Cully's attempt at a DIY Kalk reactor

[Capt_Cully]

Line is fed from RO reservoir, triggered by a timer on the AC Jr. Fills the jug.

RO line empties up high into a stand pipe so that it allows for siphon break once pump in RO reservoir is off:

Large opening allows for Kalk powder to be placed without removing entire apparatus, but it's not so complex that cleaning is quite easy.

MJ inside jug on a timer to mix slurry (yes it will become caked and stop working if not cleaned regularly, but jug needs to be cleaned regularly anyway). This happens about 18 hours before it will be dosed allowing ample time for excess Kalk to fall out of suspension leaving pure Kalkwasser.

BRS doser doses saturated pure Kalkwasser overnight into return section of sump.

New water fills jug after Kalk dosed to tank. Process begins again. Kalk powder added as needed.


I have not yet instituted it. Still adjusting my 2 part and my demands are quite low. I will be putting it on line soon though. As demand goes up, and if its working properly, the "jug" will become a 5 gallon bucket.


FWIW I was trying to figure out the volume of the cylinder portion of the jug which measures 5x7 inches. I came up with a volume of around 3100 cm3 which seems a bit much. Did I calculate that right???

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Looks cool. Curious to see how long that MJ lasts.

:thumbsup:

 

[Capt_Cully]

I ran a similar set up at my old house. I had an Aquaclear 702 in the bucket that kept on ticking, but is overkill for this application. If I rinse it off once a week as planned with jug cleaning (gotta clean the jugs) I'm thinkin' it might be ok??? Who knows, and who cares, I'm simply amazed at the sheer number of MJ's I've amassed over the past few years. Funny thing is, I don't remember buying any of them.

 

[block head]

i've got my fingers crossed for you mark. i just finished 3 wks of tank sitting. he's got the geo / hooked to his apex and ATO. it gave me the willies. evap wasn't very predictable.

 

[Capt_Cully]

This is merely a supplement to my top off, not the sole supplier.

 

[tmz]

How much of a supplement.?

If you pla ce teh powerhead up high and use a very small one it might not be necessary to clean the jug very often. IF you can grab a magnetic stirrer somewhere you'd be golden.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I'm topping off around 2.5 gallons/day. Initially this will only add about 1 liter.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

IF you can grab a magnetic stirrer somewhere you'd be golden.

In the homebrewing world, some folks make DIY magnetic stir plates for yeast starters. Here's a link for anyone interested in taking this idea further:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-stirplate-cheap-easy-build-86252/

 

[tmz]

Thanks Scott.

 

[davidpesce]

I'm in the process of researching the DIY Kalk Reactor. Here's an interesting link:
http://jjgeisler.com/reeftank/diy_kalkwasser_reactor.htm

I'd like to modify this with the mag stirrer. Thanks for the DIY post on the stirrer!

 

[solRNY]

nice DIY Mark, I have to learn more about this kalk

 

[magdelan]

FWIW I was trying to figure out the volume of the cylinder portion of the jug which measures 5x7 inches. I came up with a volume of around 3100 cm3 which seems a bit much. Did I calculate that right???

Maybe I'm incorrect and need to go back to school, however:

r=2.5"= 6.35cm
height=7"= 17.78cm

Area = 3.14 x (6.35 x 6.35) = 126.61cm

volume = area x height = 2251.13cm3

 

[tmz]

I'm topping off around 2.5 gallons/day. Initially this will only add about 1 liter.

That's not much limewater, about 10% of standard dosing. It will help but you'll still need another source of calcium and carbonate alkalinity. I'm sure you know that . Will you be using two part or a calcium reactor?

 

[tmz]

BTW, while limewater holds it's strength in a still reservoir for weeks, it looses it as CO2 enters the water when it's stirred. The CO2 binds with the oxide in calcium hydroxide forming carbonate which then binds with the calcium forming calcium carbonate precipitant which will not dissolve at reef tank ph. .So sealing the holes at the top of the jug ,keeping it as airtight as possible, would be helpful.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Do you know what type of plastic the jug is made from? Kalk will degrade polycarbonate pretty quick.

Otherwise looks good!

 

[Capt_Cully]

Mike, you are right, it's about 2L.

Tom, already dosing 2 part via drew's dosers. This kalk addition will definitely be ramped up in the future. For now, it's just adding another facet for stability. Consumption is very low at this stage.

Nate, it's plastic....beyond that, I've no idea. As consumption increases, this will be replace by a 5G bucket.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Sounds like a good plan. Just wanted to throw out a heads-up after seeing threads where people use those poly water jugs from office water coolers, and they suddenly fail after a few months.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I gotcha, yeah, the whole thing might go to crap in a hurry. It was just something I thought I'd try out with pieces parts lying around the house.

 

[block head]

i guess my question with whole kalk reactor thing is it worth it ? it looks cool, but i don't understand the benefits ? my friends system still needs to use two part. even with his basement set up , his evaporation rate is all over.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

It lets you dose a predetermined amount of kalk on a scheduled basis without having to mix a fresh batch in a milk jug (or whatever) every few days. Basically you can dump a whole bunch of powder in, and the reactor automatically mixes it with water fed from the RO/DI unit or other source as it's dosed. Personally, I see it as a huge benefit and I don't think I'd ever run a kalk-dosed system without some sort of reactor.

Whether or not kalk meets your dosing needs and/or alters your topoff needs are totally different questions IMHO. Kalk dosing is often tied to topoff, and IME that can be misleading or damaging. Kalk vs 2-part is really just a matter of understanding what your system needs and dosing applicably. At any rate, a reactor is just a tool, whether or not it works on a given system really depends on the specifics of that system AND on how it's used on that system. If your set up a kalk reactor but don't run it at a high enough dosing rate, sure, you'll still need 2-part. But uness you have a really strange situation (i.e. very high demand and very low evap) kalk can probably handle the needs for most tanks without needing to also use 2-part.