diy kalkreactor

[Aadler]

ill look it up in the morning, either my internet sucks or their website just wont load for me :/

but the above site is aquarium specific, so i would expect a 300% markup!

 

[Aadler]

prices are a little cheaper, but not $7/foot (for clear pvc 4 & 6" pipe).

 

[1628mna]

mark,


if i just top off my water with kalk water not regular ro water wouldnt that mess up my salinity? so what your saying is the top off unit i have for my tank i can just put that pump that is in a resevoir that feeds my tank and hook it to my kalk reactor. or should i just get a seperate resevoir for the kalk reactor and still use the same top off unit i was talking about?


thanx mike

 

[markviiisvt4]

It wont mess with your salinity at all. just use the pump thats feeding your top off water to feed your reactor then feed your tank from the reactor

 

[Cove Beach]

That will work as long as you don't have a high evap loss, if i set mine up that way i would end up with 2-3 gallons of kalk getting dumped in a day. Thats why alot of people either do a drip with gravity, or use a timed or metered pump. It also allows you to add it at night to bump up PH.

 

[CleveYank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13256277#post13256277 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cove Beach
That will work as long as you don't have a high evap loss, if i set mine up that way i would end up with 2-3 gallons of kalk getting dumped in a day. Thats why alot of people either do a drip with gravity, or use a timed or metered pump. It also allows you to add it at night to bump up PH.

Cove, back up a second. Why bump up pH at night? I thought well stocked aquarium with fish producing CO2 during the day or when the tank is lit that the pH drops. Why wouldn't you add the Kalk during that period to offset the CO2 the fish are producing and thereby add more stability to the pH? No?

I'm sure whatever you're doing is working for you. But I don't follow adding kalk during the period in which the tank's natural tendancy is to raise it's own pH simply due to lowered respiratory output of the fish to begin with.

Oh and by the by, I'm dosing kalk via my make-up water 24/7 with no adverse impacts or wild pH swings.

 

[scottfarcuz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13257689#post13257689 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CleveYank
Cove, back up a second. Why bump up pH at night? I thought well stocked aquarium with fish producing CO2 during the day or when the tank is lit that the pH drops. Why wouldn't you add the Kalk during that period to offset the CO2 the fish are producing and thereby add more stability to the pH? No?

I'm sure whatever you're doing is working for you. But I don't follow adding kalk during the period in which the tank's natural tendancy is to raise it's own pH simply due to lowered respiratory output of the fish to begin with.

Oh and by the by, I'm dosing kalk via my make-up water 24/7 with no adverse impacts or wild pH swings.

I think you are confusing respiration, and photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is the process whereby organisms convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrate and oxygen. So there is a net consumption of carbon dioxide during the day. This causes many aquaria to become deficient in CO2 during the day, raising their pH.

This article maybe helpful
The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 3: pH by Randy Holmes Farley

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

As noted in the article the goal isn't to raise the pH at night, but to offset the common < .1 to > .5 PH drop often observed in stocked reef tanks at night when photosynthesis stops. This is also the most common reason we run fuges, and frag tanks on a reverse photo period of the display tank.

 

[CleveYank]

No confusion here between photosynthesis vs respiration.

 

[serpentman]

Cove, back up a second. Why bump up pH at night? I thought well stocked aquarium with fish producing CO2 during the day or when the tank is lit that the pH drops. Why wouldn't you add the Kalk during that period to offset the CO2 the fish are producing and thereby add more stability to the pH? No?

Although slightly reduced at night, the fish respire 24/7 and contribute to the continuous output of CO2. During photosynthesis, the zooanthellae, coralline, and diatoms absorb the CO2 and produce 02. Once the lights kick off and photosynthesis stops, the CO2 levels instantly begin to build. If you graph the pH on a 24 hour cycle, you can see the effect on pH begin to decline about 30min after the lights kick off. My RK2 is no longer hooked to my computer or I could show you a graph.

Running a fuge or frag tank significantly reduces this process by allow photosynthetic uptake of CO2 24/7. With that being said, I prefer 24/7 steady dosing of kalk and address the CO2 issue separately via inverse light cycles when possible.

 

[Esquare]

+1^

 

[CleveYank]

I make use of a reverse lit refugium to the system to counter the possible swings and not Kalk for that purpose like Serpent's tank. Which is why I was wondering what the deal was with Cove's direction.

 

[scottfarcuz]

I assumed you just trained the fish to hold their breath all night....

:lol:

 

[1628mna]

WOW, we got a little sqwabble going on here. i really would like to run my kalk reactor the way cleveyank is doing thats not saying anyone else is wrong either but i do appreciate all the info that is in this thread. and scott man i do have to stop by your house and see that fish that can holds its gills overnite. now that prabobly cant be taught to a fish can it? do i really need the kalk reactor to be clear or can i do without? serpentman i seen you made one is it really that big of a deal? and also what is the name of that stuff im reading that people get from the grocery store? this is the stuff people also use for the kalk reactor?



thanx for the responses mike

 

[pgolnick]

Mrs. Wages pickling lime. About $3 for a pound.
I got mine from walmart in the canning section.
Phil

 

[DiscoReefRover]

[chimp]....no ones sqwabbling...lol

 

[CleveYank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13260955#post13260955 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DiscoReefRover
<img src="/images/chimp_shaking_head.gif" width=120 height=82 border=0>....no ones sqwabbling...lol

Nope, just one big "love in" round here...

Wow that monkey is everywhere I think I see it in every other thread. What's up with that? lol

 

[DEERE G]

Nice to meet you today Mike. I hope the pipe works out for you. Let's see some pics when you are done. Keith

 

[1628mna]

deereg,

thank you very much for the pvc pipe, you saved me alot of headaches and money. it was very nice to meet you too. get that setup running and it will be another great one on reef central.


thanx again mike

 

[mayday_mayday]

I have a oceanus top off doing the same thing works great