Help me pick a kalk stirrer

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orchidsnfish

Debating between a MRC (don't know which one since they don't put tank size ratings on them) and a GEO.

Here's the MRC ones. Feel free to comment on which one I would need as small, medium, standard, and large dont tell me a whole lot.)
http://www.myreefcreations.com/nilsen.htm

And the GEO...Not a magnetic stirrer but would look really nice with my Ca reactor since it's GEO too.
http://www.geosreef.com/kalk_01.html

If you don't like either one, make a suggestion.

Thanks
Angela
 
as an option:

if you have a top off tank alot of people just add their kalk ot the top off water. the main issue here is if the top off tank is large the kalk will settle. So adding some additional flow to the top off unit may be needed. a way of dealing with this is with a small power head pointed at the side on the bottom creating a swirl, stirring up the mix. You could then put the power head on a timer or hook it up to the top off power so it turns one every time the tank top's off.
 
I personally really like the magnetic stirrer because they are maintenance free virtually.

I can't disagree more with adding kalk to your ATO. I've seen tons of tanks nuked like that. I wouldn't even add it through a kalk reactor to my ATO.

I'm also considering one but will run it on a closed loop at night with a controlled rate on the output so i know exactly how much I'm adding and it would take the aquacontroller failing for me to overdose!
 
Well my AC Jr will be watching it and it will be fed through my LiterMeters ATO with the AC Jr programmed to shut down the ATO if the pH get's out of whack. I like the MRC best, but not sure which one I need as I said before. My corals LOVE kalk and I can really tell a difference in them when I'm using it to top off. I like my calcium reactor, but not sure I wouldn't have been just as well off with just a kalk reactor judging by how the corals respond. I can practically see them growing when I'm dosing kalk! Right now I'm just dripping kalk with the big ol bulky 5 gallon jug with an IV set and to be honest I'm tired of carrying that thing around.

Thanks for the replies,
Angela
 
angela, i have the MRC and i have not hooked it up but i do like the simplicity of it. How do you have your litermeter shut off if the PH gets too high? My concern would be that you would not be able to top off if it is shut off, unless i am missing something. I have the same set up. I have an extra module for the kalk on the litermeter and one to do top off, totally seperate.
 
Well I would think if the litermeter were plugged into the DC8 on the AC Jr that I could program it to shut off at, say, 8.40. I have my Calcium Reactor set up to come on/off depending on pH so I think it will be the same. Don't know, would have to play with it.

Also, I could set the LiterMeter to dose a max anount per day depending on evaporation regardless of pH.

I just don't know if it would work to have the AC Jr cut power to the LiterMeter because I'm not sure if it would "remember" how much it had dosed or how much I wanted it to dose when it came back on. I think having it cut the power would be ok, but not sure about having the AC Jr turn it back on when the pH came back down to, like 8.20.

I'm not really very good with all this technical stuff. I am making my own head hurt.

Angela
 
correct, but lets say that it shuts off and is off for 8hrs while your PH stabalizes, you will not be topping off any tank water.....
 
8 hours is nothing. you could easily go a couple days without topping off and it wouldn't be a big deal.
 
if i go a couple of days, my sump drains...... i evap about 2-4 gallons per day. My bigger sump will have more of a return volume so it should not be an issue.
 
True...I edited my last post because after I thought about it I'm not sure if the LiterMeter would know what it was doing when it came back on after the AC Jr. turned it off. Need to play with it and see. I do see your point about it shutting down for hrs and not topping off the tank. I might buy another module for the litermeter and top off and dose kalk seperately. Seems like they would be fighting each other though since both would be adding water to the tank. I would be worried about flooding my house having them seperate.

My main goal is to dose kalk and if it keeps me from having to manually top off the tank, great. If I still have to occasionally manually top it off I will live. My tank really doesn't evaporate a lot anyway. MAYBE a gallon a day. My sump is pretty darn big so I don't even notice a change in it unless it has been several days since it's been topped off.

