Kalkwasser reactor question

[mnman]

Is there a reason why most people run their kalkwassor reactors thru their ATO?
I was wondering if I can keep my ATO fresh water and run my kalk reactor with a separate pump in my sump controlled with my apex to come on if ph is <8.1 and turn off if >8.4? I would also have the outlet run OSC one minute on, one minute off. Are there any problems doing this?

[mnman]

Anyone?

[dillct]

Flood maybe? If you don't hit 8.4 it keeps dumping...

[acroholicreefer]

Flood maybe? If you don't hit 8.4 it keeps dumping...

Ditto. I would never recommend running a kalk reactor without a float valve. Maybe had a separate float valve that is a little bit higher than the ATO float valve. The problem is that if the kalk reactor is low on kalk or if your mixing pump gets clogged, you pH might not reach the high end before overflowing.

People run the Kalk Reactor though their ATO mainly because it is like two birds with one stone. If your dosing pump is not able to run enough to keep your water level at a consistent level, reduce to time your mixing pump is turned on and also the intervals that the pump is turned on. I mix mine for 5 minutes every 6 hours but every system is different.

[mnman]

Flood maybe? If you don't hit 8.4 it keeps dumping...

Think we are thinking two different things. I was not talking about feeding the kalk reactor with new water I am thinking about feeding the kalk reactor from my sump with return back into the sump. No possibility of floods because there is no new water added to the system.

[mnman]

did some more research, found out that this would be a bad idea.

[Yogre]

Looks like you found the answer yourself, but no you cannot run saltwater from your sump through your kalk reactor. The resulting CaCO3 precipitation would make a huge mess in your reactor, as well as neutralizing your kalk.