please help me with my KALK setup

F

frezel

Member
Here is what i have:

I have a 120 g tank in first floor with a 30 gallon breeder tank under the stand, i have my ro unit and 33 gallon trash can in the basement approx 8 feet below tank.

Currently i am dripping kalk via a DIY doser and have to fill every day (what a pain) i wanted to automate this, becuase i am loving the effects its having on my tank.

There are a few options i have thought about and there pros and cons, but have no practical expereince with any of these so ill list them and if you have used them let me know.

option 1. to buy a JBJ top off unit and place that in the sump, combine that with a aquamedic SP3000 dosing pump to draw the water up. only thing im not sure about with this setup is how much water that sp3000 will allow in at any one given time, the tank of the month guy said he does it this way and loves it but i also dont know how big of a sump area he has?

option #2. - would be to get a reef filler, i hear they are good but can be noisy, how noisy im not sure, it would go in basment but this house you can hear a mouse fart at night. also im not sure about how accurate it would keep the sump level, i assume u would need to adjust according to season and the amount of evap that is happening in tank. and can you run this to a single float for added protection?

option #3 - would be to get a litermeter 3, this unit seems nice but $$$$$$, only pros i have that it will drip kalk steadily and it is quiet, cons might be how fast the hose wears out and also the accuracy of fluctuating levels of evap in the tank which would need constant adjusting.

i am not really against reactors but want to keep costs down. i have seen many tanks with low tech solutions flourish, so if anyone has experience about any of my options please comment and decribe your set up fr me before i purchase something that wount work for me.also if you avanyother options let me know. keep it low tech and remember i have ro water in basment and tnak on firstfloor. Please no DIY buckets next to tank ideas, my wife will kick me out of the house if she sees buckets :p

thank in advance
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
:hallo: Welcome to Reefsanctuary!

I think I'll let someone else suggest the best route since all three sound excellent to me :)
 
Mr Bojangles

Mr Bojangles

Member
I would go with option one. I use a DIY ATO and a aqualifter pump, but I dont think the aqualifter can lift the water that high. Have you considered a kalk reactor?
 
F

frezel

Member
i like option 1 but am not sure of the influx that the sp3000 pump will do, or if its a steady drip or not, at this point im thinking about getting a neptune jr to control my tank. It seems like the safest way to dose kalk is over a steady period of time and to do that some type of drip by drip system needs to be in place, the litermeter fits that category but its so exspensive. How do kalk reactors work? do they hoiok directly to ro line and than drip directly into sump?:wit:
 
Mr Bojangles

Mr Bojangles

Member
well the option one pump might not be able to pump all the way from the basement.

The kalk reactor works by bumping RO water in and mixed kalk comes out. The reactor has alot of kalk powder in in and mixes 2 times a day, so you have fresh kalk that you dont have to mix. Just replace used kalk monthly and your set!
 
F

frezel

Member
bump, please would like to hear your opnions of how if you have the same problem how u tackled it...
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
With the ro/di hooked up to it, you want to eliminate all possiblities of the float switch sticking on. That would be disasterous... I would at least get a dual switch in the sump or better yet, the tunze ozmolator that has laser beams (no floats). That device will tell the pump when to dose.

For dosing, a kalkreactor is the lowest maintenance device that would work well.

Getting a pump to move the water 8' shouldn't be too difficult. You don't need a lot of water flow. I use a small powerhead to move my kalk water up 2' then over 2'... it barely pours out but that is how I like it. Slow and easy.
 
F

frezel

Member
what are some kalk reactors u guys recomend? from personal experience with and which ones to stay away from and y?
 
mps9506

mps9506

Well-Known Member
Most of the kalk or nielsen reactors on the market are pretty similar.
You can actually just set the kalk reactor near the tank and have a solenoid cut your ro/di on and off to feed water through the kalk reactor when the top off switch specifies. If you go this route be sure to plan in some kind of cut off incase of top off switch failures. IE make sure to use solenoids that stay closed when the power is cut off, and probably an extra switch to cut off the feed water in case your main float switches get stuck.
 
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