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#1
11-02-2012, 04:13 PM
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Dosing Kalc
I am considering dosing kalc to my 90 gallon system. My current configuration is as follows:
My RO/DI water feeds a 4 or 5 gallon plastic tub on a shelf over my sump. I have a 1/4 line running from an air valve, mounted about 1" from the bottom of the tub, which gravity feeds a float valve in the sump to keep a constant water level. What is the simplest method of dosing Kalc to this setup? Shall I mix kalc and add it directly to the fresh water tub? If I did, I would be constantly replacing evaporated water with kalc water. Would that be over dosing? I considered picking up a TLF kalc reactor and running it directly into the sump, but I need to maintain a constant level in the sump for my skimmer which would be difficult to do with the kalc reactor and my ATO system. Alternatively, I could hook up the reactor to an alternate fresh water source and dose into the 4 gallon ATO tub periodically.... Any suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated! 
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#2
11-02-2012, 04:24 PM
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My system works like this: ATO water is pumped into the kalk reactor which then exits into the sump to maintain the water level. So the reservoir stays fresh clean water. Mine is a homemade reactor but I believe most ATO/kalk reactors work something like this.
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#3
11-02-2012, 04:26 PM
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So you use a controller to maintain the water level in the sump which tells the reactor when to turn on?
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#4
11-02-2012, 05:59 PM
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No, the outflow from the ATO pump dumps into the kalk reactor, so the water flows through that and on into the sump. So whenever the ATO kicks in water is running through the kalk reactor.
Which of course is not ideal in my case since the pump which stirs the kalk comes on according to a set timer. So occasionally the kalk will be stirring up and then the ATO kicks in and stirred up kalk water is pushed into the sump. In a perfect system the kalk would be stirred in between or after the ATO pumps. You dont really want raw kalk in your tank, but so far I have suffered no ill effects that I can see. Using less kalk and having a bigger reactor help somewhat. Like you suggest a controller would be a great way to coordinate a work around to this problem.
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#6
11-03-2012, 05:03 AM
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This is my DIY kalk reactor.
 On the left is my clear DI housing (from my RO system), running to a standard clear housing on the right. I have switched the 'in' and 'out' on the housing so that now the water travels down a tube in the centre that I have placed inside, usually it travels around the outside of the standard filters and up the middle. The water travels down the tube to the bottom and percolates through about a cup of kalk, then back up around the outside of the tube and out the 'in'. This housing has 1" outlets I think, so I have two adapters on either side running it down to 3/8" so that I can run my standard 1/4" RO tubing into and out of it. This then runs to my float valve in my sump. One if the things you want to avoid is exposing your 'kalkified' water to air, as it reacts and you lose your Ca. You also want to dose very slowly otherwise you cause a shift in pH in your tank causing Ca to precipitate out, actually decreasing your Ca rather than increasing it. This system both doses slowly and does not expose your Kalk water to air. Cautions... don't hook up a reservoir upstream of the housing containing the kalk, otherwise the flow will be too much and the kalk will not settle. Also, I have only had this running for a couple of weeks and have a small concern Ca may build up on my float valve shut off causing it to leak. I don't think this will happen, but it might. You don't need the special blue top on the housing that I have. It just allows me to shut off or bypass the kalk chamber without shutting my RO system off. Dan
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Link to my Tank Upgrade Thread Dan Leus, Marine Biologist 20+ Years Marine Aquarium Experience Save the Reef, Buy a Frag!
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