DIY Kalk Stirrer Reactor for about $76! Kalkwasser PH power!

[@anthonypollard8261]

Pro thought: drop a thin glass plate into the bottom of the container!! The spinning stirrer will eventually eat though the bottom. A plate (or extra thin bottomed drinking glass from a thrift store) will remedy that. :) Happy Reefing!

[@ReefDudes]

I actually did in my updated video on it :)

[@gibbnal]

Cool project! Always enjoy your DIY stuff. I was holding my breath when you were running that tap into the acrylic. Great job.

[@ReefDudes]

hehe thx! slow and steady! it worked out well. been up a week, the teflon and that thread have held up well.. no leaks and performing flawlessly!

[@brentbondura7339]

I did exactly the same with an Avast reactor. Same stir plate and all. I went to the parts store on Avast and got their K1 tube, bottom, and union. I then 3d printed the lid. Has been working fantastic for about 2 months. Also, drill a small hole in the top of that elbow to break siphon.

[@ReefDudes]

Awesome! Ah snap I did that but shot the clip on my phone not the big camera. Must have forgot to add it!

[@ReefDudes]

PS great idea on using the housing for that for a bigger reactor!

[@6704whs]

I've been waiting for this video. Thanks

[@ReefDudes]

Good thing it has finally come! :)

[@Tracyspellenberg]

Awesome DIY Dev!!💯

[@ReefDudes]

Been going a week now and so far so good!

[@Effortless_Perfection]

Problem with those cheap stirrers is that they use a brushed DC motor that has a potential of only lasting a short period of time (brushes wear out). Best option is to find a stirrer that uses a brushless motor. Another thing to consider for longevity is finding a pill that has a ring in the middle so that the only part in contact with the bottom plate is that ring. It will reduce wear over time.

[@jonandlisa2000]

Love your DIY projects 👍

[@ReefDudes]

Thanks! They are fun to do!

[@TheVranica]

I did this a while ago, 1. Sometimes it dosent start to spin. 2. When it spins it slowly drilles a hole it the bottom of the conteiner

[@ReefDudes]

1. need to make sure the kalk isnt to thick.. so far 1/2 cup works well! 2. what type of magnet did you use?

[@bdanz5851]

Awesome Dev! You mind posting your Apex program to oscillate the stirring intervals?

[@ReefDudes]

Fallback OFF OSC 000:00/001:00/020:00 Then ON

[@aaronhoy9965]

great video, how would you calculate how much kalk to dose for your own tank?

[@richardobra4678]

So how has it been working? Thinking about making one. I just ordered the dc2 and I have a magnetic stirrer

[@ReefDudes]

It worked well

[@garcia7482]

Nice project! If I am dosing Kalk and use the original output that it came with it, I wouldn't have to drill a hole on top right?

[@ReefDudes]

I use the original hole as input and drilled a hole for the output

[@JozefMZych]

I guess I dont need to try this if i got that geosreef right?

[@ccovemaker]

Did you.get any where with the vinegar dosed CalRX?

[@pellegrinoglentz8118]

What is the name of that reactor I can't find it anywhere

[@ReefDudes]

Aquamax dosing container www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-dosing-container-dc-2.html

[@kaseyascani127]

What happened to the Icecap Kalk reactor you had? And if you still have it, is it still running good?

[@ReefDudes]

Yep, its in on my frag tank. Since upgrading to the larger stir bar its been awesome

[@adambahe9309]

Doesn't this mess with your calc reactor's alkalinity dosing rate?

[@ReefDudes]

its on a consistent drip 24/7 so it wont cause any swings :)

[@devachapman6315]

Hey Devin, another nice vid bro. I wanted to get your thoughts on Kalk dosing VS BRS 2 part. my tank is a LPS dom. mexed reef in a red sea 650P (another peninsula fan here.) new to dosing have not dosed before and was thinking of getting on the kalk wagon via the versa if I can ever find one. if not was thinking the red sea reef dose. my goal is easy, clean and simple. was thinking the avast kalk stirrer but not sure I fully under stand the benefit of the stirrer? would not the kalk once mix to max saturation not need to be stirred? then you could dose your dialy amount from that?

[@katchupoy01]

Dev.... Are you doing saturated kalk or the more concentrated kalk slurry?

[@ReefDudes]

Something in the middle. its stirring every 30 min into a milky consistency then some what settles.. i does the whole time slowly so somewhere in the middle :)

[@katchupoy01]

@@ReefDudes ok thanks...

[@HerringZFish]

@@ReefDudes so you are pushing out 1/2 milky slury. Is that why you are using the intermediate container, ...for it to settle?

[@ReefDudes]

@@HerringZFish It goes direct to my sump!

[@katchupoy01]

@@ReefDudes Dev... Now that you are using for some time, do you know if the effluent changes from a fully loaded kalk vs to an almost empty kalk? Or is it as long as there are powder in it, the effluent will be the same.

[@colossuses]

What frequency do you dose?

[@kelvinambrosio8336]

Is this magnetic stirrer strong enough to stir through a plate? My reactor has one little plate above the bottom.

[@kelvinambrosio8336]

nice video btw

[@andrewnewton4393]

What happened to the icecap?

[@ReefDudes]

It’s the same place it’s always been… on my frag tank!

[@jamesmolnar7780]

What do you think of connecting this to the output of a calcium reactor to increase ph

[@ReefDudes]

Kalk works better with rodi than tank water so prob best to keep separate system

[@tiusica]

Were you doing 2 part dosing before the kalkwasser? How did you transition over without a alk spike? Thanks

[@ReefDudes]

I was using a calcium reactor and till am. Just start using it abs slowly up the flow though it :). If your dosing you can slowly lower your dose as you up your kalk

[@tiusica]

@@ReefDudes thanks for the quick reply. I am using the 2 part from BRS and I’m dosing 165 ml every day and the demand will only go up as corals are growing. I think kalkwasser will lower the 2 part dosing demand and increase PH demand but I’m still planning to dose. Here is my tank. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6mvoJZ9e957eJo

[@ReefDudes]

@@tiusica Beautiful tank! Just slowly lower the 2p[art as you up the kalk.. go slow and you will have no prob finding that balance. PS your tank looks awesome!

[@tiusica]

@@ReefDudes thank you! I’ll definitely take my time with the kalkwasser. Btw I got the idea from your DIY build. I used the aquamaxx second calcium reactor chamber instead. So far so good with that.

[@waterhousejason3029]

I did something close to what you have but I have it dosing the slurry. Have you noticed any kalk Precipitating out?

[@ReefDudes]

Nice, no noticeable precipitation yet.

[@stefk4862]

I am dosing my slurry into a return pump in my sump to mix before getting pumped up to my main tank

[@reefrepublik1440]

a little credit would of been nice

[@kevindallas1845]

It's not worth it alk will go up also

[@northeastcorals]

I dare say he realises this as he ins't a complete novice & is using it as part of his Alk dosing regime.

[@ReefDudes]

Hehe yes. It just means I dose a smidge less in my calcium reactor. No biggy! :)