found it...
A Kalk Rxr when broken down to simplest terms, is a vessel for mixing Kalkwasser powder and freshwater. So, take a vessel (6" PVC works best, 4" in a pinch, and to get it under 12 bucks). Cap one end, call that the "bottom". (Scrap plastic, conventional lid, flange, whatever you can get that will seal it up tight - liberal use of silicone implied). Should cost you a few dollars, more if you use a PVC flange as the base, but they're highly effective.
About 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom, tap a hole and put a barbed fitting in (size to be determined by your dosing pump). Barbed nylon fitting will run you a whopping 50-cents. I'll assume you've got some teflon tape and/or silicone lying around to seal that up with. We'll call this the "input".
Tap another hole, approx 1-0.75", about 3/4ths the way up from the "bottom", and put a larger diameter fiting in there. Barbed is nice, not required. We'll call this the "output". Get an old plastic lid from something (or if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, drop the 50-cents on a PVC test cap...), and use that for the "top".
Now, place the unit w/ the 'bottom' on a stable surface, next to your sump/tank/refuge, so that the "output" is slightly above the water lever (2-3 inches tops), and either w/ the fitting you tapped in there, or a short piece of tubing, make it so that when you fill the container w/ liquid, it will spill out the "output" and into your sump/tank/refuge. I use a short 2" section of flexible tubing I had lying around from the hose I use to do water changes... Tom will sell it to you for a buck or two a foot if you need it. Remember, the discharge at the output has to be higher than the water level of the tank you're dosing into (be it your sump, tank, or refuge, whatever).
Connect your dosing pump to the 'input' and set it to match your evaporation rate, or slightly below. I like to fire my unit a couple times an hour, to help spread things out. I run it 24/7. Dump a large quantity of kalkwasser powder into the thing, and chuck in an old powerhead on a timer. Have the PH fire once a day for 10 minutes. Cut a notch in the "lid" to pass the PH's cord through, and you will greatly limit the amount lost to CO2 exposure (mini-Durso). You can also use a 90-elbow on the inside @ your "output" fitting, to submerge your input, and never have to worry about the reacted limestone dosing into your system (not that it's a problem).
Need pics, lemme know (might be a few days). Did I crack the 12-dollar barrier?
- Mac
