Good kalk reactor for my 60 gallon SPS tank

carlos_fb · #1 08/17/2007, 01:17 AM

I would like to know which kalk reactor would be good for my 60 gallon SPS tank.

Scissorhand · #2 08/17/2007, 01:29 AM

Have you looked in GEO?

Roel is selling his and he lives in San Diego as well:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1185697

oh yeah, the GEO had pretty good reviews... I've looked into getting them before.

King-Kong · #3 08/17/2007, 07:31 AM

I have had my Aqua medic Kalkwasser Stirrer for some time now and am happy with the purchase:

http://www.championlighting.com/prod...cat=530&page=1

Wryknow · #4 08/17/2007, 09:29 AM

The Precision Marine 660 kalk reactor has been good to me. It holds a lot of kalk and it stirs with a standard maxi-jet 400. If the impeller wears out you can replace it for $8 with about five minutes worth of effort.

carlos_fb · #5 08/17/2007, 11:41 PM

That Precision Marine 660 kalk reactor looks really cool and have good reviews. I think we have a winner.

JRaquatics · #6 08/18/2007, 12:10 AM

The only thing I don't like about my PM Kalk Reactor is their is no drain valve. So I have to take a baster and take water, what a pita. GEO comes standard with one. If I had a chioce to get a new one it would be a GEO. I love the craftsmanship of my GEO calcium reactor and I am sure the Kalk reactor would be the same.

Sk8r · #7 08/18/2007, 12:19 AM

I use a BAS with a Hanna Labs stirrer. Easy to use...hard to reach the little stirrer thingee if you have to, but otherwise fine.
Holds about 1/2 lb kalk, lasts several weeks for a 54g with corals. Holding my alk at 9.3 and cal at 430-440 over weeks with no adjustment.

carlos_fb · #8 08/18/2007, 01:31 AM

The GEO looks really good too.

Where can I see the BAS?

Do you need a stirrer if the reactor comes with a pump?

Paulairduck · #9 08/18/2007, 01:44 AM

I have both the GEO and PM kalk reactor, both of them work great, but the drain valve on the GEO is a great feature

Dwarf Seahorses · #10 08/18/2007, 07:16 AM

IMHO Precision Marine is an awesome kalk reactor, quality and craftsmanship is excellent and it performs very well.

burris · #11 08/18/2007, 11:36 AM

The pump is the stirrer... it isn't so much a reactor as it is a kalkwasser dispenser.

Consider how you open it up to add more calcium hydroxide. That varies from design to design. Some you just lift off the lid, some you unscrew a plug. Some you loosen the flange screws and give a slight twist, some you'll have to take off the flange screws completely. They won't need to be topped off all that often but every little bit helps.

TheMorayMan · #12 08/18/2007, 01:03 PM

I Dont want to rain on anybodys party here, i think kalk is great but i used to dose it, one of the main problems i noticed over time was ALk and Calcium were out of proportion alot. So I would have to dose to correct it with other additives. THen came along a Corallife Calcium Reactor that i must say is very very Good and it has proven durable. It cost me 128.00, Then i bought a CO2 system for 185.00 and then later added a controller came out to almost 450-500 but i know that sounds like alot but its worth it. Dont get me wrong Kalk is great, just make sure if you get a unit its built very well, and me careful with stirbar ones as they tend to jam. Make Sure as im sure you already know to test often. Hope you find a nice Reactor

TheMorayMan · #13 08/18/2007, 01:04 PM

I also agree with the PM Reactor....Excellent quality

carlos_fb · #14 08/18/2007, 02:15 PM

Do you need a dosing pump or can I hook the kalk reactor to my Tunze Osmolator?

row12 · #15 08/18/2007, 04:32 PM

yeah I am selling mine. If your SD and need a GEO i have mine for sale. I'm willing to let it go for $120 if your interested. I'm located in Chula Vista.

Thanks, Roel

TheMorayMan · #16 08/18/2007, 05:36 PM

120.00 Thats a good deal on a good product, Kalk Reactors go for 200

row12 · #17 08/18/2007, 05:42 PM

well the thing is, I actually sold this unit here on reefcentral about a month ago and shipped it out. FEDEX mishandled the package and the PVC that connects to the body was damaged. I was able to glue it back in and now it works perfectly again.

schneijt · #18 08/18/2007, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by carlos_fb
Do you need a dosing pump or can I hook the kalk reactor to my Tunze Osmolator?

You can run a kalk reactor with the osmolator. I just set mine up yesterday, so I can verify it works just fine. You take RO tubing connect it to the osmolator's pump, instead of the black tubing that comes with it. (RO tubing is a bit smaller, so I used thick super glue to make sure the tubing stayed in the pump like I wanted it to.

The RO tubing then goes through at least one check valve (I'm using two John Guest check valves for reliability and as a backup in case one should fail), and into the input on the kalk reactor.

Your kalk reactor MUST be higher than the osmolator's pump. If it's not, you'll siphon water through the kalk reactor and out the exit tubing, which will lead to a massive kalk overdose into the tank. Having the reactor higher than the pump means the water wants to siphon back into your bucket with the pump init, and this siphon is stopped by using the check valve(s).

It's easy to set up the osmolator with a kalk reactor, but you just have to work out the logistics of water flow/siphon issues and make sure you set it up to avoid having water siphon from the container and into the tank, which would overdose kalk.

-Joe

carlos_fb · #19 08/18/2007, 11:49 PM

Joe, thanks a lot for those tips, what kalk reactor are you using?

Is the pump of the Osmolator louder now that you have it plugged to the reactor?

schneijt · #20 08/19/2007, 12:05 AM

I bought my kalk reactor off of eBay. It was built/sold by a guy who does acrylic work on the side. It's the same design as pretty much all the reactors are, and uses a Maxi-Jet 400 to stir. I have it on a timer to stir a few times throughout the day, more frequently at night and less frequently during the "day" when the lights are on. I'm hoping this will help stabilize pH, in addition with the reverse lighting cycle on my remote 'fuge. Time shall tell, but I know it's going to make everything in the tank more stable. I'll adjust stirring if/as needed to maintain water chemistry the way I want it, though I may have to dose some things to make sure nothing gets out of whack. We'll see!

The pump doesn't seem to get any louder when hooked up to the reactor. All the reactor is doing is increasing the head pressure on the pump. The pump used in the osmolator makes kind of a buzzing sound when it's running, so it's not dead silent...but it's not too bad, and it's not like it's on 24/7, just every now and then as the sump needs some more water.

-Joe