medi Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I just stumbled across TLF kalk reactor. Has anyone ever tried one of these, or does anyone know anything about them? I can pick up the smaller one for $38 which would be awesome if it worked. Here is a link to Glassbox designs that tells a little about them. http://glassbox-design.com/2008/two-little-fishies-phosban-550-kw-reactor-accurasea/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Have you seen these locally, or where did you see the $38 price? I'd like to give it a whirl. I don't have a calcium reactor of any kind, but I do have auto top off and always thought I should be using Kalk in it. This would certainly be better than nuthin, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Google two little fishies kalk reactor and it should pull up one store that sells them. I have been adding kalk directly to my top off, but I am getting tired of cleaning my top off tank so I was kind of thinking about giving it a try as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Yeah, that's one of the reasons I never did it, because of the mess. The other reason is that my top off is barely big enough to keep up with my evap and frequently gets drained completely so I didn't want to have to have the dead space in the bottom for the kalk. This sounds like the perfect answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Here is the link to the only store I could find that sells this: http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8435 Anyone know how I would set this up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeperKeeper Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I was assuming you could set it down in the top off tank, hook up your pump to one end and have a tube going from the other end into your sump. Hook up your pump to float switches and "Bob's your Uncle" there it is. *shrugs* At least I hope that's how it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medi Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 That is kinda what I was thinking, but I think there is more to it than that. I have never set one up, but I recall hearing that you need to place most kalk reactors on a timer to allow them to intermittently stir the kalk. Also, if you set it up to be on a steady flow will the water have enough contact time to become saturated with kalk (sorry if this is the incorrect terminology), or will it just simply pass through the reactor and not do much good? Maybe I am delusional, but I want to make sure it is done correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Daniel Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 My concern with that design is that it doesn't look like there's any real mixing of the kalk powder. Typical designs have a stir bar or a pump which circulates the water inside the chamber. If you're using kalk, you don't want to add the cloudy stuff to your tank-- what you're looking for is the saturated water, not anything under/over-saturated. I may just be missing something with the design of the rx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I would have to agree with Daniel, those were my thoughts while reading the post. It just does not seem that simple to me. Unless you were only adding the amount of the reactor to the tank at each top off. My understanding of how to use Kalk for the best advantage is to make up a 5g batch and then skim off the clear part about 5 hours later. The rest can then be made up with more water until sediment at the bottom of the tank goes away. I would be worried that you'd just be adding the white portion of the kalk unless the reactor chamber had a few hours to settle out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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