Tunze 5074 Calcium Dispenser Reviews

[tito]

I am looking to possibly add the Tunze 5074 Calcium dispenser to my Osmolator ATO. Looking for some feedback to see how the unit performs and if it is worth the price or if I should just mix kalk in the ATO water and carry a spare pump?

 

[rvitko]

I would say the main advantage would be that the kalkwasser reacts with the CO2 in air to form an insoluble precipitate (Calcium Carbonate, the crust you see on the surface of kalkwasser). By keeping the powder sealed in a bottle full of water, this loss is minimized. It won't be stronger, it just saves the pump and prevents loss by precipitation.

 

[tito]

Thanks Roger. Are there any issues with dosing that much kalk at a single time by using the Osmolator unit? I am guessing the Osmolator adds a cup or two per cycle. Does the 5074 regulate how much is dosed?

 

[rvitko]

What size tank are you working with? In general this is regulated by the amount of powder used.

 

[tito]

75g display w/ 25g of actual water in sump.

How often does the kalk powder need to be added to the reactor?

 

[rvitko]

In this case, you would add 4 tsps for every 6-7 gallons of top off water, you are basically mixing a 1/2tsp per gallon.

 

[tito]

I received the unit and installed it. I have another question about the reactor. Say I mix a batch for 7 days. When you mix the kalk in the reactor will the first day or two have a higher concentration of kalk going to the tank vs the later days? If so will this have any effect on the chemistry?

 

[rvitko]

Yes and no, while initially when freshly added, you may add a slurry, i.e. powder suspended in a saturated solution, this would be stronger, after that any dispensed kalk would be only a saturated solution and kalkwasser is poorly dissolved in water, only about 1/2 tsp can be dissolved in a gallon of room temperature RO water. It is impossible to dissolve more without acidifying the water or increasing the temperature.

 

[ClownBubbaJoe]

Hello Roger,
I have a chance to buy a almost new 5074 Kalk dispenser. I have a 29g Biocube, would the unit be too large for this small tank ?

I usually religh on video's to see how products work, but I can't find any, even on youtube.
can you explain how this unit works and why it's better than a typical Kalk stir system, just using a small dosing pump hooked up to a bottle of lime water or a reactor ?

Always appreciate your advise bud.
Kevin

 

[rvitko]

The way the 5074 stirs the kalk powder is that the water comes in through angled nozzle that causes it to swirl. The method of stirring is not going to make much of a difference, kalkwasser reaches saturation where no more can be dissolved rather quickly, very little can be dissolved in water. Unless a mixer is dosing a slurry or you acidify or heat the water you really can't dissolve much more than about 3/4 teaspoon in a gallon of water. Just keep in mind that kalk is a fairly weak calcium supplement and you will likely need another calcium regiment to keep up unless it is a very basic softcoral tank. Kalk mainly shines at maintaining alkalinity and precipitating phosphate.

 

[Flatlander]

Mine is currently maintaining both alk & calcium, without to much extra help. Thats pretty cool, considering I have all sps & clams. Mind you, a good portion of them are still young.

 

[rvitko]

If you do a lot of water changes it may keep up, but it all depends on the calcium demand and SPS and clams tend to grow exponentially so while small they don't draw as much out. An SPS frag can seem to take an eternity to grow from 1-2" but from 2-4" takes the same time and then 4-8" and that is where the demand really spikes.

 

[duberz]

In this case, you would add 4 tsps for every 6-7 gallons of top off water, you are basically mixing a 1/2tsp per gallon.

Old thread but I have a question. I'm currently using 4tsps with a 5gallon container. I know fully saturated is about 2tsps/gal. Is there a way to get full saturation from the 5074? I have about 60 total gallons of tank water.

 

[rvitko]

I don't believe that is true, my experience is that unless the water is heated or acidified a maximum of about 3/4 teaspoons will dissolve, people often add more as much is lost to surface contact with air which forms insoluble calcium carbonate. I think at most 1 teaspoon could be dissolved in room temperature RO water. The Calcium Dispenser should produce a saturated solution and a minimum of precipitate as the only CO2 exposure is what is dissolved in the air, dissolving more would require acidifying or heating the water, agitation could produce a suspension, but more will not be actually dissolved.

 

[duberz]

Another question please. I'm still adding 4tsps once a week to the dispenser. My rodi container is 5 gallons and total tank volume is 60 gallons. Can I assume I'm getting full saturation from the dispenser with the numbers I've posted? Also I plan on cleaning out the dispenser every forth time I add kalk. Will the saturation be less with just 4 tsps after clean out vs the 16tsps added before clean out? Thanks

 

[rvitko]

It should be the same, most of what you are cleaning out will be insoluble calcium carbonate precipitate. I think it would be saturated as long as every time 5 gallons is added, 4 teaspoons is added.

 

[duberz]

Rvitco,how often do you recommend cleaning out the dispenser?

 

[rvitko]

The ideal would be to rinse it monthly and give it a through soak in vinegar and clean it up to new about every 6 months, but I generally have done that about half as often and it seems to work ok.