Roger

[steve the plumb]

I bought a large kalk reactor before going on vacation.I set it up with the osmolator.I came back to a kalk storm and everything was white.I set the reactor to run 24/7.Everything worked fine while I tested the unit for 2 days.For some reason it must have over dosed while I was gone but the water level was low and the osmolator wasn't dosing.I don't know what happend since the tunze doesn't dose that much in one shot.The reactor is tall and I had a good 6 inches of clear water at the top of the reactor so it wasn't as if I put to much kalk in the reactor.I used about a cup to a cup and a half.I should have bought a ph controller with the unit as a fail safe but stupid me thought it would be fine because it worked well for 2 days without any ph spike.Well everything is dead now so I guess I learned one very expensive lesson.I lost at least $3000 worth of live stock.Let this be a lesson to some people always have some kind of fail safe switch so as not to overdose additives.

 

[rvitko]

You posted this before and I asked you to check your install. It sounds like you installed it so the water siphoned out of the reservoir after the pump turned off. If you are dosing your top off to the sump I am almost certain that is what happened. You need to add the top off water to the tank so that gravity will break any possible siphon.

 

[steve the plumb]

I wasn't sure if I posted before.I did check my install.I also raised my tubing so that it wouldn't syphon out my resevoir.I ran it for 2 days and it worked fine.I made sure it wasn't syphoning out the water but I guess something went wrong.I even was turning the osmolator on and off to simulate a power failure.The water never overdosed and when I came back the resevoir only dosed about 7 gal of water and my sump water was low.I guess it overdosed and then the eye blocked I am not sure since I never had this problem before I had the reactor.I checked and tested multiple times just to make sure everything worked.Could it be the fact that I left the kalk reactor running 24/7.I did notice that my 9020 wasn't skimming as much when the kalk water was being dosed.My skimmer is set up very cloe to my top off water tubing.Dose kalk affect the 9020 performance.I also noticed when testing my ph stayed normal it never sky rocketed so the mixture coming out of the reactor wasn't super potent.Maybe something jammed.I don't have a clue why this happende.This was my main concern about going on vacation.

 

[rvitko]

Do you have any pictures of the installation? I am very puzzled by how this could happen.

 

[steve the plumb]

Roger everything pretty much well died so I had some lps and leathers that survived and I gave them to my friend.I stripped the tank apart in order to sell it.There was no point in me continueing when everything was dying so I was so upset I took everything down so I could sell it.I did decide to keep my live rock and I am selling my mh pendants my tank and my sump.I figured I can't afford for this to happen again.I spent a good 2 years taking care of the tank.I love the hobby but sps corals demand alot of care and having to worry about going on vacation,heat in the summer and now this I can't spend another $3000 on corals when alot of my spare change was going towards the hobby.I don't know what went wrong either.I have pics without the kalk reactor but like I said I made sure not to get the syphon thats why I had raised the tubing.I did get a syphon when I raised the water level to a certainpoint so I raised the level of the tubing and lowered the water in the contaner so as not to get syphonage.I tested a few times and everything was fine.I myself bought the kalk reactor for the reason that I was going to be away for a week.Afetr this disaster a few of my friends said they would have offered to watch the tank.Its easy to say this after everything died.No one offered before hand plus it takes certain people who have knowledge of the hobby to understand if something goes wrong.I guess it was one expensive lesson.

 

[rvitko]

Steve,

I am very sorry. I hope youu wil reconsider giving it another try. I would be happy to help you troubleshoot so it dooesn't happen again.

 

[steve the plumb]

I don't have the cash now.I can't afford to start up again.I lost way to much money on fish and corals and the funds are just not there right now.Thanks for the help.If I set it up again I will run it without livestock and make sure nothing goes wrong.