DIY Kalk Reactor

[tsalter]

Here is my latest idea on how the kalk reactor is going to look.

http://www.preska.net/kalk.jpg

I am trying to make it as easy to fab as possible and I am avoiding drilling through the tube. So routing through the bottom and top where possible. The pump connections are going to be 1/2" hose barbs so if you are using a maxijet you will have to bring adapters to get it to fit.

Tell me what you think. I will mock one up before the meeting to make sure that everything works as planned.

Oh yeah I will probably not use black acrylic for anything. it will all be clear. It just looked prettier this way

T

[SHOmuchFUN]

Exactly what I was thinking. With the pump inlet/outlet through the bottom plate, you won't have to drill the tube. Cool!

Looks sweet, nifty drawing...

Only thing I see that may be weird is that the inlet is out of the bottom of the maxijet and the outlet is out the side. This may make the mounting of the pump a little funky. There will have to be a 90degree elbow barb for the outlet.

How are we going to seal/put it together? We using weld-on?

[tsalter]

acrylic to acrylic= weldon and weldon 16 if necesary

holes in the bottom/top= uniseals / speedfit bulkheads for the top ro in/out

All pumps outlets/inlets are 90 degrees :) nothing funky just have to use flexible tubing or elbows or both. I figure the ph or pump will be zip tied to the side of the base or rest on the ground

[SHOmuchFUN]

Awesome...
Great project!

[hands40]

Looks great so far!

[tsalter]

Thanks guys!

I have found a way to easily square tubing with the tools that I have. this is always a pain trying to get the ends of the round tubing square. You can use a table saw jig (which I built) but your cuts are still only as good as the last one and the end cuts on the acyrlic are often not very good from the supplier. So I am going to rig up my lathe as a big disc sander and then make a jig to hold the tube so that I can square the ends. I used to stick a piece of sandpaper to my bench and handsand the tube till it was relatively square. This worked but it took a while.
this should make the job a lot quicker and easier.

T

[nolofinwe]

well you can officially count me in. When will you need money? Or are we suppossed to track down the pumps ourselves?

About how tall will it be?

I'm about as handy with tools as I am with bra straps, so I hope we're not going to have to perform miracles to get these things done.

[tsalter]

Hey Patrick,

I believe I am going to start collecting the first week in feburary and host the meeting towards the end of the month. I will want to have everything ordered by the 12th or so as i am going out of town the 19th-25th

As for pumps, You can ether bring your own or I figured if a lot of people were going to buy them we would pool money for them too and save on shipping. the via aqua 1300 is an ideal candidate as it has 1/2 threaded in/outputs, is powerful enough and is cheap. A maxijet or other powerhead will run into some sealing issues etc. not undoable but for ease of assembly with a hundred other tasks going on the via aqua might be the champ.

As far as height. It is up too you. I think I am going to make them around 30" total (24" of tube). but we can always cut the tube down to fit or modify them a bit to fit under the stand. You just want the output tube to be above the kalk storm when it mixes. I imagine it differs greatly on the size of the pump.

I figure I will have most everything cut and prepped for everyone so you will just have to glue them together and assemble the parts. It will be quicker and safer for you and my homeowners insurance that way. :)

tom

[Brad A.]

Originally posted by nolofinwe


I'm about as handy with tools as I am with bra straps, so I hope we're not going to have to perform miracles to get these things done.

Dont give up nolo!

Strong work Tom!