Avast Marine K1 Kalk Stirrer Mod

[Waboss]

I discovered shortly after getting this, that the "saturated" liquid that was being dosed to my tank was losing potency very quickly. The PH of my solution was dropping in PH by 0.1 per day/day and a half. Even knowing that PH isn't really the best way to measure the saturation of the solution, I get consistent readings and it showed it dropping very quickly.

So, I made these 3D printed "paddles" to mount on the stirring "blade" to hopefully agitate the thicker slurry at the bottom and mix it better with the fresh RO water being fed into it. So far, it looks like it's working somewhat. Without me adding any more kalk, the slurry at the bottom rises a bit higher and the fresh water inlet now pushes the freshwater into the slurry. I'll know more in a few days if this actually makes a difference or not. If not, I guess it's back to just using a larger container for fully saturated solution rather than using a stirrer.

Anyway, I thought this might be of interest to some folks here.

This is what the paddle attachments look like:

 

[archercorals]

Very cool. I bet avast may pay you for your idea

 

[Waboss]

Very cool. I bet avast may pay you for your idea

Haha! Wouldn't that be nice?

Have to see if it really makes a difference or not first!

 

[dkelley]

What brand of Kalk are you using? I just happened to order one of these today and they seem pretty specific on what Kalk you should use. They say the bulk reef supply brand will no work in their model so I assume other brands might not as well? I ordered one with a bucket of their Kalk which they say has been well tested.

Just a thought.

 

[RedReefer]

What brand of Kalk are you using? I just happened to order one of these today and they seem pretty specific on what Kalk you should use. They say the bulk reef supply brand will no work in their model so I assume other brands might not as well? I ordered one with a bucket of their Kalk which they say has been well tested.

Just a thought.

Hmmmm? I've never used the Avast brand kalk. I've been running their stirrer with BRS kalk. I just ordered a gallon of Avast kalk to try.

 

[Infinite Reef]

What material did you print it with? I had considered something similar using PETG but a lot of websites say its not stable in a high ph environment

 

[Waboss]

What brand of Kalk are you using? I just happened to order one of these today and they seem pretty specific on what Kalk you should use. They say the bulk reef supply brand will no work in their model so I assume other brands might not as well? I ordered one with a bucket of their Kalk which they say has been well tested.

Just a thought.

Right now, I'm using their kalk until I run out, then I'll switch to captiv8's as I've heard good things about it's purity/potency.

 

[dkelley]

This is copied from their Kalk page.

"In the past, this product was widely available from our friends at a large BULK supplier and we were happy to refer our customers their way to purchase. Then something changed... While their replacement is very high quality, it unfortunately does not work in our stirrers. Its density is 1.7x that of normal calcium hydroxide and has a tendency to clump and turn to a solid, which in turn burns out stirrer motors. Because of this we do not recommend using that product in our stirrers and instead are bringing back what we ourselves continue to use and recommend."

 

[dkelley]

Right now, I'm using their kalk until I run out, then I'll switch to captiv8's as I've heard good things about it's purity/potency.

Good to know, please keep this post updated with your results.

 

[Waboss]

What material did you print it with? I had considered something similar using PETG but a lot of websites say its not stable in a high ph environment

Right now, it's printed with PETG since that's what I had loaded (and I'm lazy! haha). BUT, I've also heard the same thing so if I check it and it seems to be degrading at some time, I'll just print new ones with ABS since I used to print with it exclusively until I got tired of the fumes.

 

[jrill]

I added blades to my Avast based on radio controlled boat props. I don't think the Avast motor spins past enough to matter much.

 

[Waboss]

I added blades to my Avast based on radio controlled boat props. I don't think the Avast motor spins past enough to matter much.

That's cool.

Yeah, I don't think adding blades/paddles will cause a big difference. I'm not sure it has to though. My main thought is that as long as it agitates the thicker slurry at the bottom a bit more, raising it some in the stirrer (without having to add a bunch of extra kalk to the stirrer), it'll force the fresh water "through" the slurry when dosing, which will hopefully increase the saturation/mixing of the solution.

