had it with my kalk reactor stirrer: I'm building my own reactor.

[Sk8r]

The darned stirrer---won't. I've gone through two of them, and they're just not powerful enough to rotate the little rod.

SO, I say to myself, Self, why am I pumping water out of this 32g tub to that 2g cylinder with the kalk in it, to shove it on into my sump?

I dumped the kalk into the tub, have cut myself an eggcrate platform to hold my topoff pump high off the bottom, and I am putting the hose straight from it to the tank.

I am putting a maxijet 400 in a timer in the bottom, under the eggcrate fake floor, to stir the kalk now and again [on timer].

I am jamming the lid down tight over locline hose and power cords, so I limit air exposure.

Wish me luck! At least this is running.

[T Man]

sounds functional to me Keeping the lime from the air will be the test.........indications of a bad seal are a crust over the saturated water's surface and/ or a white "kalk creep" around the inside lime water's edge - then I'd say be careful pumping it out. T

[Sk8r]

Thanks for the info. I'll just try to be careful...but a Rubbermaid Brute is so flexible I think I can get a decent seal, maybe with some heavy foam to fill any spare space as the lid forms around the lines.

[sjm817]

You dont use a mixer in a tub, only in a reactor. Add your kalk powder to the RO, stir it up, cover it, let it settle and you are done. When it is used up, make a new batch.

You can read Randy's articles on Lime use or check with him in the chemistry forum.

[Sk8r]

I've done that so far.
Haven't got a spare mj 400. But it's my hope the eggcrate 'floor' will serve as a baffle-barrier to the thicker slurry and let just enough get up to the mj 1200 to imitate the medium-filmy water my reactor delivered at its best performance, as compared to the thoroughly settled, nearly totally-clear non-stirred water it delivered when the stirrer broke down.
To explain: when running properly, my proper reactor had two zones: the delivery area [middling filmy, between clear and slurry] and the slurry area. I'm hoping to duplicate that on a larger scale.
But you may be right, too, sjm, and thank you for the info: good to know there's a middle ground. We'll see how this develops.

[sjm817]

I see what you mean. I would check with the Kalk guru RHF and see what he thinks just to verify.

[Sk8r]

THank you...sounds like a good idea!
Right now I spend my time running up and down stairs [sump in basement] and trying to make sure it's all working---so far so good, but still no stir pump. It's staying in suspension marvelously well---but then I dumped one pound into 32 g. It's a lot more diffuse than in 2g [the reactor space.]

I will monitor this, get photos if it seems likely to work , and thank you all so much for your input. RHF, if you're listening, I'll hope for an answer. PM may happen after holiday.

[sjm817]

RHF only hangs out in his forum. I'd ask there or PM him. He was gone for a while (became rich and famous with some drug discovery), but has recently started posting again. He and the chemistry forum are an amazing wealth of information. I've learned a lot there.

[Sk8r]

Thank you!

[Siffy]

sjm's first post was correct. In a large container, where you're not constantly adding RO/DI to the kalkwasser mix, you only need to stir it once when you first add the kalkwasser. After that you need to let it settle and only put the clear solution from the middle into your tank. Same with a reactor/mixer really. It hopefully isn't mixing when you add solution to your tank, but between additions only to mix the new RO/DI. Adding slurry to your tank is a waste of kalkwasser, as it's insoluble at a pH of 8.3.

[barjam]

RHF uses the still resevoir method on his own tank and his articles suggest to me that things like kalk reactors are a bad idea. Kalk contains impurities such as heavy metals (copper is one) and if you let kalk water sit these impurities work themselves out of the solution (the crud at the bottom). If you dose this crud you are also dosing the heavy metals and other contaminants.

[Siffy]

I wouldn't call them a bad idea when used properly. When only mixed once or twice a day (as they should be), the impurities will still settle to the bottom.

[jnarowe]

I use a magnetic bar stirrer and have it stir 2 x per day. I also cut the power to the doser during the stir and for the hour following. After having seen a lot of stirrers in action, and talking with reef keepers I greatly respect, I have to say that if I buy another one, it will be the Deltec. I am not a fan of "name brands", but that particular stirrer seems to operate extremely well with no clouding of the effluent at all.

[sjm817]

I prefer to just use a settled container. Its easier, more consistent. If I had a small topoff reservoir and had to go back to using a reactor, the slow constant stir would be my choice. Aquamedic also makes them if you want a less expensive model compared to Deltec.

[Sk8r]

One observation: the eggcrate baffle does contain most stirring activity to limit slurry getting up into the clear area. It would contain it better if I had cut it round. [This is halfway down in a 32g tub.]
I hear what you're saying about one mix being enough. I will give that a try too.

One thing I can say---I'm getting kalk through to the tank and I'm not getting any excess, by what I can figure: the intake pump sits safely well above the kalk on that eggcrate fake bottom.

THis whole rig would cost [excluding topoff system and pump, which you already have] a big vat [Rubbermaid Brute @ ca. 30.00], eggcrate @ circa 2.00 a sheet. [1], and you set the pump on the eggcrate, safe from the slurry below, and you're good: you could dump any size reasonable dose of kalk into this, and any excess will sink below the eggcrate, where it can't be picked up. There's a very light skin that forms, but since the rubbermade lid jams down tight right over power cords and locline drip hose [mated to 1/2 maxijet hose], any air exposure is limited.

Satisfactory so far, under 30.00 for the whole deal. A little large for the living room, but one could easily do this under-stand in an old salt bucket for about 2.00 worth of eggcrate. Because the topoff pump is driving it, it's not reliant on a gravity drip, so it doesn't have to be level with the tank.

[T Man]

Howdy Sk8tr , have you considered a bulkhead through the side? Run the lines through - then perhaps use foam "rope" or a damp sponge to expanse the gap allowing the lid to properly seal. T

[Sk8r]

good idea.