Need a dosing pump for kalk

banthonyb71

banthonyb71

Active member
I'm looking for a dosing pump for kalk that can used in the manner shown in this article from May's TOTM member bbyatv. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QJJLprX7aQclZsN2pyLU1zTU0/view?usp=sharing&pli=1

He uses the master flex however for my setup i will need something smaller. I've already bothered him with a ton of questions so i thought i would ask the community.

I need a pump thats
quiet
can dose the amount neede over 24 hours
can dose with pump before the stirrer as seen in diagram.
preferable something smaller than the masterflex.

I've never dosed kalk before so this is all new to me.
 
If your tank is not too demanding and you have some decent evaporation, I'd just skip the kalk stirrer and use my ATO to dose the kalk. You can get up to 3 teaspoons of kalk to dissolve in a 1 US gal of water if you add 45ml of vinegar. Now I'd start with less kalk than that of course, I'm just stating you can use that much if needed. Past that I'd use a regular doser like a BRS 1.1 ml per minute to make up any difference you need with Ca - Alk - Mg dosing.
 
coralsnaked said:
and use my ATO to dose the kalk.
Click to expand...

I can use your ATO to dose my Kalk?
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I appreciate the advice. but my goal is to follow bbyatv's schematic as much as i can. from the looks of his tank is is doing something right. Plus i already bought the Kalk Stirrer and I'm not using ATO. will be connecting directly to my ro/di to the sump.

I just need a pump that's accurate and quiet, i was looking into the Stenner but Dr Thompson said they where loud pumps. I definitely don't want loud in my living room.
 
I mix kalk powder with vinegar before mixing in RO and just dose it as part of my ATO. Easiest way to do it.

Fully saturated limewater is 2tsp per gallon

When you first start dosing kalk, your calcium will probably shoot up very high (at least mine did) and it will even out over time and maintain your parameters very steadily.

I only have to dose very small amounts of ca,Dkh and Mg every 12-14 days in a fully stocked mixed reef with plenty of stony corals.
 
ok. no offense to anyone but please, this thread wasn't me asking for the best way to dose kalk. i'm 100% doing this the way bbyatv showed in the diagram because I like the fact that their is no chance for an overdose. kalk overflow, no ATO. (perfect for my set up) I'll be adding the Calcium reactor part later.

i'm asking advice on selecting a dosing pump.


I need a pump thats
quiet
accurate
can dose the amount needed over 24 hours
can dose with pump before the stirrer as seen in diagram.
preferable something smaller than the masterflex.

Anyone have suggestions?
 
I do not know if you can get them over there (60 Hz versions), but I am about to order one of these (7 ml / minute). I am currently using the 2 ml / minute version of these pumps.
 
I didn't read your link but I dose Kalk 24 times a day (once every hour everyday) and simply use a cheap aqualifter pump and have it setup on my ReefAngel. Works awesome and eliminates the unknown variables that come with running Kalk in your ato where your evaporation can vary.

The beauty of dosing Kalk is that accuracy isn't very important so you don't have to have a true dosing pump.
 
banthonyb71 said:
I need a pump thats
quiet
can dose the amount neede over 24 hours
can dose with pump before the stirrer as seen in diagram.
preferable something smaller than the masterflex.

I've never dosed kalk before so this is all new to me.
Click to expand...

Most peristaltic pumps are quiet.
What is the amount needed over 24 hours ?
 
DiscusHeckel said:
Why do you say that? If you dose different amount of kalkwasser everyday, then how do you ensure stable alkalinity?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I dose alk/cal/mag on dosing pumps PLUS I dose Kalk every hour via the aqualifter pump. Stability comes from the Alk being on a dosing pump and more stability comes from dosing Kalk all day long (even if those amounts vary a couple ml +/- due to the inaccuracy of the aqualifter pump).
 
DavidinGA said:
I dose alk/cal/mag on dosing pumps PLUS I dose Kalk every hour via the aqualifter pump. Stability comes from the Alk being on a dosing pump and more stability comes from dosing Kalk all day long (even if those amounts vary a couple ml +/- due to the inaccuracy of the aqualifter pump).
Click to expand...

This makes perfect sense in your case.

I have a similar setting in which bulk of my corals' alk/ca requirements are met by RHF 2-part. However, in my case, the variability of my feed pump to my Deltec kalk stirrer has created instability because the feed rate varied between 10 ml/min to 4 ml/min within a period of 12 hours (in pH terms, alk/ca terms, salinity terms as well as the water level terms in my sump). For the context have a look at this thread (post no 16 onwards).

My conclusion from my experience is that I need a precise doser, so that I can attach it to a timer. This enables me to calculate how much effluent I will get within a pre-determined period of time. Of course, alk/ca will drop in time as the effluent's potency drops after a while, but stability in terms of volume is of paramount importance.
 
^^^ Yes that is a good one there is one better, probably not necessary in this application but just another option. As long as it can be adjusted and run 24/7

Why not hobby pumps, well something like bubble Magnus and the 5 other companies that make them, they are not to be run 24/7, they cannot do it.
 
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