ReefFiller do drive my kalk reactor?

[Steve Richardson]

Woohoo!

http://smilecwm.tripod.com/net4/jump.gif

I'm finished building my Kalk reactor. I must say, I did a bang up job. :) Even included a valve so I could adjust the flow of the MJ1200 mixing pump.

Anyway... enough patting myself on the back... I'm considering using ReefFiller so I can pump from the laundry room about 30 feet away...
http://www.championlighting.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?page=Products/Dosing_Systems/dosing_systems.html

Anyone use it or know anything about it?

Quiet? Does it run continuously or in spurts?

Thanks,

Steve

[Steve Richardson]

Hmmmm..

Premium Aquatics site says:

'UNIT CAN BE QUITE LOUD, REMOTE LOCATION RECOMMENDED'

bummer. It will be in the laundry room, behind a closed door, but I dont want a big 'hummmmmmmm' going 24 hours a day...

-S

[Steve Richardson]

The SpectraPure LiterMeter looks good too, but I'm not sure it will 'push' water through about 35-ish feet of tubing, and then through the reactor.

Somments on this thing appreciated too...

thanks,

Steve

[Kenzy]

Hi Steve, did I miss something? I thought you were going to use the pump from www.smallpumps.com (http://www.smallpumps.com) on your reactor. Or am I just imagining things again. :) Oh well just being nosy...

[Steve Richardson]

Kenzy -

I was using that small pump as a kalk doser... in other words, mix up a 5G bucket of kalk, and let this pump dose into the sump via a float switch.

The kalk reactor lets you put a bunch of kalk powder in the unit (perhaps enough for a few weeks)... and it has a mixing pump that mixes 6 or so times a day...

I need a different pump to push pureified water from a remote 33G trash can in a different room to the reactor, through it, and into the sump. The Litermeter can be calibrated to dose a certain amount per day... the other small peristaltic pump cannot - it needs the float switch to shut it down.

-Steve

[Kirk Candlish]

Steve I can tell you from experience that the LitreMeter will not push water the distance you need, and if quiet is what you want the ReefFiller is NOT the pump for you.

Any chance you'll post photos and/or details on your Kalk reactor?

- Kirk

[Steve Richardson]

Kirk - thanks for that info... I was really close to getting the LiterMeter.

NOW what am I going to do? Hmmmm...


I modled mine after this one sorta...
http://cereal.mv.com/nilsen.html

I'll try and get some pics of my own if you like.

-Steve

P.S. - Welcome to ReefCentral! :D

[This message has been edited by Steve Richardson (edited 09-24-2000).]

[Kenzy]

Hi Steve,

I guess the reason that I'm asking is because I'm thinking of doing the same thing myself. I've ordered a pump from Smallpumps and was planning on building a Neilson reactor to go with it.
Being as cheap as I am, a $25 dollar pump sounds like a good way to drive the reactor. ;)

What I was thinking is using a timer to run it a couple of times a day. Also I was going to run the pump through a dimmer switch, basic house light type, to be able to fine tune the amounts that the pump pumps.

I'm guessing this is how pumps like the LiterMeter vary the amounts of liquid they pump just by slowing or speeding up the pump.

Sorry Steve I'm more or less just thinking out loud, or typing any way. I won't really know until I get things set up and try it out. Can you think of any reasons why something like this wouldn't work?

Later.

[Steve Richardson]

I dont think trying to use a 'dimmer' on a pump is a good idea. You can burn the pump out that way I believe - it wasnt designed for it.

The smallpumps pump only moves 14ml's per minute, so you wouldnt need to slow it down anyway. If you have it connected to a float switch it will only come on as needed. If you add a timer, it will only come on at night.

-S

[Kenzy]

Ya, Steve you're probally right. I'll hold off on the dimmer thing until I talk to some electrical gurus at work.
I'll know more when I can actually get hold of the thing, it still hasn't arrived yet.

Later...

[SweetE]

Steve,
I use the reeffiller on my tank and I am in the process of connecting it to a Kalk reactor that I just built. I am still having a problem with water leaking out of the threaded cap I have on the top of the reactor, so I don't have it running yet, but I have been using the reeffiller for about a year now on it's own. Mine is in my workroom in the basement pumping up to my tank about 40' away. It is a great pump, but it is noisey. For me, being in the basement it doesn't matter. I hear it when I'm down there, but so what. It runs constantly but delivers water in spurts. You can hear the sound change as it delivers the water. There is a dial on the unit to adjust the amount of water it delivers. It is a little tricky to get this adjusted to match the evaporation rate of the tank, so you have to keep your eye on the water level in your sump and adjust the pump accordingly. I have noticed that this same pump is used on a lot of water softening systems in homes with well water. It is a good, reliable pump.
I am interested in what kind of valve you used to adust the flow on your reactor pump and where did you put it?

[Steve Richardson]

Sweeeeeet-ee ;)

Yeah, I used a rubber cap with stainless clamp on top of the reactor (4" PVC to DVW adapter, then rubber cap on top.) rather than a threaded plug. I think this will work well, and also keeps the top WIDE open in case I need to get my arm in to fix something.

You may need to put a 4-5 wraps of teflon tape around your plug if you want it watertight which is the reason I didnt go that way. Kind of a P.I.T.A.

The MJ1200 mixing pump is attached just like in the plans I linked to above... with 1/2" CPVC. However, I added a 1/2" ball valve on the output side of the pump. If you cut things close enough, the entire assembly doesnt stick out too much either. Works well.

Sounds like the ReefFiller is going to be too noisy, and the LiterMeter wont pump water far enough. Sheesh. :rolleyes:

I'll probably wind up using a Litermeter, but finding a closer location to keep a smaller water reservoir. I was *really* hoping to be able to use a 33G barrel though...

-S