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C

cowboycaddy

New member
hi im a new member. Went to the meeting and am interested in a kalkreactor.I talked to Paul at the meeting about one he makes. Just wondering if someone might be willing to show me theirs all hooked up so I can get a better understanding of how to use it with top-off and how to plumb it.My 120 is in the living room so space is limited.Thanks for the help. Jeff
 
I have one and I live on the westside of Cleveland in Olmsted Twp. You are more than welcome to check out how I have it setup. Ben
 
I'm in the same boat. My 120's in our family room, so I have to stuff everything in the cabinet below the tank. Not easy to do with a 40 gallon sump under there.

It's not a reactor, but check out this thread:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/nftt/index.php

I used a 1 gallon milk jug. I set it on a board sitting across the sump and dripped it into the return chamber. Easy, cheap, and functional.
 
Hope this helps. Here is what I have in my system. The unit is fed by a dosing pump. The recirculating pump is on a timer and kicks on 4x per day for 15min.

DSCN4155.jpg


kalkdiagram.jpg
 
Hi,

serpentman said: It's my preferred method as each tend to offset the negatives of the other.

Can you explain a little on what you mean?

Dave
 
Yes, I should have been more clear. My primary motivation behind running them in tandem is to counteract any negative effects on my system pH. The kalk reactor effluent is very high in pH while the Calcium reactor effluent is low in pH. In theory, the 2 "cancel" each other out.

Although I have yet to have issue with a Kalk reactor raising my pH too high, I have seen my Ca Reactor lower my system pH.
 
reason you might run both Ca and Kalk reactors

reason you might run both Ca and Kalk reactors

It's one of the 4 methods of insurance against depressed pH associated with running a Ca reactor that can occur.

The other 3 being offgasing CO2 in skimmer by effluent drip into the skimmer itself. And 2nd being dripping effluent into refugium for macro to absorb CO2. Lastly, 2nd chamber on Ca reactor of course.

All 4 work to greater or lesser degrees and like everything else your setup size, habits and equipment and bioload would determine your best fit.
 
Last edited:
Hi,

Thanks, I was not sure but I thought that is what you meant. I just run a calcium reactor and my PH is a little low. Somtimes I have to spike it back up with a product called PHup. I run the output of the reactor next to the input of my skimmer but that does not seem to help much. Might have to go with the Kalc drip.
OH my g......, another piece of gear to fuss with, just what I need!!!

Dave
 
The nice thing about kalk reactors is they really are simple to DIY. There has been a lot of fuss in the reef chemistry forum and many argue that you don't even need a stirring pump. Just a container with kalk that your ATO feeds into.

Another approach is to connect them to a dosing pump on a timer that only comes on at night to offset the daily drop in pH. Personally, I run my 24/7.
 
Not to go off on a tangent but in addition to the reactors, other factors also will effect pH.

Once your lights turn off and photosynthesis stops, the pH of your tank steady declines each night. This is completely normal and can be combated with kalk and/or running your refugium lights (if you have one) at night rather than day.
 
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