[Pomme]

kalk reactor: which one?

okay i have decided to get a kalk reactor but i am not sure which one to get between the deltec km 500 and the ratz Calcium-hydroxyd reactor type 110

the deltec one


http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.com/kalkstir.php

and the ratz one:




http://www.ratz-aquarientechnik.de/k...talogMainE.htm


and then for the feed pump:
a aqua medic sp 3000:




http://www.aqua-medic.de/index0.html


or a stm midi doser:




http://www.stm-shop.co.uk/category16_1.htm


and then for a float swithch:

the deltec top up system:


http://www.deltecaquariumsolutions.com/kalkstir_4.php


or the aquamaster top up unit:



http://www.stm-shop.co.uk/category18_1.htm

so what do you guys think of these?

thanx andrew

[Ninong]

No one on this side of the pond will be familiar with any of those products because they are all European products that are not generally available over here.

[Pomme]

oh yeah sorry, do you recon you could have a look at the guff and see which ones would suit the perpose i intend for it best.

[Poseidon]

Hey Andrew

read this B4 you plunk down the quid



http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-0...ture/index.htm

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

Hey Andrew

read this B4 you plunk down the quid



http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-0...ture/index.htm

Mike,

Interesting article. I guess I missed that one.

What Randy is saying is that for limewater to degrade rapidly it must be exposed to CO2. His aerated Kalkwasser was useless within 10 hours whereas the undisturbed Kalkwasser in his storage barrel showed almost no degradation even after three weeks. I have noticed that when I allow Kalkwasser to sit in the bucket for more than a couple of days it gets a calcium carbonate film on the surface. This film is probably an effective barrier to further reaction with atmospheric CO2. Stirring the solution at that point would only assist additional CO2 to come into contact with the solution creating even more calcium carbonate and lowering the pH some more.

I believe Fossa & Nilsen are the big proponents of Kalkwasser stirrers (especially Nilsen) since they claim to have invented them and sell them. Sorta like Al Gore invented the internet. Randy's point is well taken. What he is saying is that undisturbed Kalkwasser solution takes a long time to degrade and is not going to be a problem. In all honesty, I believe the reason that most people employ Kalkwasser stirrers is for the convenience and automation of the things, not because they think that Kalkwasser in a reservoir will degrade in a hurry, although Nilsen does make that claim. He just doesn't say exactly how long he thinks it will take for it to degrade. Randy answered that question in his tests: It takes only 10 hours for Kalkwasser to become useless if it is constantly aerated but a very long time (months ?) if it is undisturbed.

[Pomme]

oh right, by constatntly airated, is that meaning constantly turning, would this still be as grate when only stirring 2mins every hour?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Pomme

oh right, by constatntly airated, is that meaning constantly turning, would this still be as grate when only stirring 2mins every hour?

What Randy did was to introduce an air bubbler into the container. That would be a LOT more air in contact with the solution than simply stirring it a couple of minutes every hour. I don't have a Kalkwasser stirrer but I know several people who do have them and like them. Most of the people who use them also use calcium reactors. In fact, they purchased the Kalkwasser reactors to counteract the pH lowering of the calcium reactors. Just be careful how you automate any Kalkwasser system. There have been instances of float valves malfunctioning and water levels dropping due to other equipment malfunctioning that have resulted in Kalkwasser (the evaporation replacement) overdosing causing a complete failure of the entire aquarium ecosystem. In the case of one hobbyist, his protein skimmer overflowed, causing his sump level to run low, causing his Kalkwasser stirrer to continually dump Kalkwasser into his sump during the middle of the night. In the case of another well known hobbyist his float valve malfunctioned causing an overdose of Kalkwasser. Both of those systems were in excess of 400 gallons, one crashed completely and the other suffered substantial bleaching. In both of those mishaps the Kalkwasser stirrer dumped everything, not just the clear liquid, into the sump. Imagine what would happen if you suddenly dumped a cup of Kalkwasser powder (dry calcium hydroxide) into your sump.

[Wind]

so do we take kalk from the middle of the mixture?... and not the bottom or top?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Wind

so do we take kalk from the middle of the mixture?... and not the bottom or top?

You take the clear liquid. Usually this simply means that you pour it out of the bucket and leave the cloudy stuff at the bottom of the bucket in the bucket. If you have left your Kalkwasser for a couple of days and you notice a film on the surface, you simply remove the film first.

You never take it from the bottom. The bottom is where all the precipitation settles. That is why you should always mix your Kalkwasser is a separate container first and let it settle before pouring off the clear liquid into something like a Kent Aquadoser for dripping.

[Pomme]

cool thanx for that ill have to think about it some more! safetst verses what i can fit in verses ease of use.