R_MC Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Hi all, I use kalk as my primary method of replacing alk and ca. I use an aqualifter and dose directly with my top off water. Lately, I've noticed that there has been a lot of precipitation coating my pumps and filling the return chamber of my sump. I'm looking for ideas...I might try: -Micro top offs: in the past I used my reef angel to limit top offs to 10s (on) every 15 minutes. I stopped when one of my relays failed and I was too lazy to reprogram the RA. I think this helped and I may even go to 5s every 10 minutes. -prefilter: I used an airstone on the top off tubing to limit the solids that get sucked in. This broke and I haven't replaced it yet. I see that there is a prefilter sold for the aqualifter and may give this a try. -chemical prefiltration: could I use any sort of chemical prefiltration (like an acidic solid?) To ensure that all kalk entering the tank is fully soluble? -circulation pump in the return chamber: to prevent kalk from pooling, maybe I should add water movement to the return chamber? Even a small fountain power head might help. Any other ideas? Link to comment
R_MC Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Rather than burn another relay I purchased an adjustable 1ml to 250ml per minute pump. I figure topping off at about 5ml per minute will be perfect. Because it is a peristaltic pump I can also put the outlet of the tube closer to the water level to avoid splash back. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Are you using a kalk stirrer? If not, I can't see why you'd be getting solids in your kalk. The solids are supposed to be disposed. Other than what you've already done, I might suggest cutting it down to 1/2 or 3/4 strength. This will eliminate any abiotic precipitation, or at least, significantly diminish it. Link to comment
R_MC Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Good idea, I am not using a Kalk stirrer - but I add the Kalk + RO water directly to my ATO reservoir. Any particulate settles to the bottom. Some of the precip I am talking about occurs when "clear" kalk water is added to the tank too quickly - and some is sucked off the bottom of the res. Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Ahh, gotcha. Yeah, adding it too quickly will do that. I'd love to find a way to drip one drip per minute 24/7. Link to comment
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