Sizing Kalk Reactor?

[Kenzy]

Well the time has come and I can no longer put off building a kalk reactor.

I'm trying to decide on how large the media chamber/s should be to support a fast growing 170g SPS reef tank. I currently planning on a dual chamber reactor made out of flat plexi. I'm thinking of each chamber to be in the 6" x24" range.

I can't decide if this is overkill or just means less filling of the media chambers and slightly more stable over longer periods of time. At least that's what I want to believe!

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

IMHO, I would try to estimate the amount of calcium that the system is taking. For example, if it takes 10 gallons of saturated kw per week to keep up with calcium levels. And we used 1 teaspoon of kalk per gallon, then that would work out to about 10 teaspoons per week or 50 ml of kalk powder.

Let's say, we are a bit lazy and we only want to service the reactor every 4 months. That means, its about 50ml * 20 weeks = 1 l of kalk or about 4 cups. So, you'll need to built something that can constantly mix 4 cups of kalk in the reactor....then go from there.

The part that is confusing me is...why do you need a dual stage kalk reactor ? Or are you trying to build a calcium (carbonate) reactor -- the one that uses CO2.


Hope that helps.

- Victor.

[Kenzy]

Thanks Victor, yes I guess I worded it wrong. I'm building a calcium reactor and not a neilson type kalk reactor.

I think what I'm really looking for is how much media (calcium carbonate) does a reactor hold that is sized to roughly a 180-200g tank with high calcium demands.

I've got it mostly planned out as far as plumbing goes, but I haven't decided on the exact dimensions yet, although it will likely be 24" tall.

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Kenzy
I think what I'm really looking for is how much media (calcium carbonate) does a reactor hold that is sized to roughly a 180-200g tank with high calcium demands.

I've got it mostly planned out as far as plumbing goes, but I haven't decided on the exact dimensions yet, although it will likely be 24" tall.

Kenzy,

You can likely bank on about 8lbs (one container of ARM or K-lith media). Most reactors that are on the market (from Precision Marine to My Reef Creations) all take approximately this amount. Even with high calcium consumption - this will still last you a good while!!


HTH,

[Kenzy]

Thanks AJ that's what I was looking for.

Do you still have co2 tanks in stock?

[ajx22]

Glad I could be of assistance!

In respect to the Co2 tanks...Yeppers!!

[Kenzy]

Great AJ I'll be in touch with you next week.

[Dman]

Kenzy,
when sizing your calcium reactor, use this simple formula:
Bigger is better
Bigger improves resale value
Bigger is less work
Bigger handles more capacity
More capacity equals better resale value

Pretty simple, huh?
Dman
:spin:

[Kenzy]

Dman: Yep that's pretty much what I had in mind, although doing a bit of fuzzy math the first set of dimensions that I had worked out would have held ~30 pounds per chamber. I'm not positive, but I think that might have been a bit much. :spin:

[Dman]

Also,
the larger the capacity, the larger the volume of water, means you can add CO2 at a greater rate and subsequently extract a larger amount of effluent.
Dman
:spin: