For those of you with Kalk Reactors

[rostato]

How often do you change out your kalk? How much do you use, how much do you dose hourly, and how often does your reactor mix the kalk? Of course your tank size will help.

I am just trying to get the perfect routine on when to change out the kalk. Today my PH was lower than normal, and I noticed that the kalk on the bottom of the reactor had turned to paste, so I changed it out.

It has only been 2 weeks since my last swap of kalk. I use 7oz in my MRC reactor, and it mixes the kalk every 4 hours for 2 minutes. I constantly dose at 85-95ml per hour depending on what the PH looks like, usually it stays right at 90ml per hour.

Any inputs?

 

[rostato]

No one with reactors?

 

[crew]

my PH stays at 8.2 naturally so I dont know sorry

 

[derek_s]

I dont change out my kalk unless it is depleted. It is ok if it turns to paste. I have had the current kalk in the reactor for 6 months or so, and it will stay until it is gone.

Mine just runs as a top off, and the controller has a failsafe that shuts it off if the PH hits 8.3+

 

[rostato]

Hmm, well I noticed that when it turns into a paste it jst stays on the bottom regardless of when the pump gets turned on, so it seems like the kalk doesnt have time to saturate the water on top of the reactor.

I have been fighting PH problems for a while now though.

 

[gwhiz]

I have a DIY Kalk reactor. It functions as an auto-topoff and get's mixed by water movement or by me shaking it periodically. I refill the Kalk when it gets low in the reactor...

 

[george]

The paste at the bottom is not a big deal. When it mixes the paste, it should kick it up fairly well. If it doesn't, you might want to talk to MRC. From what I saw of the design on even the new ones, it should kick the kalk into a milky cloud when it stirs. Unless you put the calc in and *then* added RO water to fill it up, the "paste" should be a fairly liquidy goop. I also assume you're using RO water in the reactor and pumping RO water in to dose.

Now if your reactor has had air exposed to it for a long time and gotten a good film on it of precipitated calcium that could have caused a chain precipitation that has caused your kalk to turn into some or all precipitated calcium.

If, with all that kalk dosing, you're still fighting a pH problem, you may want to restart the reactor after a complete cleanup with vinegar.

 

[rostato]

I have been having PH problems from the start. Maybe I shoul dcontact MRC. If I put new kalk in the reactor after completly cleaning it it will chrun up the kalk pretty good, but if the kalk gets pastey it doesnt really cloud up the reactor when on.

Yes I use RO wate rto fill and dose with.

Maybe the pump is malfunctioning or something. I know the timing knobs were all messed up and it too me forever to figure out what my actual times were. For example, it was set to run for 90 seconds and it ran for 15, and after playig with it I got it to eun for 2 min, and just lkeft it be.

 

[george]

Sounds like you need to have MRC give that reactor a once-over. Even the old magnetic stirer models would kick up the stuff at the bottom pretty well any time they stirred unless there was a problem with the stirring pump.

 

[rostato]

The pump sounds like it is intaking air now too, which doesnt make sense because the reactor is full, and constantly dosing kalk. I may have to email them, but that would suck to have to take it down, and ship it out.

 

[rostato]

As an update... I brought the reactor to MRC and they said that the pump was faulty. So that sucks, but at least it wasnt in my all in my head. Really stinks because I only have had the reactor for like 5 months.

 

[casper75]

I have a total water volumn of around 500 gallons. Once a month I unhook my kalk reactor and rinse it out and add 3 cups of kalk . As far as how much I dose I dont know it is hooked up to my auto top off. PH stays around 8.3- 8.4