kalk doser

[thisoldfish]

hi all,

I decided to add kalk dosing to my system (65g mixed reef mostly softs/few SPS); baseline pH 8.2, calc 430, dkh 7; figured I was close to goal so kalk might be just what I need for a little pH and alk boost.

I can't use my ATO because I have my ro/di hooked up to a float valve in my reservoir, and I like not having the reservoir run low. So, I used a 5g bucket and have the kalk solution running to the tank through a TOM aqualifter. I used an IV clamp to limit the outflow to a few drops/minute and I'll see where that puts me in a few days.

Question: the TOM is slightly warm after a few hours. Think it will last the continuous duty cycle with clamped outflow? My suspicion is that the motor will burn out. Would one of the BRS perstaltic doser be better for this? The slower one (I think 1.1 ml)? Can they run continuous?

I was thinking of setting up an Arizona ice tea bottle above the sump to serve as a gravity feed and have my aqualifter just fill it at unclamped full capacity once daily, but then it gets tricky figuring out exactly how long to run the aqualifter without stacking incomplete empties and overflowing the gravity reservoir (or having it run dry). So figured simpler just to run/clamp, if that ends up working longterm.

Ideas?

thanks in advance,

Brad

 

[Finhead]

hi all,

I decided to add kalk dosing to my system (65g mixed reef mostly softs/few SPS); baseline pH 8.2, calc 430, dkh 7; figured I was close to goal so kalk might be just what I need for a little pH and alk boost.

I can't use my ATO because I have my ro/di hooked up to a float valve in my reservoir, and I like not having the reservoir run low. So, I used a 5g bucket and have the kalk solution running to the tank through a TOM aqualifter. I used an IV clamp to limit the outflow to a few drops/minute and I'll see where that puts me in a few days.

Question: the TOM is slightly warm after a few hours. Think it will last the continuous duty cycle with clamped outflow? My suspicion is that the motor will burn out. Would one of the BRS perstaltic doser be better for this? The slower one (I think 1.1 ml)? Can they run continuous?

I was thinking of setting up an Arizona ice tea bottle above the sump to serve as a gravity feed and have my aqualifter just fill it at unclamped full capacity once daily, but then it gets tricky figuring out exactly how long to run the aqualifter without stacking incomplete empties and overflowing the gravity reservoir (or having it run dry). So figured simpler just to run/clamp, if that ends up working longterm.

Ideas?

thanks in advance,

Brad

Sorry but those are both really bad ideas, they can both wipe out a tank if anything goes wrong. I just read before Xmas a guys RODI float valve stuck on for the day, tank was a total loss.

 

[thisoldfish]

sorry- could you explain? My setup doesn't use a float valve (that's for my RO/DI reservoir which doesn't get kalk). This is a pump pushing the kalkwasser/water (from a separate bucket) through airhose with a clamp limiting flow to drips. Not sure how this is different safety-wise from the traditional gravity feed or any other method of adding kalkwasser/water effluent. Even with a kalk stirrer you're depending on a pump to push it through into the sump or tank..

Perhaps I didn't explain well. My question is whether the TOM lift pump can sustain constant duty cycle with increased afterload from the clamp.

What safer setup do you recommend?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

The TOM lift pump is not rated for continuous duty, nor is the BRS 1.1 ML doser. For continuous duty, you need something like the Masterflex pumps. Those can run 24x7.

That being said, I don't think you need continuous duty, as you probably only need to dose a set amount of kalk per day. I have my frag tank running on kalk and I use a 6 RPM masterflex pump on a timer that doses a fixed amount, 6 times a day. In my case I use a kalk stirrer to make sure that I am dosing saturated solution. I tried dosing based on evaporation (by using my ATO), but found that it both pushed Alk too high, and varied too much. Keeping them separate, and allowing the ATO to pick up the slack, has worked out much better.

So in my view, TOM aqualifter is not a candidate or this use, and for peristaltic pumps (which is a much better choice), you want something robust. A used Masterflex pump drive can be had off eBay for reasonable money.

Dennis

 

[thisoldfish]

Thanks Dennis— that was helpful.

Brad

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure how long the pump will last running that way. I tried to use Aqualifters to run a small amount of water to a tank from my main system 24/7, and they eventually failed, I think by getting clogged. I periodically cleaned and replaced the internal parts, but it ended up a losing battle.

I don't see a safety risk.

 

[thisoldfish]

Thanks- yeah I unplugged. It was warm and I’m sure it would burn out w continuous use. I’ll get a proper pump and do intermittent dosing as suggested (maybe just submit to getting a stirrer). Thanks all.

 

[thisoldfish]

So, I think I need to back up and ask you all more about 1) should I be dosing kalk, 2) 2-part, or 3) nothing. This is my first foray into dosing and before I buy more stuff I need to make sure my understanding/rationale is correct. And I'm not quite getting the mechanics of how to set up kalk dosing for my application.

So, to rehash (sorry): I have a mixed tank with mostly softies with a few SPS. All doing nicely and Pavona etc spreading like crazy. pH consistently 8.2, Ca around 430, dkh 7. I figured a gentle supplementation with kalkwasser was reasonable to boost my alkalinity and pH a bit.

It seems like my demand isn't enough to warrant 2 part dosing, yes? Or, am I prematurely judging this 6 month old tank and really the demand will start increasing once things are more established?

If kalk is my next step, it seems a stirrer is the best option (over my bucket system). I looked at those masterflex peristaltics mentioned above-- and even the used ones that look somewhat vintage are fairly $.

Could someone suggest a reasonable pump that I could use in my RO/DI reservoir that I could run (it's about 12' run) to the kalk stirrer and then into sump? I don't want to get some powerful pump that will be too much flow for this application, but obviously it has to be powerful enough to do the job. Or, rather, it the peristaltic is the only way to go, then I'll just have to bite the bullet.

Figured I'd back up and ask what I should have asked at the beginning!

thanks all.