Wade Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 I posted earlier about my inability to keep my pH at the recommended range (8.3-8.4). I've been doing some research tonight regarding Kalk reactors and I'm a bit confused regarding some previous advice (long time ago). When I first started dosing Kalk I had placed a small power head in the container to keep it mixed up. Someone way back when said that's a no no and that I should let the Kalk settle for a day and then either pour off the top without getting it stirred up again or just down have the hose down at the bottom of the container. The whole job of a Kalk reactor seems to be keeping it stirred up so the solution is fully saturated with Kalk. Would the power head in the container not provide the same function at a fraction of the cost or am I missing something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Because if powder partially undissovlered build up in aquarium after long use cause pH spike...for that reason, if u use powerhead, it must be on and off with some times before top off goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 And kalk stirrer corrects that issue...if u an't in sps, that wouldn't matter much with pH spike at minimal rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I do have SPS so that would be an issue. Thank you for the insight. Ok I'll have to give it some thought. I Little Fishes reactor seems good for the money and probably a lot better than just mixing the kalk in the top off. The PM looks really good, but dang expensive and more than what I need for a 72. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Look into avast marine, they made good quality and very efficient reactor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Yeah that looks really nice. I wonder how many folks use a kalk reactor vs a 2-part system? I think if I can learn how to dial in my 2-part system that it would be a better choice overall. Surely there's a guide for it. Maybe "2-Part for Idiots"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryD Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Yeah that looks really nice. I wonder how many folks use a kalk reactor vs a 2-part system? I think if I can learn how to dial in my 2-part system that it would be a better choice overall. Surely there's a guide for it. Maybe "2-Part for Idiots"? Bulk reef supply has a couple good videos on using 2 part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Thanks Larry. I'll give them a view:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet'spride70 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 2 parts, kalk stirrer/topoff, calrx...they all have complexities of their-own. Its just personal references and needs in long run. If u learn & get em dial in, u own it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I have an avast kalk reactor I'm going to start using once my 2 part dosing comes to a point where they'd be supplementing equally if that makes sense. Then 2 part will pick up the slack. Kalk powder is cheaper than 2 part chemicals so it makes sense that it would be the heavier dosed of the two. The thing about a kalk reactor is that it keeps it gently stirred, and the pump adds water to the bottom very slowly and the displaced water comes out the top. It stirs it enough to keep it dissolved, but slowly enough to keep it from getting all disturbed and murky to where you're adding actual powder Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Well for some reason this morning, the pH spiked from 7.9 to 8.3 over a 2-hour period between 4am and 6am. Been pretty flat since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 If using kalk in your ATO ( and I'm pretty new to this) you have to add only small amounts at a time to maintain a stable pH. This means you must have your ATO set up where the float is in a very small section of the sump and takes little filling to activate the shut off. I accomplish this by utilizing the pump area of my sump as the non constant level area where the float switch is located. When my ATO activates it takes only ~ 500 ml of kalk water to shut it off and is added at the back of the sump where the overflow drains into the sump. This way it operates more frequently but at smaller amounts and has some time to mix prior to getting pumped up to the tank. Also if you are at max saturation of kalk and still having to supplement with 2 part to keep up with demands as I am, then it is perfectly acceptable to oversaturate the kalk in the ATo where you have kalk that does not dissolve, IE only 2 teaspoons per gallon will dissolve unless you add vinegar at 15 ml per gal. per extra teaspoon of kalk. Therefore in a 5 gal bucket you can mix for example 10 teaspoons of kalk powder for a full 5 gal bucket and stir let settle and use for ATO requirements. This is full saturation and each time you refill the bucket you would need to re add 10 teaspoons of kalk per refill and stir. The milky solids at the bottom of the bucket is not necessarily lime, but more likely the impurities of the kalk and should be discarded. The lime also makes a skim on the top from interacting with air. This too will follow the line of the kalk water down to the bottom of the bucket. Too over saturate you can just add say 30 teaspoons and stir and let settle and much of the kalk will settle undissolved in the bottom. Then in theory you can refill with RO water twice and stir and let settle each time and still be at full saturation for 3 buckets of RO. Basically what you have done is created a manual kalk reactor. If utilizing this method be sure and float the pump or intake line above the undissolved kalk but low enough where it will be in the full saturation level as kalk seems to not remain at full saturation over time at the upper levels of the reservoir. I have read where some reefers just dump a bucket of Kalk into their ATO reservoir and keep refilling and stirring once in a while. Personally I stay at 9 teaspoons per 5 gal to accomplish full dissolution of kalk and then supplement with 2 part thru my dosing pumps. I utilize the dosing pump changes to change my parameters and keep the 9 teaspoons per 5 gal constant. Of course to do this you must keep the ATO delivering a pretty constant level for evaporation. This means you have to monitor your evaporation rate and keep it constant. Changes in power heads fans etc. will change that rate of evaporation and the amount of kalk being dosed to tank. In winter with the heater in house running your tank will evap faster than in summer. So to compensate I run fans over tank in summer but not winter and keep my evap rate steady at 1 gal per day so I can manage my kalk levels being delivered thru ATO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks Neon. I'm currently at 10 teaspoons in an 8 gallon container. It's good to know what the max saturation point is. I wasn't sure of that. I use my Apex to control the ATO pump so the influx of top off is at regular intervals. I've got it dialed in pretty good to where it keeps the sump very close to the same level constantly. Currently the pump runs for 2:33 with an off time of 25:22. I could split the interval in half so it runs more often, but that seems to be working fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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