I have no idea if it'll help or not, but it will be nice if it does. I'll know more tomorrow as the saturation level should start dropping tonight (based on history) if it's not making a difference.

 

[jrill]

That's cool.

Yeah, I don't think adding blades/paddles will cause a big difference. I'm not sure it has to though. My main thought is that as long as it agitates the thicker slurry at the bottom a bit more, raising it some in the stirrer (without having to add a bunch of extra kalk to the stirrer), it'll force the fresh water "through" the slurry when dosing, which will hopefully increase the saturation/mixing of the solution.

I have no idea if it'll help or not, but it will be nice if it does. I'll know more tomorrow as the saturation level should start dropping tonight (based on history) if it's not making a difference.

Could be. Either way if you have a printer why not try it

 

[vtecintegra]

This is copied from their Kalk page.

"In the past, this product was widely available from our friends at a large BULK supplier and we were happy to refer our customers their way to purchase. Then something changed... While their replacement is very high quality, it unfortunately does not work in our stirrers. Its density is 1.7x that of normal calcium hydroxide and has a tendency to clump and turn to a solid, which in turn burns out stirrer motors. Because of this we do not recommend using that product in our stirrers and instead are bringing back what we ourselves continue to use and recommend."

Now I know why my Kalk turned to paste and stripped the stirring rod.

 

[Zaireguy]

Definitely believe alot of people would be interested in this mod i Definitely would like to try a pair myself

 

[Waboss]

Well, initial results are promising. So far, now on day 4, we're still reading a fully saturated solution of nice clear liquid. That's a 1.5 day improvement so far. I'll update this post when it starts dropping again.

One thing I did notice is that I have to rinse and recalibrate my PH probe (connected to apex) after only a couple of days in the solution in order to get an accurate reading. I expected it to need recalibrated regularly, but not THAT frequently. So now I'm only leaving the probe in the stirrer for an hour or so, to make sure I get a settled reading, then I pull it, rinse it, and keep in a container of probe storage solution.

 

[Waboss]

Ok, so at this point, I'm willing to claim at least a mini-victory. Haha!

The solution is staying fulling saturated with me dosing 3500ml/day. I don't know how long it'll last though, that's the next measurement I'll be taking.

 

[mackdave]

I discovered shortly after getting this, that the "saturated" liquid that was being dosed to my tank was losing potency very quickly. The PH of my solution was dropping in PH by 0.1 per day/day and a half. Even knowing that PH isn't really the best way to measure the saturation of the solution, I get consistent readings and it showed it dropping very quickly.

So, I made these 3D printed "paddles" to mount on the stirring "blade" to hopefully agitate the thicker slurry at the bottom and mix it better with the fresh RO water being fed into it. So far, it looks like it's working somewhat. Without me adding any more kalk, the slurry at the bottom rises a bit higher and the fresh water inlet now pushes the freshwater into the slurry. I'll know more in a few days if this actually makes a difference or not. If not, I guess it's back to just using a larger container for fully saturated solution rather than using a stirrer.

Anyway, I thought this might be of interest to some folks here.

This is what the paddle attachments look like:

Will you share the stl with me?

 

[Sleepingtiger]

Ok, so at this point, I'm willing to claim at least a mini-victory. Haha!

The solution is staying fulling saturated with me dosing 3500ml/day. I don't know how long it'll last though, that's the next measurement I'll be taking.

Let me know if you want to make a quick buck and print me one. I had no idea you can't use BRS with Avast stirrers. I got a full bag. Wasteful to throw it away

 

[Waboss]

Let me know if you want to make a quick buck and print me one. I had no idea you can't use BRS with Avast stirrers. I got a full bag. Wasteful to throw it away

Sorry I miss your reply! PM me your address and I'll send you a set to try out, if you're still interested.