Dialing in a Kalk Reactor

[Psychographic]

My first program for my Kalk reactor was

If pH< 8.25 then Kal On
If pH>8.30 then Kal Off

This worked but added too much water and was raising the level in my sump. I'm not sure if eventually it would stabilize, but did'nt want to take a chance at the moment.

My new plan was to try a Repetitive Event program.

I deleted the pH on/off programs and now I have it set to

OSC 10/50 ON/OFF Then Kal On

I'm assuming this will turn the pump on for 10 minutes, off for 50 minutes.

Can I add a command to turn it off should the pH get too high?

Would I make the command,

OSC 10/50 ON/OFF Then Kal On
If pH>8.30 then Kal Off

Would it shut down and not restart should it reach 8.3?

[RussM]

Don't dose kalk based on pH. You need to start out using kalk with calcium & alkalinity at the right levels & stable. Then, start dosing the kalk using the timing features of the AC3. Over a period of several weeks, monitor calcium & alkalinity, and adjust the dosage based on whether those values increase of decrease with the addition of kalk. This needs to be a continuous/ongoing process.

In my 120g mixed reef, I dose kalk w/ an AquaLifter for 2 minutes every 3 hours, and that keeps my calcium level quite stable with my current livestock.

Use If pH>8.30 then Kal Off ONLY as a safety measure to shut off dosing if pH should rise too high. I reiterate... never dose kalk based on low pH, and don't use kalk to attempt to control pH... you will likely end up with excessive calcium levels and unstable alkalinity.

I am also a firm believer in NOT using kalk as ATO water. Evaporation rates can fluctuate greatly... using kalk in ATO therefore leads to highly variable, inconsistent dosing. IMHO, dose kalk as needed, let your ATO handle the rest of the job using plain old purified water.

[Psychographic]

Thanks for the info. I'll be monitoring my levels to see what I'll be needing to keep them consistant and adjust accordingly.

For a safety factor, I would still like to know, if I use the commands,

OSC X/X ON/OFF Then Kal On
If pH>8.30 then Kal Off

(x being the determined time,once I have it established)

How do I get the reactor to come back online if it should reach 8.3?



I'm assuming if I add,

If pH< 8.20 then Kal On

the reactor will run based on the ph values plus the timed values.