DIY Tunze ATO with kalk!

SPSkeeper · Jul 27, 2012

Hey everybody, keeping up with an SPS dominant tank can be difficult if you don't know how to go about it. Luckily, I found kalwasser to be a necessity in helping calcium and alk in control. With those two mastered, I pondered months and months as to what type of reactor I could use. Gravity fed, dosing pumps, and just plain ole putting it in the tank when it got too low(SG fluctuations are not stable enough with just plain guessing). In doing so, I had run into much frustration and the possibility of high costs with reactors, media and such. Eureka! I found the Tunze osmolator universal 3155. With much research on the net it seemed like the perfect solution to SG swings(everybody pretty much knows this, but here's where the fun part comes). I thought why can't I add kalk into the reservoir? Problem...... c02 in an open air environment from what I have read. Solution, build one myself that is totally sealed off from any air getting in or out. So I took a lot of time and came up with this - a standard 10 gallon AGA with a Koralia inside for flow, and eggcrate to put the dosing pump up off the glass floor. Added some foam inserts underneath the ATO pump to ensure no chunks or unwanted material getting inside the pump and messing with the performance. Added a lexan top and siliconed everything together and here is what I came up with. Just thought it was kinda neat and thought I would share it with you guys

keeping the connections enclosed and away from any water/condensation that could cause problems -

Well, there you have it. Although this total setup did cost around $275 it was well worth the investment knowing the SG would be stable and a nice healthy dose of kalk is always on time when needed

CJO · Jul 27, 2012

Interesting. Where does the air come from once the water level drops or is it in a vacuum? Does the pump have any issues dealing with the added pressure necessary to overcome the vacuum?

CJ

SPSkeeper · Jul 27, 2012

To be honest I have no idea lol, don't think it is "vacuum sealed" or anything. There is probably some outside air getting into it to equalize the pressure. Every time I unscrew the cap to pour more kalk in I don't notice any difference in pressure or anything. The pump performs perfect, very silent and runs like a champ. To me it is more reliable and stable than other methods like gravity fed ones. Every person I talked, even from Tunze themselves said it couldn't nor should it be done but yet here it is working just the way it should

CJO · Jul 30, 2012

I'm guessing that you would get similar results if you didn't silicon the top

In any case, it's a nice looking setup and I appreciate you sharing it!

CJ

Chameleon · Jul 30, 2012

very nice setup. Glad it works well for you. mine just sits in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid loosely placed on top and a hole cut out for the airline tubing and it gets the job done too. yours looks really clean

SPSkeeper · Aug 1, 2012

CJO said:
I'm guessing that you would get similar results if you didn't silicon the top In any case, it's a nice looking setup and I appreciate you sharing it!

CJ

Thank you very much! It took a lot of time but I tend to overdue anything when it comes to my tank lol.

Chameleon said:
very nice setup. Glad it works well for you. mine just sits in a 5 gallon bucket with the lid loosely placed on top and a hole cut out for the airline tubing and it gets the job done too. yours looks really clean

Thank you

I actually have nothing but time on my hands and just like going that extra step to make it aesthetically appealing. When local reefers stop by they try to get pics from the frag rack contraption that keeps the pump enclosed because they thought it was really cool and cuts the noise down immensely. The only noise I here is the pump turning on and the kalk going into the tank. It's very rewarding knowing how well it actually works, even if it may be overkill.

impur · Aug 1, 2012

Hey nice job! You will eventually need to remove that Koralia for cleaning as the kalk will build up on the impeller shaft. I used kalk in my ATO for several years until I bought a triple doser to replace the need. It worked great, and as a plus helps keep the pH up.

SPSkeeper · Aug 1, 2012

impur said:
Hey nice job! You will eventually need to remove that Koralia for cleaning as the kalk will build up on the impeller shaft. I used kalk in my ATO for several years until I bought a triple doser to replace the need. It worked great, and as a plus helps keep the pH up.

Thanks!! Got that covered, have a tool that can grasp the outside guard to take it off and grab the impeller with ease. No hands necessary lol.