kalk auto top-off

[unclemuskie]

since I am trying to make this hobby as easy as possible any suggestions about this idea would help.Currntly I am topping off manually with a kool-aid jug about 1 gallon a day.Also I'm dosing with the ESV 2 part also manually.Was thinking of setting up a 10 or 15 gallon container in a closet about 15 feet from tank and mixing kalk and then having a peristaltic pump dose overnight about 1 gallon into the sump.fromwhat I've read here before this should eliminate both things I am doing maually.Any suggestions on the type of container and pump.thanks.

[ohioreef]

I am topping off using kalk. I have a 5g jug that I mix the kalk in. It is pumped to my sump using an AquaLifter pump controlled by a float switch. I top-off this way 24-7, not just at night and have never had any problems with pH spikes.

Not sure of the pumping distance that an AquaLifter would be capable off.

[LOTUS50GOD]

I have a 25 gallon rubbermaid trashcan that hold the top off water and the Tunze Osmolator. Tunze has a cylinder that goes inline to hold calc.... Been on the tank for over 2 years.. No issues.

[unclemuskie]

bump

[pepe.king.prawn]

any container will work, but air tight is best. Calcium hydroxide will react with the oxygen in the airspace in the container forming calcium carbonate (which is insoluble at pH 8.3). You can get polyethylene carboys from scientific suppliers or often at your LFS, the type for bringing home NSW. Kent also sells one (look on Marine Depot website) We used to sell them at the LFS I worked at for $10, but here's a link to what I'm talking about:

http://www.daigger.com/catalog/product;jsessionid=0001Q3Q2P4ST1MKHKU3YVPVTVLQ:ukh28eg8?deptId=Carboys&prodId=2346A

As far as a parastaltic pump, any will do. The AquaMedic ones look good to me. It needn't be fancy, just controllable, unless you want to use a float switch. A float switch seems like the best option to me. Marine Depot sells float switches that will turn the parastaltic pump on when the sump gets too low, and turn it off when it fills up to the desired volume. This would enable you to keep a tight tolerance on salinity and allow you to sleep knowing that you're not relying on guess work as to how much water has evaporated. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[ohioreef]

You need to make sure you do not use a polycarbonate container. The kalk will weaken the plastic. I had it to 2 different containers I used before Randy Holmes-Farley helped me figure out what the problem was.

[pepe.king.prawn]

What containers were you using that were polycarbonate? Alhambra water jugs? Calcium Hydroxide or hypochlorite will release Bisphenol-A (the formula unit of polycarbote) from the plastic. Anyway, polyethylene polypropylene and a plethora of other plastics should work fine. If you can't find or afford a carboy, a plastic bucket with a sealing lid would work just as well. Of course it can't seal ALL the way, as the pump won't be able to pump out the kalk against the resulting vacuum in the container.

Correction to what I said earlier: Kalk will react with CO2 in the airspace of the container.. not oxygen. sorry.

If you really wanted a special kalk doser, you could have a vent on your sealed container that would force air to first bubble through a solution of NaOH (lye) before entering your container of kalk. This is entirely unnecessary, but would improve the shelf life of your aqueous kalk solution, as the NaOH would trap the CO2. cheers.

[ohioreef]

The container was a small clear container used to store water in a refrigerator that I had purchased at Wal Mart.

The opaque 5g HDPE container is working great. Randy said that the kalk would not react with the HDPE container.

[Alaskan Reefer]

You don't need a sealed container, just one with a lid -- as long as you're not stirring it the upper crust layer will do a fine job of preventing degradation. I use a 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can with the lid loosely fit over it. Kalk doesn't deteriorate significantly for at least 2 weeks as long as you don't disturb it.

Tunze Osmolator is a popular peristaltic, I use a Litermeter III, but only because my longer term plan is to automate water changes as well -- a little too pricey just to drip kalk. I don't use float switches -- just match the peristaltic output to the tanks evaporation rate. Takes a few weeks to hit it and it's a constantly moving target with the seasons, but really not a big deal.

[j0tca]

A Kalkwasser auto topoff is a very common thing, also called a Nelson reactor. Many people use them and have used them for years. I personally use a home made one that has done a great job of supplying the needed Ca and carbonates to my 125 for the last 2 years.

I suggest you do a search on nelson reactors.

The basic idea is to keep a sealed conatiner full of lime that you push your topoff water through. It must be mixed frequently aswell by a pump or magentic mixer.

My reactor is a simple sealed pipe attached to my RO/DI output (controlled by a timer and float switch) with a Powerhead rigged to stir the mixture. The container MUST be sealed as carbon dioxide in the air will turn your limewater into calcium carbonate. I have a screw on lid to my reactor to fill it every few weeks with new lime.

If you do build one, get the timing on your mixer right, adding reactor effluent WHILE it is mixing can have very bad results.

HTH,
Will