Phosban reactor for kalkwasser?

[Odd161]

Hey guys so I’ve been looking into incorporating a kalkwasser into my ato. I wanted to know if I needed to buy a kalk reactor or if I could simply use a phosban reactor with some sort of modifications I’d rather not have to buy another reactor but if it comes to it i guess I don’t really mind. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

 

[Crustaceon]

You could just put some kalk in your ato reservoir. The only downside to a kalk reactor is that it will always be a full strength, which means if you hook it up to your ato, it will dispense at full strength. Either way, ato-fed kalk has its pluses and minuses, mostly due to changing evaporation rates. It’s simple, but it’s not accurate and in some cases like my own, it couldn’t keep up with demand because I could never get enough evaporation out of my system, even with fans directed at the tank surface. High humity sucks. It’s probably why many people got away from using kalk reactors with their ato and instead started using a peristaltic pump to feed the reactor ro/di/use a kalk reservoir and just running the ato separately as I do.

 

[Odd161]

You could just put some kalk in your ato reservoir. The only downside to a kalk reactor is that it will always be a full strength, which means if you hook it up to your ato, it will dispense at full strength. Either way, ato-fed kalk has its pluses and minuses, mostly due to changing evaporation rates. It’s simple, but it’s not accurate and in some cases like my own, it couldn’t keep up with demand because I could never get enough evaporation out of my system, even with fans directed at the tank surface. High humity sucks. It’s probably why many people got away from using kalk reactors with their ato and instead started using a peristaltic pump to feed the reactor ro/di/use a kalk reservoir and just running the ato separately as I do.

So from your experience would you recommend a kalk reactor or not? If it’s just more trouble than it’s worth I’d rather not

 

[Crustaceon]

I think kalk reactors are great, but it’s only worth running them off of your ato if your tank evaporation is high enough and somewhat stable (It’s ok to vary throughout the year). This calculator will give you an idea if it’ll work for you.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

If the dosing amount is LESS than how much you evaporate in a day, it’ll work. In my case, ato-fed kalk isn’t viable. I have a TLF kalkwasser reactor and wanted to run it, but as we know, the stirring rod is actuated by water pressure, so using the ato with it was going to be my only viable option. And no, I don’t trust running an additional feed pump on a timer for that purpose. Timers fail. Instead, I use one channel on a jebao doser to dump in fully-saturated kalk mix from a brute trash can at a rate of 30ml every hour. This is according to my calculated demand and it’s pretty on-point. I use the last channel on the doser for magnesium. This means I have two backup channels ready to go in case channel one fails. I also stocked up on extra dosing heads and motors just in case because they’re really cheap. Now if I had a kalk reactor with an electrically powered stirring rod, I would ditch the trash can and just use the doser to pump ro/di through it. I think something like an apex DOS is better suited for the task, but for now the jebao seems to be doing the trick for me.

 

[R.Weller]

Our system evaporates ~4gal per day & we mix kalk into the topoff resovoir. No reactor. It's simple & corals are growing.

 

[Cory]

I dose limewater on a ghl doser. Just like you would with two part.

 

[Odd161]

Our system evaporates ~4gal per day & we mix kalk into the topoff resovoir. No reactor. It's simple & corals are growing.

No constant mixing afterward? you just mix it once into the Ato and that’s it?

 

[ca1ore]

Mixing kalk into the ATO reservoir is Ok, but ends up gumming up the tank and pump with slurry. A kalk reactor like the avast marine unit is well worth the $$ in my opinion. Not the most reliable way to add calcium and alkalinity because of the inconsistent nature of top off. I use it to help with lower pH but rely on a calcium reactor for most of my tanks mineral needs.

 

[DanConnor]

A kalk reactor is a simple piece of equipment. I used a 5 gallon bucket for a long time. Just have your ato line feeding down to the bottom of the bucket, and a larger diameter hole drilled with tube installed near the top for an overflow into the sump. Throw a submersible pump to come on a couple times a day and you are done.

 

[kevin_e]

You can run your ATO line throught the phosban. Then you dont muck up your ATO or pump.

 

[R.Weller]

No constant mixing afterward? you just mix it once into the Ato and that’s it?

Correct. I use an old hydor powerhead to mix the solution for 15min in 5gal buckets before adding to my topoff (20gal Brute). What disolves will stay suspended in the water column. That which settles at the bottom of the Brute is then discarded every few months. I use a gravity topoff (GTO vs ATO) as I have room for the Brute to be elevated above my sump. I drilled a hole about 2" from the bottom of the Brute & installed a 1/2" PVC gate valve to create a constant drip. There's nothing mechanical to fail so it will never flush into the return chamber of the sump.

 

[Smarkow]

I have used a Reef Octopus kalk reactor for several years. I initially ran it off my ATO and then switched to a PMUP off my Apex (always have a backup). I felt like the reef octopus had the most reliable stirring mechanism of what was on the market.

I already have a calcium reactor from Geos that I will add to the system when consumption overtakes what the reactor can handle, but I will keep running the kalk when I add it to balance out/elevate pH.