Is it necessary to use a doseing pump to dose kalk or can I use a power head and use a valve to control the flow rate. if so what is a good pump to use for this. I am looking for a cheaper route as many of those doseing pumps are spendy. and you have to replace the tubeing often in them too. I would like to use 1/4 inch tubeing for the supply that will hook up to a float valve for water top off.
Kalk water dosing pump?
- Thread starter jasonkola
- Start date
I bought a perastalic pump out of the Mars catalog for about $90 that puts out about 4 gallons a day. Hooked it up to a 32 gallon brute container and a level switch and make a new batch of kalk every 6-7 days. Low maintanence and workd. Tried it with a powerhead and my skimmer went nuts and overflowed. Turned water a milky white, lost some livestock. Beware.
Bandsaw
New member
jasonkola, I am using exactly what you are suggesting.
I have a 100L holding tank. I premix my kalk water 24 hours before, let it settle, then dump in the 100L holding tank. I use 32L canola oil pails to mix the and settle the kalk water.
My sump is rather small, only 8g on a 75g tank. I use water switch that triggers on a water depth change in the sump of 1/8". I have a MaxiJet 1200 in the bottom of the holding tank with a small valve to restrict the flow of Kalk water into the sump to a trickle as not tp PH shock the sump.
The the water level in the sump drops 1/8", pump turns on a raises the water the 1/8" over a 45 second period. The local PH change (in the sump) never exceeds 8.5. The display tank stays stable at 8.1 to 8.3 depending on the time of day.
Simple and works very well for me.
I have a 100L holding tank. I premix my kalk water 24 hours before, let it settle, then dump in the 100L holding tank. I use 32L canola oil pails to mix the and settle the kalk water.
My sump is rather small, only 8g on a 75g tank. I use water switch that triggers on a water depth change in the sump of 1/8". I have a MaxiJet 1200 in the bottom of the holding tank with a small valve to restrict the flow of Kalk water into the sump to a trickle as not tp PH shock the sump.
The the water level in the sump drops 1/8", pump turns on a raises the water the 1/8" over a 45 second period. The local PH change (in the sump) never exceeds 8.5. The display tank stays stable at 8.1 to 8.3 depending on the time of day.
Simple and works very well for me.
Maldivan
New member
Want the Cheapest way? I did my dosing for around $4.
Went to walmart and got the 2gal Culligan water container that they sell for R/O water - cost $2 I think. Drilled a 1/4" Hole about 3/4" above the bottom of the floor in the container ( so the sludge will settle below the tube ).Silicone 1/4" tubing in the container where you drilled it. Add regulator valve to end of tubing and wala! A $4 kalk Dripper. I regulate mine to drip 1 drop or so a second. It acts as a top-off as well. I mix 1gal of kalk a night and add 1 gal water to it and let it drip for 24 hours usually befor its empty. Will take some fine tuning to drip /last as your needs require. Now Thats CHEAP
Went to walmart and got the 2gal Culligan water container that they sell for R/O water - cost $2 I think. Drilled a 1/4" Hole about 3/4" above the bottom of the floor in the container ( so the sludge will settle below the tube ).Silicone 1/4" tubing in the container where you drilled it. Add regulator valve to end of tubing and wala! A $4 kalk Dripper. I regulate mine to drip 1 drop or so a second. It acts as a top-off as well. I mix 1gal of kalk a night and add 1 gal water to it and let it drip for 24 hours usually befor its empty. Will take some fine tuning to drip /last as your needs require. Now Thats CHEAP
MgCl2TiCl4
New member
I use an Aqualifter pump (about $10) regulated by an airline valve. It accepts 1/4" tubing connection.
never mind I found it online and it has a max lift of 3 ft. oh well so far the cheapest doseing pump I have found is the aquamedic sp 3000 for 89 bucks. it seems to me a person could just use a cheap power head to push water up to a float valve that would cut off flow when it is full. of coarce I would have to use some kind of falve to control the flow rate to make sure it is dosed slowly
