My diy kalk reactor.

[whatcaneyedo]

Unfortunately I used Weld-On 16 because no where in Prince George sells Weld-On 4 and I didnt feel like waiting weeks to have it shipped. The Weld-On 16 is a lot thicker and gave me some dried up drips along the joints but once the reactor has had kalk in it for a while the inside will be so white it wont matter anymore. I got rid of the outside drips along the joints with my router.

I like using a reactor for the dosing of lime water because it doesnt make a big white mess of my ATO fresh water holding container and I dont have to worry about my Tunze dosing pump jamming up either. Plus I was able to make this dirt cheep because I got the acrylic for free and I already had nearly all of the other parts and tools I needed. It just took a $20 shopping trip to home depot for some PVC, nylon bolts, wing nuts and a large O-ring. It also helped that this week I'm laid off without anything better to do...

 

[Paul_PSU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14425133#post14425133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefObsessor805
This one?

They make them also without the blue valve on it. The have a threaded end and the white compression fit end.

 

[Paul_PSU]

fourzero, I agree that kalk solutions do not "go bad" after a couple weeks. My understand on the sealed system was not that the air degraded the kalk, but that the sealed container was what made physics work behind the kalk reactor. If it is not sealed properly then when you push the water into the bottom of the reactor the water will not exit through the output near the top. They both work. To each his own. I know some people use a 30 gal Brute trash can for kalk.

How and how often do you mix your solution or add more kalk?

 

[fourzero]

I'm playing with evaporation rate to increase my kalk usage and decrease my 2-part DIY solution. That being said, I am now at about 1 gal/day evaporation, replaced entirely by the kalk drip. The bucket is actually closer to 8 gallons, so I fill/mix about once every 6-7 days. I will try and take pics of the setup later, but the idea is to let the bucket go ALMOST dry, add 100mL of vinegar (both as a C source and to get increased Ca) drizzled down the sides, and then quickly pour in enough RO/DI water to mix the slurry. Once the solution settles, I open the ball valve up again and resume dripping, so no precipitates of any kind are going in the tank.

Your statement about a sealed system needed for pressurized topoff is 100% accurate. Again, I don't want to discourage DIY of any kind, almost everything on my tank is DIY to my specifications. If you don't want the hassle of filling a bucket once a week and want a pressurized vessel to run the output of your RO/DI for ATO, then a DIY kalkreactor is probably the best solution for you.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14438844#post14438844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul_PSU
fourzero, I agree that kalk solutions do not "go bad" after a couple weeks. My understand on the sealed system was not that the air degraded the kalk, but that the sealed container was what made physics work behind the kalk reactor. If it is not sealed properly then when you push the water into the bottom of the reactor the water will not exit through the output near the top. They both work. To each his own. I know some people use a 30 gal Brute trash can for kalk.

How and how often do you mix your solution or add more kalk?

 

[fourzero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14438844#post14438844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul_PSU
How and how often do you mix your solution or add more kalk?

I never answered the kalk addition question. The bucket has a bulkhead about 1.5" above the bottom of the container. I filled the bucket to just below the bulkhead with Kalk over a year ago and put another half pound or so about 6 months (?) ago.

I have played around with an open system, if you run a MJ to keep the solution in a slurry, you DO get CaCO3 precipitation, a clogged MJ and effluent line. If you run an airstone in the system, you get a LOT of CaCO3 precipitation.

If you add/stir once a week and then put the lid back on, you get very little CaCO3 precipitation.

 

[Paul_PSU]

Thanks. I have seen a lot of people do it that way. I don't have any place to set it above sump or tank water level to drip. I was considering that initially to make a drip system.

I also evaporate about 1.5 gals per day. I just recently hooked my kalk reactor up to my ATO. Before that I just had it on a timer and I had a separate pump for ATO. I eliminated a pump also in the process. I wish I had a fish room for equipment but unfortunately I have to try to keep as much under my stand as possible since my tank is in my home office on the main floor.

 

[coryjac0b]

I will post some pics when i get home, i cleaned up the rear of my tank, wires and such, tye wrapping them up and such. So i could place the reactor between the wall and my tank. I dont have a fish room, wish i did, so everything has to fit under my tank or behind it. Room is pretty tight now.

 

[fishoutawater]

I have a few questions. Hope I'm not threadjacking. If I build a kalk reactor with a pump for a stirrer, will placing the suction for the pump as close to the top as possible help with pump longevity? Also, with such a system, is it possible to add too much kalk to the reactor? I evaporate around a gallon a day, if the reactor holds 2 gal., will loading it with more kalk than necessary to reach saturation harm anything? Or will it just increase the time between kalk fillups?

 

[coryjac0b]

i asked a similar question in a different thread about how much to add, my reactor is 4x24. i put about a cup of dry kalk into it, which was whati was told would be good enough. then just check the paste in the bottom when it gets thin, add more.