I'm also considering one but will run it on a closed loop at night with a controlled rate on the output so i know exactly how much I'm adding and it would take the aquacontroller failing for me to overdose! said:
You mean a closed loop with the top off (fresh) water? Or using tank water? I'm confused... You cant run tank water through the kalk stirrer can you?
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@orchidsnfish wrote:
You cant run tank water through the kalk stirrer can you? said:
No it has to be supplied with ro/di water. I have seriously thought about replacing my calcium reactor with a kalk stirrer. But the idea of it being hooked up to me auto top off makes me really nervous. So at this point the idea of redoing the whole auto top off to run through the kalk reactor and by pass it so the reactor could be shut down at the same time the auto top off continue to work, is not worth it. But I like the GEO myself. I guess that also has a lot to do with the fact I know George.
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I'm thinking it might make more sense to use an aqualifter or some other cheapo itty bitty pump to feed the kalk reactor and have the AC Jr. shut it on and off. I think the LiterMeter stays off once it looses power so wouldn't work well to have the AC Jr. controlling it. If I could figure out a way to keep from overfilling I could use the LiterMeter just for top off.

Angela
 
I've been using a hospital feeding/dosing (peristaltic) pump through my kalkreactor for all my topoff for about 9-10 years. They typically last about 3 years of continuous use and the tubing needs to be replaced about every 3 months. If you watch eBay, you can pick them up for $50. I just replaced one about a month ago and I got it for $36 shipped. I set it to 300 ml/hr and it keeps up with my evaporation of about a gallon a day. Once you get it dialed in for your evaporation rate, you don't have to mess with it or worry about kalk overdosing. The brand I use is Kangaroo but I guess any brand would work if you can adjust the output.

Lee
 
The evaporation stays that constant with your tank, that a preset measurement keeps it at the same level. I would think with the differences in evaporation caused by humidity levels would through it all off.
 
For what it's worth, I have a trio of Aqua-Lifters plumbed in series to move water from my reservoir to the kalkreactor and on in to my tank for auto topoff... (All the pumps are BEFORE the kalk reactor, of course).

The quad float-valves (That the aqualifters are plugged in to) are plugged into the controlled power bar of my Lighthouse controller so that if the pH gets to a certain level, the entire ATO sub-system is de-energized until the pH drops back down to an acceptable level...
 
@Rick wrote:
The evaporation stays that constant with your tank said:
Rick,

I do have to make a slight adjustment in the drip rate in summer/winter but that's about it. I do run a dehumidifier in my house so that helps with humidity fluctuations.

Lee
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Hey guys,

Question for you all... I'm also considering adding Kalk to my top off which will be dosed by an aqualifter. My idea is to connect the ATO the my AC jr to shut the power off if the Ph gets too high.

My understanding however is that Ph swings are very bad. Just because I set my AC jr to shut off my ATO of the Ph hits 8.4 doesn't save me. What if your Ph was at 7.9 before you started dosing?

Anyone?

Ben
 
@bdare wrote:
My understanding however is that Ph swings are very bad. Just because I set my AC jr to shut off my ATO of the Ph hits 8.4 doesn't save me. What if your Ph was at 7.9 before you started dosing? Anyone? Ben said:
First off, I would think your PH would be in the 8.2 range if you reguarly dose with Kalk. Second, I would set the high on the controller at 0.2 above your normal range.
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@psteeleb wrote:
[I]@bdare wrote:[/I][quote="My understanding however is that Ph swings are very bad. Just because I set my AC jr to shut off my ATO of the Ph hits 8.4 doesn't save me. What if your Ph was at 7.9 before you started dosing? Anyone? Ben said:
First off, I would think your PH would be in the 8.2 range if you reguarly dose with Kalk. Second, I would set the high on the controller at 0.2 above your normal range."]

Thanks for the reply. I would also assume the avg Ph would be higher too, I was just trying to come up with a worst case scenario :wink: I want to make sure I've got as many bases covered as possible ya know...
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