Previous thread on DIY Kalk dispenser like the Tunze one?

[FishGuy5]

Can anyone lead me to a previous thread where someone made a kalk dispenser that was very similar to the Tunze one that goes w/ the Osmolator? Anyone tried this? How does it work? Thanks for the help!

[fkshiu]

My "DIY" kalk dispenser that I use with an Osmolator is a TLF Phosban Reactor. Been working great for over a year now.

[FishGuy5]

Can you give me some details?

[cdentii1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12796050#post12796050 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishGuy5
Can you give me some details?

I second that

[jthao]

yes, I also wanna know.

[fkshiu]

Osmolator outlet --> phosban reactor inlet (center hole) --> phosban outlet --> to tank.

I've essentially put the phosban reactor in series with the osmolator. This is pretty much how the Tunze Ca dispenser works. The osmolator pump pushes the kalk through the reactor and into the tank mixing the kalk at the same time.

I used sprinkler fittings from Home Despot to fit the osmolator lines to the larger phosban reactor fittings.

I put in about 5 teaspoons for kalk once each week. I'm only using it to keep pH up as I rely on two-part for the Ca/Alk.

[trojan9137]

hmm

[x947]

so you're topping off the sump for evap with the kalk water ? how do you control the saturation time in the reactor to get the proper strength of kalk. I'm ignorant about kalk reactors but I think I want one to save slopping the kalk water manually. what if the evap rate is so much that the water is passing through the reactor too fast not absorbing enough kalk. or the opposite, what if the evap rate is so slow that the water used to top off is too strong ?

I want to add a kalk reactor/auto top off but I'm having a hard time visualizing it integrated with a RO/DI system . . .

[fkshiu]

As I understand it, you are super-saturating the water in the calcium dispenser (or the phosban reactor in my case) with the kalk. As the osmolator pumps water through the dispenser this continually mixes the kalk slowly diluting it over time until you add more.

Since kalk saturates at a maximum of 2 teaspoons per gallon, you'll never get more than this amount pumped into your tank. However, if there is slow evap you may end up with an undersaturated kalk solution since there's not enough mixing going on in the dispenser. I've measured the pH of the top-off water coming out of the phosban reactor and it varies between 10 - 11. I believe that a saturated kalk solution should have a pH of just over 11 (stand to be corrected here).

I don't care for my purposes since I am only using the kalk to bump my tank pH up, but this may be a problem for someone who is hoping to use kalk exclusively to satisfy their Ca/Alk needs. You can increase the dispenser's efficiency by either shaking the dispenser by hand every so often (I've heard of others doing this) or to increase your evaporation rate by blowing a fan across the water's surface.