Setting up kalk reactor in the next couple of days, and have a question

[cr500_af]

The reactor is an "older" style MRC... a magnetic stirrer, not the one with the timer built in.

I will be using it on a controller, setting the channel up as a multi-timer to control how often/long it stirs.
I plan to also set my ATO up to be off any time the reactor stirs, plus a short time period after, so that I don't top off while the kalk is stirred up.

This leads me to my question: About how long does it take kalk to "settle out" to the bottom again after stirring takes place?

I was thinking, for example, of running the reactor motor for ten minutes or so every four hours. If I set the ATO to go off at the same time, and remain off four twenty minutes, would the kalk have settled down enough to safely top off? That would be ten minutes after the stirring stops.

For that matter, since I'm asking noob reactor questions, does the schedule for the reactor stirring sound reasonable?

 

[weaglereefer]

Does it need to turn off? I leave my Aquamedic stirrer on 24/7, as the previous owner did. It keeps stirring even when the ATO pump kicks on. I don't have any issues with slurry being pumped into the tank. I notice it takes about 30min to an hour for the slurry to settle back after the ATO pump kicks on.

I don't think the stirrer will be as turbulent as you imagine, only the bottom 2" or so of my reactor have kalk. You can see a little wave in the kalk as the bar rotates, it doesn't stir up the whole chamber.

 

[acroholic]

You don't need to run it for 10 minutes. I run mine for 2 minutes every 3 hours and it is fine.

Takes about 10 minutes for kalk to start settling after a mix. After 25-30 it should be well towards the bottom of the reactor.

 

[acroholic]

au01st;515587 wrote: Does it need to turn off? I leave my Aquamedic stirrer on 24/7, as the previous owner did. It keeps stirring even when the ATO pump kicks on. I don't have any issues with slurry being pumped into the tank. I notice it takes about 30min to an hour for the slurry to settle back after the ATO pump kicks on.

I don't think the stirrer will be as turbulent as you imagine, only the bottom 2" or so of my reactor have kalk. You can see a little wave in the kalk as the bar rotates, it doesn't stir up the whole chamber.

Your Aquamedic operates on a continuous slow stir, so it never sends slurry up to the top. Most Nilsen stirrers use pumps/powerheads that send the slurry everywhere in the reactor.

Barry's uses a magnetic spinner inside the Nilsen to stir the kalk, and I think that would send slurry up to the top like a pump would. Mine is an MRC with a pan world pump that does the stirring.

 

[weaglereefer]

Oh, I wasn't aware of how fast the stirrer operates.

 

[acroholic]

Hehe! Mine is powered by an external Pan World pressure rated pump!

alt="" />

 

[cr500_af]

Thanks, guys. Dave, I think I'll adjust to stir 2 min and keep the ATO off for 30, every four hours (unless there is a compelling reason to do it more often... do you base it on how much RO passes through in the time period, or what?).

 

[acroholic]

I do it based on Tim at MRC's original recommendation that I only do it for 1 minute at a time.

The main issue I see from doing it for a longer time is that in my case my Osmolator might come on when the stirring is going on, so the kalk slurry can enter the water. It does this once in a blue moon, and there has never been an issue, (water gets a bit cloudy, then clears, pH goes up a small bit). This may not be an issue for you if you are turning the ATO off for 30 minutes when you stir. But if the stirring is going on for a long time then there is potential to add alot of slurry in the tank.

A good thing to do with your controller, if you can, is to have the controller cut off power to the ATO/Nilsen if your pH spikes past 8.5, because a leak can cause a continual "on" position for your ATO, which will stir up the kalk slurry simply from a continual stream of water going thru it regardless of the Nilsen stirring or not.

 

[flyingarmy]

I kept the Kalk reactor on all the time. The power supply is adjustable and can vary the speed of the stirring. I ran it through my top off so it constantly dripped kalk. You can run it on a timer if you like but if you stir at a low speed the slurry will never reach the top. I'll show you when you pick it up.

 

[snowmansnow]

i operate a kalk reactor the same way, and have been for a little more than an year. I've never bothered with timing it so that the ATO isn't on at the same time. THen again, I'm using an osmolator, so i never get much ATO water all at once.

I guess it could be a good idea though if your ATO doesn't have a shutoff if it gets stuck.

B