Auto Topoff for Kalk - Will it work ?

[o2manyfish]

Hey DIY guys,

I admit I am a lazy reefkeeper. I want to top off with Kalk at night, and RO during the day. I have the float switches and solenoids to control everything.

My question is using the diagram below, is this a safe way to add the kalk.

The holding area is 4.5g. On Sunday's I would add the Kalkwasser mix. During the week at night fresh RO would enter at the bottom, and then oveflow to the tank.

a) Is the flow of a 75gpd RO unit to quick to add kalk into the tank ?

b) Because the kalk is going to dilute in strength throughout the week is this bad? But with the RO entering at the bottom, will this mix the settled Kalk back into the topoff water ?

c) RO Line in is 1/4" with one way valve. I figure Kalk line out to be 1/2" So I don't have to worry about the line clogging. Vent hole will prevent syphon from forming in exhaust line to tank.

d) If this is a feasible design, should I have the overflow to the tank pull from the top / middle / or bottom of the 4.5g holding tank.

Again I only want to add the Kalk Mix once a week.

[kevinpo]

You will need to add Kalk with all your makeup water if you want it to help maintain calcium levels. There is not much calcium in kalkwasser. It does help keep the PH up at night and adds some buffering. When fed into your skimmer intake it will also precipitate some phosphate out. For best results it should be stirred vigorously every 4-6 hours to keep the Kalk in saturation then let sit for 30-45 min. to settle out the milky/cloudy water. Also you need to keep air from contacting the surface of the water as it reacts and forms a crust. Kalk reactors work great for this. A friend of mine builds them and could give you some tips on building your own I'm sure. If you're interested let me know.

Regards,
Kevin

[o2manyfish]

Kevin,

Thanks for the posting. I am using a Dual Stage Calcium Reactor. The tank is currently a 125h with an ever increasing SPS population. The Calcium Levels are good.

I have a 100g sump with a 24g refugium, that has just been started in the last 2 weeks. The Refuge is currently lit 24 hours a day while the Caluerpa and Chaet takes root and gets a good holding.

I am trying to remove as many pumps and electrical plugs from my system as possible. (Taking full advantage of the power of gravity with the overflow water)

So, if the surface is open, and the Kalk is continuously crusting, as long as I don't pull from the surface I should be okay?

I would definitely be interested in speaking with your contact that builds the Kalk reactors and see some of his designs.

Thanks Again

Dave

[kevinpo]

Dave,
Yes I pull from about 3/4" from the bottom. Here is his commercial site link. If you email him he loves to talk DIY. He is an engineer with a great design mind. His name is Brent. He goes by Zephrant on the boards and has posted some real detailed DIY instructions with pictures over on RC.

Regards,
Kevin
http://barraquatic.com/index.html