Curing Frag plugs while running kalkreactor?!?

[stugray]

So if I put Kalk in to:

1 - Keep the Ph Up

&

2 - Add calcium.


AND I have to cure my frag plugs in filtered water......... WHY dont I flush the frag plug with RO/DI, then feed my kalk reactor with the output?

Seems I could just put a 5 Gal Bucket where the intake goes thru the frags plugs first, then thru the Kalk chamber.

Is that just silly or what?

Stu

[Crozure]

?

[Crozure]

You must have made that comment based on my post on this thread. I think you need to elaborate a little bit.............................What are you wanting to accomplish by doing this?

Not trying to be rude I am just wanting to get a feel for your goal.

[NanoReefWanabe]

he is asking if he can inline a container to hold uncured frag plugs from his RO/DI prior to it entering his Kalk reactor...kill a couple birds with one stone...maintains high PH effluent from kalk Rx though it would be anyway...and rinses the plugs at the same time..

personally i wouldnt do it...it is far too easy to stick 50 or so in the back of a toilet to let cure for a couple months...then worry what might be leaching out of the concrete as it cured in your tank water...i am not sure the alkalinity of the curing plugs would effect the kalkreactor or its effluent to any extent either...so it may not be that bad...i would be worried about other impurities though...


did you use ro water to make the plugs?

[Crozure]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13973056#post13973056 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoReefWanabe
he is asking if he can inline a container to hold uncured frag plugs from his RO/DI prior to it entering his Kalk reactor...kill a couple birds with one stone...maintains high PH effluent from kalk Rx though it would be anyway...and rinses the plugs at the same time..

personally i wouldnt do it...it is far too easy to stick 50 or so in the back of a toilet to let cure for a couple months...then worry what might be leaching out of the concrete as it cured in your tank water...i am not sure the alkalinity of the curing plugs would effect the kalkreactor or its effluent to any extent either...so it may not be that bad...i would be worried about other impurities though...


did you use ro water to make the plugs?
Thanks for summing it up. Impurities would be my major concern as well.

[skoomamonster]

It says here that kalk is self self-purifying, imagine how many plugs you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket too, way more than what you can fit in a toilet tank. Plus you wouldn't have to worry about impurities from tap water getting absorbed by the plugs. I think its a good idea.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/chem.htm

[Crozure]

I understand that Kalk is self-purifying. What happens to the reactor when impurities are added to it over a period of time? Here is a pic of a kalk reactor that used pickling lime.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i111/Crozure/OxPicklingLimeReactor.jpg

If he was using a drip bucket, I would say go for it. Why pay for "clean" kalk and put impurities in it?

[stugray]

I have been trying to cure 18 plugs for about 4 months now.

I started with the toilet tank method ( 6 weeks ), then moved them to a 5 Gal bucket with RO/DI.

They have been in there for another 4-8 weeks & the Ph is still 10.0. ( filtered water replaced couple times a week )

I just thought continuous rinsing would be beneficial to the plugs & raise the Ph of the top off water at the same time.
My original thought was that you wouldnt need any Kalk at all.
Maybe the curing cement releases the proper calcium, but I dont know.

I guess it would be a better idea to make a tub for the RO/DI waste line to rinse the plugs.



Crozure,

Sorry. I apologize.

I just find people that post ? on 50 threads so they can sell on the club forums.

I am sorry. ( would have said that on the other thread, but too late )

Stu

[Crozure]

No worries. I can understand where you are coming from.

RO/DI waste water is still cleaner than tap water but I would think that you would have to make a lot of waste water to equal the amount of rinses that you would get in the toilet tank. (Well at least in my toilet......................another topic)

Maybe I am wrong but I wonder if plugs would cure faster with some vinegar added to the water. I have not researched it but I am about to.

[skoomamonster]

Pickling Lime is the same as kalk sold for aquariums, both of them are food grade and "Clean". The impurities just settle onto the bottom of the kalk reactor. Btw that is one dirty kalk reactor lol


Stu,
Maybe you could have the effluent of your calcium reactor flow into a container with the plugs that way the plugs help raise the ph of the effluent before it even gets into the tank. I don't know how well it would work being that it's not fresh water but it might work.

[Crozure]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13973509#post13973509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skoomamonster
Pickling Lime is the same as kalk sold for aquariums, both of them are food grade and "Clean". The impurities just settle onto the bottom of the kalk reactor. Btw that is one dirty kalk reactor lol
Lol. That is a pic from a member for a local club in Charlotte. He used pickling ime instead of ESV. I cannot say that Pickling lime is the same as ESV..............Both are Calcium Hydroxide but are not the same IMO

[skoomamonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13973422#post13973422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Crozure
No worries. I can understand where you are coming from.

RO/DI waste water is still cleaner than tap water but I would think that you would have to make a lot of waste water to equal the amount of rinses that you would get in the toilet tank. (Well at least in my toilet......................another topic)

Maybe I am wrong but I wonder if plugs would cure faster with some vinegar added to the water. I have not researched it but I am about to.

RO/DI waste water is not nessisarly cleaner than tap water, if you have a sediment filter and a carbon filter then the waste water won't have any clorine or any large chunks in it but it will actually have a higer tds than tap water.




<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13973422#post13973422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Crozure
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by skoomamonster
Pickling Lime is the same as kalk sold for aquariums, both of them are food grade and "Clean". The impurities just settle onto the bottom of the kalk reactor. Btw that is one dirty kalk reactor lol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lol. That is a pic from a member for a local club in Charlotte. He used pickling ime instead of ESV. I cannot say that Pickling lime is the same as ESV..............Both are Calcium Hydroxide but are not the same IMO

Was he using Ro or Ro/Di water?

Here's some good reading material on Pikling lime.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

[freetareef]

your forgetting the ability to buffer. our tanks have way more then fresh water. i was curing plugs and agrocrete lr in a rubbermaid tub for six months and the ph never came down very far, put it in my tank and watched the ph very close and it never came up. did a lot of research and came to the buffering answer.

[jeff@zina.com]

... imagine how many plugs you can fit in a 5 gallon bucket too, way more than what you can fit in a toilet tank.
How many frags are you planning? A five gallon bucket would be several thousand plugs... :eek2:

Jeff