Dosing Kalk

[Dubin]

I've been using an Aqualifter to dose my kalk and it is such a pita, it's always getting clogged or something. It'll just stop pulling the water from my kalk bucket and sometime it takes forever before I can start it up again. Is there something I can do so it doesn't get clogged, or is there an easy way to unclog it, or is the aqualifter just not a good way to dose kalk?

 

[Runfrumu]

It would be better to have a kalk reactor, so that way the pump can stay in fresh water and push it through the kalk solution so it never touches the kalk. Putting the pump directly in the kalk solution and having it pull the water through like that will kill pumps quick. Kalk is some rough stuff, and requires you clean stuff 10 times as often when you dose it.

 

[sjm817]

I've been using kalk topoff for 6 years pumping with an Aqualifter and it has never clogged once. Where is it clogging? Do you have the topoff pickup off the bottom so not to pick up any slurry?

 

[SirToppemHat]

No issues with mine either.

 

[jkst06]

You can buy a prefilter for the aqualifter that has a sponge to keep the crud out of the actual pump. I think mine was like $3 from Premium Aquatics.

 

[sjm817]

The prefilter is not needed and would not help. There should be no "crud" to filter out. Only clear liquid.

 

[Dubin]

Runfrumu - The pump doesn't go into the kalk water, I have some airline tubing that pulls clear water from close to the bottom of my bucket, above the powder that settles at the bottom.

sjm - I don't know what is really happening, or if it is really "clogged". You can watch the intake tube and the water will start to suck up, but then it'll stop right before it goes into the pump. I don't know what's wrong with it because I can blow through intake and it doesn't feel like it is clogged.

 

[sjm817]

How high are you pumping?

 

[Dubin]

About 16", the pump sits right on top of my sump, I don't think I could lower it much though, the bucket is 14" tall.

 

[sjm817]

16" should not be a problem. No air leaks or anything? Maybe just a bad pump.

 

[Henryreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15563470#post15563470 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
16" should not be a problem. No air leaks or anything? Maybe just a bad pump.

Yeah, I have been able to use the aqualifter to pump much more than that. I bet its a bad pump, that seems like the best possible explanation.

 

[Dubin]

No, there aren't any leaks, i'll just get another one and try it out. They're only like $16 or something, no biggy. Thanks for the help, i'll let you know how the new one goes!