Got KALK?

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Heres my new DIY kalk reactor...

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Here it is all set up.

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I know that all that stuff hanging on the tank must look bizarre, but it serves a unique purpose...more on that later. First, the reactor itself:

 

I ordered a 6" flange from Barr Aquatic. Brent does very nice work, and this was the one thing that is so critical to get right on a mixer. As you can see from the top view, its very nicely made...a groove for the o-ring, and CNC machined keyholes so that its easy to remove. It was so nice it got me thinking I might not want to go the usual way of drilling it for inlets and outlets.

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The body itself is a piece of cast 6" OD, 1/8" wall acrylic tube. The bottom is four pieces of 1/2" acrylic bonded to make a 7" box. There are 4 1/2" bulkheads arranged in a triad formation. The middle is the mixing pump outlet. The medium pipe is the mixing pump inlet. The shortest pipe is the outlet to the tank, and the tallest pipe is where fresh water enters the reactor.

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And here it is all together. The middle mixing pump outlet is a 'bell'. I used a 1/2" MPT-slip adapter >>> drilled 4x 1/2" holes around the slip end, and then glued the slip end inside a 1-1/4" end cap. The water is deflected into a downward ring to stir up all the kalk at once.

 

The mixing pump is a Mag2 on a digital timer that turns it on for a few minutes every 2 hours. Dont take that as the word...I just set it up and will continue to play with it until I get a good schedule.

 

The pump has unions just after each bulkhead, then a valve, then another set of unions. If I need to disconnect the pump ever, all I have to do is shut off the valves and undo the unions. The unions on the bulkheads are to remove the whole assembly.

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Heres a pic of the plumbing. Yeah, I have to tip it upside down when I first start it up because it traps air, but once you start it its fine.

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Ok, heres the details on the feed system delivered by an ATO. The ATO is an ultralife float switch...used them for years and never had a problem. Those who do tend to because they get kept near too much moisture. Anyways, when the valve triggers the Mag3 to come on, the water gets pumped out of the top of the 7 gallon bucket and up that clear hose into the 1" pipe. At the bottom of that 1" pipe is a 1/4" line that goes over to the kalk reactor. The kalk reactor then returns to the tank via another 1/4" line with a plastic valve on the end. There is also another outlet at the top that also serves as a hanger for the whole unit.

 

There are many advantages to this.

 

When the ATO turns on, it adds to the water level in the pipe...pushing the water into the kalk reactor until the water level in the 1" pipe is no more than that of the kalk reactor's outlet.

 

That means that when the kalk reactor turns on, it only adds about 6oz. of water through the reactor each time...slowly. Then the anything more than this 6oz in the pipe goes back into the tank to shut off the float switch. The pump can switch on and of quickly, and not have to be on constantly for a longer period trying to push water through a 1/4" line directly (like if it were plumbed through the kalk reactor on a closed line). The top off also doesnt have to turn on as many times throughout the day. When the pipe fills, it doesnt go into the tank right away, so in a way...it overfills, preventing the valve from turning on the ATO every other minute. This decreased sensitivity means longer live for the pump and float switch.

 

Get it? So when the water level gets too low, it triggers the pump to fill the pipe. That amount goes into the tank slowly, so the valve doesnt shut off right away. And when it does shut off, it has another 6oz slowly draining into the tank so its that much longer until it turns on again. I used a system like this before, but not so elaborate and with a kalk mixer.

 

The other thing is that if the ATO triggers more than 6oz. of water to fill, the extra overflows right into the tank, bypassing the reactor all together and adding fresh water. This way, if for some reason, the ATO needs more than 6oz, it can get it right away, and not overdo the kalk addition. So if for some reason I have to remove the kalk part, the ATO still works fine, adding water directly.

 

I dont mean to toot my own horn, but I think its the first time Ive ever seen it done this way, and it has soooo many advantages over other systems.

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^^^This method also negates the need for check valves and so many other complicated methods for dosing. It cant overfill like a drip can if set up wrong, and it slowly drips kalk into the main tank when it does dose.

 

You will also notice that the only connections with the kalk reactor are the two 1/4" lines and the electric line. The kalk reactor can be remote from the tank all together. I plan on keeping mine hidden behind that bookshelf and running the lines under that doorway with one of those floor conduit strips.

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^^^The blue circle shows where the feed pipe hangs on the tank, and can overflow into the main tank if the ATO triggers a need for more water.

 

The red circle shows where the kalk drips into the tank.

 

I shall call it...the "Radar Doser".

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If I had to do it again...I can see certain advantages if the ATO's input to the 1" pipe were above the hanging elbow/ overflow outlet. I would also put a 1/4" reducer on the overflow outlet. This would allow the ATO to function with that same delayed water output buffer zone that the ATO would when the kalk mixer is disconnected. But as is, this isnt an issue.

 

I plan on also swapping two of the standpipes in the mixer. The medium standpipe and the short one will get swapped. This way the pump intake is lower, and the kalk outlet is higher up...so when the kalk mixer is mixing and the ATO is triggered I dont get milk in the tank.

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As you can see, no problem mixing, and the outlet's standpipe is about 6" below the mixing line there...oh well, thats an easy switch since all the standpipes are threaded into the bulkheads.

 

Now off to do the above tank hidden refugium...

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Pics Re Added after the 'great file migration' 11-18-2005

 

Please notify me of any other threads where pics of mine are missing, I prolly still have them and can add them back in.