Kent Aquadose any Good?

[u418936]

I'm thinking of getting a 2.5 gal Kent aquadose for my reef tank. I'd use it to add kalkwasser to my tank. Ideally, I'd like to put it on top of my sump. I definately don't want to mount it above my aquarium, since it's in my living room.

Does anyone know if this will work?

My tank is a "short" 125g tank, I have a sump, and there's a ton of current, so I have a lot of surface area. As a result, there's a lot of evaporation. I'm assuming I can't add kalkwasser directly, because I'd have to add too much at a time.

 

[Afishianado]

The Kent Aquadose will do exactly what you want and expect it to do... but it is just a very expensive way of doing something very simple. You can make the same thing yourself for way less money and make it way bigger so you don't have to refill it very often.

How do you make up for evaporation? The best way to add Kalk is to mix it with the top off water or just top off with Kalk. As long as the rate of Kalk addition is matched up with the rate of evaporation then it won't be "too much too fast" Whether kalk as makeup water can keep up with your demand or is too much for your demand is a different discussion and is dependant on your specific requirements.

 

[Rays]

In short, it works great!

 

[u418936]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8784248#post8784248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Afishianado

How do you make up for evaporation? The best way to add Kalk is to mix it with the top off water or just top off with Kalk. As long as the rate of Kalk addition is matched up with the rate of evaporation then it won't be "too much too fast" Whether kalk as makeup water can keep up with your demand or is too much for your demand is a different discussion and is dependant on your specific requirements.

I'm not currently using kalkwasser. Every other day, I pour around three pitchers of RO water into my sump to make up for evaporation.

I'm afraid to use kalkwasser without a drip, because I don't want to shock my corals or fish. I don't know much about kalkwasser, but I've read that you're not supposed to add too much too quickly.

I'm using a two-part additive now, but I'm not growing much coralline algae.

 

[u418936]

double post

 

[skeeter-doc]

check your magnesium levels for the coralline growth, ... as for the aquadose, yes I have many and I do like them. Very easy to work and wont fail you. But as stated above, if you already know what you want, probably easy to build something very similar on your own.

Perhaps get one, and then see about making more, ...

 

[Afishianado]

Again, I have nothing bad to say about the aquadoser, I bought and used one and liked it, I just wanted something bigger and to have less equipment so I went with the solution I have now. If you bought one, it will get the job done and you could indeed use it as a model for something else if you decided to go bigger.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8785152#post8785152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by u418936


I'm afraid to use kalkwasser without a drip, because I don't want to shock my corals or fish. I don't know much about kalkwasser, but I've read that you're not supposed to add too much too quickly.

regarding kalk...You are correct, you shouldn't add too much Kalkwasser too quickly, a slow addition or drip is best.

regarding evaporation top off... consider using some kind of auto topoff, these do not have to be expensive or complicated. For example, I use a gravity fed auto top off, just a 5gallon bucket with a tube coming out at the bottom, the bucket sits up higher than the sump but not by much. The tube from the bucket goes to a float valve which sits in the sump at the water level as the water level drops the float drops and allows water to flow from the bucket into the sump, this happens in quantities of maybe a tablespoon at a time maximum. For my 58 gallon I refill the buckett about every 3 or 4 days. I hook up a trash can when I go out of town and it lasts much longer. The float valve, the bucket, the hose, and fittings wowuld run you less than $15. Plus you don't have to attend to it or run the danger of forgetting, and the water params change less over time.

Here is a good source of the float valve
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...gory_name=6109&product_id=12596&cookie_test=1

 

[u418936]

Thanks for all the help. Much appreciated. I think I'll buy the 2.5g aquadoser and make another one if I need it. I'd buy the 5g doser, but I don't think it'd fit under my tank.

 

[skeeter-doc]

no it owuld not fit, but if you do need more, you can always make something of similar size to what you have and put it under there too

 

[The Saltwater Kid]

I think my evap is close to 1/4 gallon per day as it seems I put in between 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon milk jug of fresh R/O water about every 3 days. What setting would you recommend for the aquadoser (by the way I believe I'll be getting the 1400ml model as I have to hang it on the wall behind my tank as i have little room to work with and no sump)?

 

[aquaman3680]

I have used these before and they work great for dosing any types of chemicals.

 

[ToTaLCHaoS13]

I'm going to piggy-back on this thread as I too would like to drip kalk but have questions.

My setup has the RO/DI hooked directly to a float-valve for top-off. I like this setup since I tend to travel for weeks at a time and never have to worry about the salinity or water level getting out of whack. However, I currently dose with B-ionic two part Alk and Cal and would like to switch to kalk due to the cost. Could I setup a simple gravity drip from a small tub? How much would I need to dose to keep everything stable?

(my tank size and facts are in my profile)

 

[xtm]

IMO, save your money and get a peristaltic pump. I've always manual-dripped Kalk but the upgrade to a peristaltic pump made a day and night difference! No more refilling kalk every day, no more difficult drip valves to adjust, and you can fine tune your dripping intervals and duration.

My setup has the RO/DI hooked directly to a float-valve for top-off. I like this setup since I tend to travel for weeks at a time and never have to worry about the salinity or water level getting out of whack. However, I currently dose with B-ionic two part Alk and Cal and would like to switch to kalk due to the cost. Could I setup a simple gravity drip from a small tub? How much would I need to dose to keep everything stable?

Yes, you will need a tub or a small reservoir that will serve as a kalk "reactor". The RO supply to this tub will be controlled by a float switch, and you can drip this to your sump. You will also have to put a powerhead in the tub to periodically saturate/mix the kalk sludge. make sure you have a space availabe for the tub and since you will be dripping to the sump, this has to be ABOVE the sump.

If you have a peristaltic pump, you can place this tub anywhere you want.

 

[Afishianado]

xtm's suggestion will work fine, I know of people using similar setups with success.

Personally, I feel like spending the kind of money that a peristaltic pump demands for something as simple as adding freshwater to your system for evaporation make up is money better spent elsewhere. I guess I feel like this hobby is expensive, and equipment intensive, enough that I avoid what for me would be excess equipment. Like I said, I use a bucket, some hose and a float valve...gravity fed...$15, works very well. I run from a larger vessel when I am out of town. I also use this same setup to deliver kalk, so all the top off water my system gets is kalk, and it gets added to the system very slowly.

How much kalk will you need to keep everything stable? It is completely dependant on your unique system. If your rate of evaporation doesn't allow for enough kalk to be added via top off to keep up then you can increase the effectiveness of Kalk and basically supercharge it without any ill effects by using vinegar.

great article on Kalk and it's use here.....
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

But anyway....this is why you come to a forum to get differing veiwpoints and make an educated decision. There isn't really a wrong answer if you get results you are satisfied with.

 

[rdnyva]

Can the Aquadoser be set to disburse a certain amount of additive per day or does it just drip? For instance I am manually dosing 70 ML of two part every morning. So my question is can I set the aqaudoser to drip 70 ML per day? And is it accurate or just an approximation drip? Thanks in advance