Take out one of your points of possible failure (remove the ATO). Just drill a hole in the side at the top of that container (like Devin did) and when your doser doses into the reactor, it will overflow into your tank. You can literally leave everything else the same (2600 mL dosing or whatever you said). So, ATO reservoir to doser to Kalk reactor and then overflows into tank. Also does not fluctuate with evaporation and your doser is never on the Kalk side of anything. Even cheaper because it does not require an extra ATO. Enjoying your content.
@@kaseyascani127 Thanks for the thoughts! I purposely designed it this way, though. I have no interest in it overflowing into my tank. That’s how typical kalk stirrers function, and I wanted this to do something else, so it could be placed where I wanted it. It’s a workaround. Imperfect, sure. But I’ve never encountered a failure.
Gotta love kalk. I was going to get a reactor from MRC but they are pricey and a ton of work to take apart and refill. I personally just use a custom bin to store my kalk and only stir it when i add kalk once every few or couple weeks depending on the tank. I think after it settles even the clear stuff is fully saturated when mixed thoroughly. I use a cheap 4 head doser off Amazon and just go to the next head if i cant get it calibrated but thats rare. I dose right under whatever my winter evaporation is and in the summer my ato still hardly moves. Im sure it would be an interesting video on how long kalk holds its values especially ph. Idk if anyone has done that. Im sure there could be too many variables that may change things though.
Nice job on your custom reactor. This method will require more maintenance than a conventional reactor but it definitely solves your space issues without having a reactor in the sump. If you are ok with the added maintenance and dependence on automation then why not go this route? As long as you change your versa tubing regularly, change the kalk powder weekly and clean the sensor often and this should be reliable.
It has worked lights-out for me. The powder in the Versa tubing actually stays powdery, it doesn’t encrust in the lines. So yesterday, I ran a fast-dose program of 25ml, and it blasted the entire line clear. I just give the sensor a thumbnail scrape now and then. Has also never failed. And yeah, I change the kalk powder weekly. You could probably get away with every other week, but I just do it as part of my Saturday maintenance, and it’s no big deal to me. I like knowing I’ve got fresh kalk. I’m sure a conventional kalk reactor would need less attention. But I still can’t believe the prices of good reputable ones. Couldn’t stomach it.
I just mix kalk solution manually in 5 or 10 gallon container and versa dose same amount as evap rate daily and adjust depending on dkh. Much simpler than reactors, no need to worry about sensors or mixing plates failing. Aka meckli method and costs very little to setup. Also dose into overflow to really dilute well before kalk hits pumps or sensors susceptible to kalk deposits. Just did my quarterly maintenance on my skimmer Venturi inlet and found very little depositing of calcium carbonate, which used to happen much more when I dosed into the sump. Nothing like venture capital to screw the customer… bravo!🤦🏻
People who run kalk out of a container do love it, but I just like nerding out with my little DIY reactor lol. And yeah, my Versa needed a full reset and reprogramming today for absolutely no reason. Venture capital. Gotta love it.
@@iammrhappy12 I mean this in all kindness: says who? This is how I do my hobby. I’m a gear guy. I like to fiddle and adapt stuff and make things work together, to keep my tank thriving. It’s what brings me joy.
@@kalamazoo_reefer @kalamazoo_reefer In my opinion, dosing from a container of fully saturated kalk is the best way to go and is the most simple. Once the RODI is saturated with kalk and the undisolved kalk sets at the bottom, it can not lose its saturation if its air tight. Check out Chris Meckley at ACI Aquaculture and his kalk method. Many of us do it this way. Adding kalk based off evaporation is not very efficient either. Evaporation changes based on the season. Evaporation is occurs nore during summer and less during the winter. You want to be able to know exactly how much youre dosing, just like how we do with 2 part dosing. use this calculator to figure out how much to dose. Its very accurate. hamzasreef kalk calculator. This persons other calculators are extremely accurate as well Also it seems like youre not letting the undisolved kalk fully settle after stirring because there is undisolved kalk in your versa dosing lines. You should not be adding unsolved kalk into the tank. I'm a big gear person as well. I have alot of gear for the tank. Similar to what you have. So I know what you mean.
@iammrhappy12 Not saying you’re wrong on any of this methodology, because it definitely works…but also, not going to say all of this is “the best way, every time, end of story” across the board, because there are a lot of people not doing it this way, having a lot of success. The way I’m doing this has been highly successful for me. I’m not claiming my way is better or worse than anyone else’s, either. I strive to not make claims like that. It’s simply how I choose to go about it. I mean, heck, we’ve got people dosing full-on slurry with great results. Nothing about what I’m doing, raises any kind of red flag for me, and the results speak for themselves, as my system has been quite stable overall, ever since implementing this reactor.
Also, how much Kalk can your magnetic stirrer handle? I made the one that Devin uses and it works great but I can’t put more than two tablespoons in or it knocks the magnetic bar off. I even tried a larger stir bar. It’s the stirrer itself that doesn’t have a strong enough connection. So I’m looking for something a little stronger.
I use this same setup. Inspired by your previous videos. One thing i will say. My water level sensors inside the reactor keep failing. Otherwise works great. So right now i manually top up the reactor every day. I also found because i run it super saturated my stirrer pill doesnt do anything. Due to too much undissolved kalk. Instead i have the water in line run all rhe way to the bottom of the reactor. Every time j refill it resuspends all the settled undissolved kalk.
Sounds like a CoralVue problem. Should’ve gone Neptune like me man. As you well know, no one has ever once had a single issue with a Neptune product. It’s just a fact.
Not looking for accuracy on this one, just looking for a very ballpark reading. As long as the solution in the reactor is saturated, that probe will always read at maximum (which is 12.3ph), so if it ever drops down to like 9ph out of nowhere, I know there’s an issue with the reactor. It’s a safeguard only. Not actually trying to get an accurate reading with it.
To be honest, not sure. Haven’t looked that hard at the options. I did see Reef Factory had a pretty good looking continuous duty pump, with WiFi connectivity.
@@kalamazoo_reefer I have the versa and honestly I don’t love it because it doesn’t have WiFi connection and I feel like the app and the way you program it kind of sucks. Idk what I would get to replace mine either, others can get very expensive
