Kalk Reactor on Float Switch?

[ProFlatlander15]

i am thinking of making my fluidized bed filter into a kalk reactor. however, i would have to hook it up via a float switch in my sump. is it OK for the kalk water to be added quickly like that (using 1/4" tubing)? lets say, a half gallon at a time? or is that too much? on a 29, with 15 sump.

[tinyreef]

uh, that'd be a bit much.

 

for simplicity's sake, figure your 29g's actual water volume around 20g. 0.5g addition of anything is about 2.5%. not a whole lot but your 20g volume is only at 8.2 pH. the 2.5% addition is around 12 pH.

 

chemists help me here but i think you'll end up around 9-something pH. i think it's a geometric progression of 10? (i really don't know chem-talk)

 

but i think you'll pickle your reef. literally.

[Gwoardnog]

Had my kalk top-off with a maxijet 600 for a pump, pumping up 4 ft. and the PH swing wasn't that bad with a float switch. Please have 2 float switches wired in line as a backup (1st switch gets stuck on, 2nd one will turn it off). My tank crashed that way because of a stuck float switch. 29gal, with 10gal sump.

 

talking about a cup (2 at the most) being dumped in at a time (hour or so) otherwise your ph swings will go up through the roof.

 

Too much and it'll start precipitating.

 

FYI I have about 400-600gph through my sump.

[MadTownMax]

yes, way too much, and if it gets stuck on, your tank is toast in about 5-minutes - trust me, I learned the hard way.

 

only way to dose kalk (IMO) is with a gravity drip, or peristaltic pump, both can be set to be very slow, and in that respect, will never nuke your tank.

 

JMO

[onthefly]

Well I'll be the otherside of the coin........works great for me!

 

MJ1200, stepped down to 1/4 airline tubing, runs through the wall, thru my reactor which creates 97% saturated solution (~800ppm Calcium). Relayed float switch comes on "many" times a day putting about 1/2 cup of saturated KW into my sump. pH never leaves 8.2.

 

Couple things, I also have a safety float switch wired inline to avoid overflows. Also the relayed switch is a must to handle the constant switching. Other than that, a nice big skimmer will minimize the pH effect from KW.

[ProFlatlander15]

so a kalk drip from my TO container would be better i guess....

 

oh, i just thought of something. what if i put a T on my TO line, so some water going into the sump is fresh, some is kalk?

[onthefly]

100% Kalk Top off for me!!!!

[ProFlatlander15]

im not sure im ready to balls up and drop in a half gallon of 100% kalk yet...

[onthefly]

Depends on your Ca demand.......my 5.5 used about 1/3 ga of KW a day.

[newreefguy]

I think I might try what onthefly is doing some day. Maybe I read it wrong but a 1/2 cup at a time is a heck of a lot different than a 1/2 gallon at a time..

 

I think onthefly's ATO setup is very similar to mine.. add a little to the main tank whenever the level gets too low. If ProFlatlander15 is using a sump setup where he has a 'low' switch and a 'high' switch (hence adding 1/2 gallon at a time) I don’t think it would work very well.

 

Well I guess you could add a little to the sump or the main tank.. doesn’t matter. The big difference is a parallel switch setup vs a series switch setup.

[ProFlatlander15]

i will agree....a half cup should be fine. a half gallon sounds catastrophic.

[SLOreefer]

why would you be putting in a half gallon at a time? the purpose of a float switch and ato is so it does it gradually throughout the day instead of all at once, so if your switch only comes on and does a 1/2 gallon at a time there is something seriously wrong with the system

[ProFlatlander15]

oh... ive never had a float switch before. i dont know how sensitive they are to water level. i thought it had to change quite a bit before it kicked in.

[onthefly]

Super sensitive!

 

I had one of Physh1's switches forever and loved it, but the added power draw from the MJ1200 (cuz of the step down) caused it to stick during testing. So, I switched over to the DIY kit from floatswitches.com. Went with their double switch set up, got there mold-a-mount, wired up the relay...BINGO!

 

I'm extremely happy with it!

[Pili]

SLOreefer, it depends on the surface area of where the float switch is placed. If its in the main tank or a sump without baffles, the 1/4 inch or so of sensitivity will put alot more water in than if the switch is in the sump with a baffles and the surface area is much less.

 

also, anybody think that the pump in the osmolator is strong enough to push through a kalk reactor and up to the main tank?

[Gwoardnog]

Tunze has their own own little reactor for it, but the thing is supposed to pump up to 10 feet of head. No reason not to try it. There's an adapter made so you can hook up your own different pump up to the osmolator I'm just not sure what other pump I should hook up to it (planning on moving my reservoir somewhere else).

[Pili]

cool, thats good to know.

 

I cant decide if i want to go with a kalk reactor on the osmolator or go with a full blown Ca Reactor. The kalk reactor would be much cheaper and i could set up my closed loop but i dont know if it will be able to maintain Ca in my tank over 400 (right now its too low for all the stonies i have.

[Gwoardnog]

Well if you wanna give kalk a try, just dump a teaspoon per gallon of the pickling lime into your top-off reservoir. Then just don't disturb you reservoir (a crust will form keeping the degredation of the solution to a minimum). That's all there is to it. Pretty much, a kalk reactor is there to minimize waste and it also means you don't have to mix it with every batch. You can put enough of the lime in the reactor to last for months, and the lime won't degrade as it can't get any oxygen (which is the reason for the reactor).

[Pili]

My float switch setup is real ghetto right now and i dont trust it much so i wouldnt dare put kalk in there now. Maybe after i upgrade the ATO but then i would probebly go with a reactor for the sake of maintence.