Kalk Reactors

[globaldesigns]

Hello Everyone,

I have been pondering a Kalk Reactor and researching things, but I am a bit confused overall.

Once setup, does it really keep Calcium at proper levels?
Is it easy?

It looks complicated, and I would really love to be able to come over and see one of these things going and maybe have it explained to me.

The money isn't the issue, just don't know anything about it. Currently I dose everything by hand, and it doesn't bother me, and actually I like doing it. But if this is better overall, please explain why. Is it because Calcium never changes?

Thanks in advance.

[Delphinus]

I have one I suppose I could demo to you (I just don't happen to be using it, but if you need to see how it works I could do something) when I'm back home (out of town this week).

The main thing is that all they really all is a mixer, to help keep your kalk mixture saturated. Whether kalk can keep up your levels however is dependend on your calcium draw because you cannot add more kalk to your tank than the freshwater you lose by evaporation. So usually the best you can expect with kalk is a maintaining of current levels, or at least, a reduction in the decay rate.

So what a kalk reactor allows you to do is mix up a supersaturated solution (ie., part of the powder is unable to dissolve because it has nowhere to dissolve into), and thus the kalk that you add via the reactor is as concentrated as it can possibly be. As you add more RO/DI into the reactor, part of the undissolved kalk (the supernatant or whatever it's called, it's been a while since I did chemistry classes) is then able to dissolve, so the concentration of your effluent does not waver over time (until all the kalk powder is used up).

Calcium reactors are an improvement in that instead of feeding off FW for topup, they take water from your tank. Thus, you can run them as hard as you want, independent of your topup. But, they use CO2, this is complicated and expensive to startup, and CO2 pulls down your tank pH which can give nuisance algaes such as valonia a bit of a leg up (not always, but it can happen). So each device has it's own pros and cons. A kalk reactor tends to raise, or at least buffer the pH drop (ie., make the tank resistant to pH drops), so a few years ago it was pretty common to see serious SPS tanks running both Ca reactors and kalk reactors since they nicely complement each other.

But both tend to be a little old school these days. The current en vogue thinking is to use automated dosers or take it a step further and get into Balling method.

[Oceanic]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I have one I suppose I could demo to you (I just don't happen to be using it, but if you need to see how it works I could do something) when I'm back home (out of town this week).

The main thing is that all they really all is a mixer, to help keep your kalk mixture saturated. Whether kalk can keep up your levels however is dependend on your calcium draw because you cannot add more kalk to your tank than the freshwater you lose by evaporation. So usually the best you can expect with kalk is a maintaining of current levels, or at least, a reduction in the decay rate.

So what a kalk reactor allows you to do is mix up a supersaturated solution (ie., part of the powder is unable to dissolve because it has nowhere to dissolve into), and thus the kalk that you add via the reactor is as concentrated as it can possibly be. As you add more RO/DI into the reactor, part of the undissolved kalk (the supernatant or whatever it's called, it's been a while since I did chemistry classes) is then able to dissolve, so the concentration of your effluent does not waver over time (until all the kalk powder is used up).

Calcium reactors are an improvement in that instead of feeding off FW for topup, they take water from your tank. Thus, you can run them as hard as you want, independent of your topup. But, they use CO2, this is complicated and expensive to startup, and CO2 pulls down your tank pH which can give nuisance algaes such as valonia a bit of a leg up (not always, but it can happen). So each device has it's own pros and cons. A kalk reactor tends to raise, or at least buffer the pH drop (ie., make the tank resistant to pH drops), so a few years ago it was pretty common to see serious SPS tanks running both Ca reactors and kalk reactors since they nicely complement each other.

But both tend to be a little old school these days. The current en vogue thinking is to use automated dosers or take it a step further and get into Balling method.

Nicely said!

[whatcaneyedo]

Just call me old fashioned I guess, I use both a kalk reactor and a Calcium Reactor. Plus a beckett skimmer but thats another story.

Here is my DIY Kalk Reactor. Its the same principle as a Precision Marine or GEO reactor. Freshwater from my ATO system pumps through it to mix with the kalk powder inside which is then pushed into the aquarium. The pump on the side turns on with a timer several times each day to give it a quick mix. Once every two weeks I open up the top and dump another cup of kalk into the reactor.



Here are some articles for further reading:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

The Self Purification of Limewater (Kalkwasser)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/chem.htm

The Degradation of Limewater (Kalkwasser) in Air
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-0...ture/index.htm

Magnesium and Strontium in Limewater
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

[fkshiu]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Here are some articles for further reading:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

The Self Purification of Limewater (Kalkwasser)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/chem.htm

The Degradation of Limewater (Kalkwasser) in Air
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-0...ture/index.htm

Magnesium and Strontium in Limewater
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

Randy Holmes-Farley is the MAN!

I do a CaRx with kalk as well, but my kalk reactor is passive meaning that I don't have anything like powerhead stirring it up. It's just hooked up in my top off resevoir as part of my osmolator. I mainly use it to keep pH up as opposed to supplying the tank's Ca and Alk needs.

[Dez]

I used to use both Kalk and Calcium reactor, but after starting zeo, the main guy on the zeo forum recommended that I cease using the Kalk reactor because the Kalkwasser has binding properties for P04. I have since taken it offline and my ph sits a little lower constantly, but everything is still growing fine. I'm not sure if you're a zeovit user, but this was the info I got from the zeo forum.

[soapy]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Randy Holmes-Farley is the MAN!

I do a CaRx with kalk as well, but my kalk reactor is passive meaning that I don't have anything like powerhead stirring it up. It's just hooked up in my top off resevoir as part of my osmolator. I mainly use it to keep pH up as opposed to supplying the tank's Ca and Alk needs.

Hey Fkshiu,

how exactly do you run your kalk with your osmolater? I have a reservior with an osmolater and am interested in hooking something like that up.