Kalkwasser dosing help

[BiG-D]

Hello all I want to start dosing kalkwasser to my display i run a vertex calcium reactor. But I want that added stability so i im going to use the toms aq aqualifter pump with a digital timer now where im stuck is what length do i set the timer to as far as on and off settings and how long to have the pump on. Do i need to shut off the reactor while the dosing is going on after the lights go out or can i leave it on Thank you.

 

[BiG-D]

Anyone?

 

[skinz78]

I would get a top off kit from Avast Marine, run the Aqualifter off of that. Running it off of a timer is a setup for disaster IMHO.

I don't think you would need to turn the cal reactor off while dosing.

 

[swannyson7]

+1 to running it off your ATO.

 

[AcroholicReefer]

In order to safely run a kalk reactor, you should hook your dosing pump up with a pH monitor. Add a float valve on with that and you have a fail proof way of dosing kalk .

pH monitor - prevents dosing when pH is elevated.

Float Valve - prevents overdosing and lowering salinity

In a perfect world, you can tweek these with the mixing pump.

 

[BiG-D]

Well I have a tunze ato should I use that but I have a lot of evaporation?

 

[subielover]

In that case, just start with a little less kalk than normal, say 1tsp per gallon.

 

[skinz78]

Yeah the Tunze should work for you. How much do you consider to be a lot of evap?

 

[markie mark]

I run a calcium reactor and kalk stirrer...I have my kalk stirrer stirring 24/7 and I go thru about 5 gallons of make up everyday,so I use a aqua-medic dosing pmp with the built in timer to run thru the stirrer and it takes a bit to get it dialed in on how many hours to pump from the dosing pump to how many gallond you lose..but mine pumps for 11 hours a day..Its the best combo you can do in my opinion.....and I dont dose the kalk at nite like some people do..my ph only drops from 8.4 to 8.0 every nite....the dosing pump seems to work better for me and some others instead of a pump on an auto top off..I like the slow drip that keeps my sump level the same 24/7...

 

[ritter6788]

I dose kalk with a JBJ auto top off and an Aqualifter pump to make up for all my evaporated water. I adjust the amount of kalk added to the water to keep my parameters stable. The JBJ ATO has two float switches and will not run longer than 3 minutes at a time, unless you set it for longer.