kalkwasser mixing?

[rainbody]

I'm hooking up the kalkwasser reactor tonight. The mix says I have to let it settle out and skim out only the middle water. Does the reactor and the stirring make this a wasted task?

[+mcallahan]

I'm hooking up the kalkwasser reactor tonight. The mix says I have to let it settle out and skim out only the middle water. Does the reactor and the stirring make this a wasted task?

no, as the saturated mixture (the middle water) is drawn out, new water will enter the reactor and the stirring will cause the kalk sitting in the bottom to dissolve into solution.

LMK how the reactor works for you. I don't run one and I"m always interested to hear how they work out for people.

[rainbody]

So do the settle thing then put into the reactor? I would think its just mix and go with a reactor

[+mcallahan]

So do the settle thing then put into the reactor? I would think its just mix and go with a reactor

?

[rainbody]

LOL my point. The tub says to mix, settle, then skim. So I'm putting the skimmed section into the reactor to be further mixed and pushed into the tank. I hope that's correct.

[+mcallahan]

I think you also have to put unmixed kalk into the bottom so that as the solution above it leaves, the raw kalk gets mixed,

Note: I've never run a kalk reactor tho so the above is my best guess.

[JimD]

Fill the reactor with ro water, add kalk, mix, settle, dose. Never mix and dose at the same time.. I hope youre using a ph monitor or plan on testing ph a few times a day. Kalk reactors are the only way to go as far as Im concerned..

[+mcallahan]

Fill the reactor with ro water, add kalk, mix, settle, dose. Never mix and dose at the same time.. I hope youre using a ph monitor or plan on testing ph a few times a day. Kalk reactors are the only way to go as far as Im concerned..

+1 on the monitor part. I'd say that it should be a monitor AND controller as a minimum. You don't want your reactor going nuts, and having no way to shut it down when you aren't home.

(PS...a controller for your whole tank would do the same thing and give you TONS of added utility)

[rainbody]

Do I use the ph or time or whatever to pump kalkwasser? Its all on a controller.

[+mcallahan]

Do I use the ph or time or whatever to pump kalkwasser? Its all on a controller.

its a combo of both. You want it to pump if the pH is too low and turn off when its above the point you choose

and you can only have it pump at night to help offset pH drops.

[rainbody]

Ok so I'm guessing I add some flex in it to since it may take abit for things to equal out. But it dosed for 30 secs last night without an issue. I'm just worried about the ph swing from over dosing.

[medi]

I assume you are dosing this with an ATO system? The way I run mine, and I might be chastised for doing this, is I have it plumbed into the ATO return line so everytime my ATO turns on it pumps fresh kalk saturated water into the tank. My ATO usually only tops off during the day time due to my MH. I have my reactor on an icecap timer and it stirs every four hours at night up until 6 AM that way the kalk has time to settle out of the middle water column. One key thing you need to remember is to add fresh kalk bi-weekly. Whenever I don't maintain mine the way I should I notice much larger PH swings from day to night. Since adding the reactor I have noticed huge improvements in my coral growth and overall stability of the tank.

[rainbody]

My ATO is a different pump/switch combo. Right now its tied to a ph probe then waits an hour before rechecking ph and dosing again. At least I hope that's what I programed. But I premixed the kalk in a bucket and only put the middle water in the reactor. My PM reactor doses from the top.