DIY Kalk reactor users. CHIME IN!

[818]

Hola amigos and amigas

Ok, those who are using a DIY kalk reactor please post a pic of your reactor and if possible info on it.

how to build, materials, etc.

I have a lot of tools and access to all the finicky little fittings i might need as well as material. Just show me how!

My tank is 36''x25''x11''

Thanks in advance!:D

[roxy25]

tagging along

[customcolor]

all i got to say is dont use polycobonate. it cracks with in a week, i think the kulk(mrs wags) reacts with it and cracks it. i tryed 2 and both cracked where there was no seams.

[palawan]

This is the DIY reactor that I built for my tank. Except I used unions instead of the hose clamps. Its all made of pvc even the 4" tube is clear pvc, which is more expensive material but its very durable.

[palawan]

Oops sorry here's the link to the plans http://www.mv.com/users/besposito/nilsen.html

[customcolor]

thats what i should have used

[brucem]

You do not have to use clear pvc from top to bottom. i only used it for the first foot so you can see how much kalk is in the bottom.
The only I would do different from palawan's design is put a pipe going to the bottom for the fresh water

[kgross]

Here is a link to the ones that I have built.

http://www.jensalt.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2

kim

[Sk8r]

The Frankenkalkreactor: bucket, eggcrate grid, ATO.http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f269/Sk8r10/frankenreactor-1.jpg
Cost? free: out of spare parts and extant ATO system.

The grid keeps the pump intake out of the slurry at the bottom.

I dump in a pound of kalk whenever it seems to be running low [32 g bucket, but it could be an old salt bucket just as easily. Kalk dissolves in ro/di at the rate of 2 level teaspoons per gallon, so judge your dose accordingly.

What doesn't dissolve will dissolve when I add more ro/di. It's been running over 2 months now. Another month and I'll probably do a scrub of the bucket just to keep it reasonably clean.

Keep the lid on. There will be some 'skin' formed, but not much.
The 1/2 inch outflow hose from the 1200 maxijet is reduced to locline via a locline connector hose-clamped into the 1/2 inch hose.

Kalk requires you 'set' your levels of alk, cal, mg in your tank by ordinary dosing, then set kalk to drip: it will elevate cal just a bit, but not much, and thereafter hold alk and cal stable. Mg must be dosed as a separate issue.

IF THINGS GO WRONG: Keep some bar soda water on hand in case of ATO accident: if grossly overdosed, it will spike ph into the 9's, and then ph will fall rapidly on its own --- but bar soda can trim that spike down to harmless. If you have an accident, two things are at issue: 1) it is still FRESH water, so salinity is lowered and 2) the ph. Check salinity and ph, and correct by saltwater topoff and bar soda as needed.

[mcneilwh]

Mine is a 5 gallon bucket with a pump inside. Picture is listed in my profile. $35. I use PVC pipe to suspend the pump, but I have heard of eggcrate too. My only suggestion is to make sure you have turbulent flow inside the reactor, laminar flow suspends too much lime.

I can dose more limewater than most, because I use CO2 to control my pH. It is done via the same CO2 setup used in Ca reactors only it is plumbed in my skimmer. Using pH monitoring and a Neptune controler to inject CO2 into my skimmer. About 100-120 bubbles per minute on my ASM G1X and 75 gallon tank will drop the pH by about 0.5 pH units per minute. The CO2 turns on at pH 8.35 and shuts off at 8.30. This makes soda water on demand in the sump.

[MeuserReef]

Heres my "RO/DIY" kalk reactor. I run all of my top-off water through this unit. The ATO re-fills my sump 4 times each day and the stirrer stirs for 30 min every morning.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v708/Original_Tarheel/RODIKalkReactor.jpg

I built this after reading this thread by NANZ.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1234816