

So rapidly we are wasting resources and energy. This can be OK for small or lightly loaded systems, but don't hope to maintain Ca levels in big loaded tanks with that. You will notice that it will also be difficult to maintain good alkalinity with this method, even if the theory tells you it's possible. That's why most turn to the other type of reactor after some time.

Can someone explain what this means? As long as the water in my tank is not completely stagnant, why would this be the case? Thanks.

 

[ChrisRD]

IME the rebuilt medical dosing pumps have their drawbacks (I've owned 3). They can be noisy, some need the tubing replaced fairly often, most of them can't dose much total volume in a day (usually less than 2 gallons depending on the tubing being used) and the models I've tried can't push anywhere near the head pressure they claim to. Another thing I don't like is that with the models I had, I couldn't just dose kalk at night. Had to run continuously.

For smaller tanks I think they're OK, but for a larger tank, or one with a lot of evap I'd look elsewhere.

A simple and cheap solution for a dosing pump is to get an electronic appliance timer and a small vacuum pump. The vacuum pump pushes a couple of gallons per hour, so it's easy to dial it right in with the timer (the electronic ones are adjustable to the minute). I've found them to work better than a powerhead in this application.

The timers are about $18 and the vacuum pumps are $12 for a grand total of about $30.

BTW, this was all mentioned in a previous thread: http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=47722&highlight=kalkreactor