K1 Kalk Stirrer Kit

[zemuss]

Does anyone have the K1 Kalk Stirrer Kit from Avast Marine? Thoughts and Review?

Recommendations please.

"Z"

 

[kuyatwo]

i run one one my tank becareful using a tom's aqualifter if you do make a small hole on the clear tube too stop it from back siphoning. I have owned a reeftek and a pm kalk reactor and i think avast is the best of the three. no more replacing leaky maxijets.

 

[zemuss]

My concern is the K1 tank rating is 400 gallons. Will this work on a 34 gallon?

I think I need to ask them before I pull the trigger.

 

[danka-cedium]

It should be fine, you will just have to put your lifting pump on a timer. You need to control the amount of kalk that goes into your tank.

 

[zemuss]

I was going to put this inline with the AVAST ATO system.

I will use a RIO pump with this setup.

So basically this would be the flow: ATO -> K1 Kalk Setup -> Sump

 

[redtop03]

that will work fine,the amount of kalk powder added to the stirrer is based on the amount of water you have,so it will work fine plus if you decide to upgrade tank size in the future,the stirrer is still good up to 400g

I use the K2 with my tank,it is an excellent piece of equipment

 

[zemuss]

Only question I have Redtop is what pump did you use? I read the manual and it talks about an aqualifter, so I guess I can't use a RIO?

 

[creefer]

I'm using a k1 on my 40b. Once you get it dialed in all is well. It's a great piece of equipment. I am using an aqua lifter.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[redtop03]

Only question I have Redtop is what pump did you use? I read the manual and it talks about an aqualifter, so I guess I can't use a RIO?

I used an aqualifter for a while but with the way I have mine running,the aqualifter had trouble moving the water at the distance I needed it to,I now use a small submersible 100gph Eheim pump that I adapted with an RO/DI quick connect and a ball valve to regulate the flow....the RIO should work too,depending on it's size I guess,if the RIO is too big,just add a bypass to it and let it recirculate you reservoir water while it is feeding the stirrer

 

[zemuss]

Ok then I will purchase a Rio 50 which is 65 GPH.

Thanks for the input. I am going to be buying the ATO and K1 now.

Now on to building the new SUMP and Algae scrubber.

"Z"

 

[zemuss]

RIO Purchased
K1 Kalk Purchased
ATO Purchased

Can't wait to put it together!

 

[redtop03]

one other thing to keep in mind Z,follow Avast's recommendation on plumbing the stirrer,add in the vent so that it doesn't continue to siphon from the reservoir after the pump is off,you also don't want it to back siphon into the reservoir

 

[zemuss]

Thanks Red I will follow the advice.

Avast DIY K1 Reactor and ATO arrived today. Also the Rio 50 came on the same day. Now to assemble the K1 Reactor and test it out. Avast did a great job packing the kit and ato.

I also wanted to tell you all that I purchased the back up float but AVAST said I didn't need it and refunded me my money.

Thanks Avast / Justin!

I will post pictures (if I remember) of the assembly and maybe a video of the K1 Reactor.

 

[Toomnymods]

I just purchased this kalk kit from avast as well.. I have never used kalk before and kinda nervous about it. I have a tunze osmolator in my ato container could i use this to pump ro/di water into this kalk reactor? Also how do I know how much kalk to put into the reactor? My ato unit holds about 23-25 gallons of ro/di water and lasts my 90 gallon reef about 7-8 days before needing refilling. So I guess around 2-3 gallons a day are being lost to evaporation. Adding 3 gallons a day of kalk to me sounds like a awful lot considering i already have a calcium reactor. How would you guys reccomend i set this up? Trying to keep natural saltwater levels cause I run a ton of zeovit products and have to have alk no higher than 8 and calcium around 420.. Mainreason for wanting kalk reactor is because of excessive co2 in my home as well as inside my tank. The ph will not go abouve 7.7 no matter what I do.

 

[choco24]

I know this is an old thread but I just got this unit from a friend and I have some Questions. I now have a tunze 3155 ato... Can I connect this to the k2 to supply to water being evaporated instead of a separate pump. And what are your timers like with the stirrer if water is evaporating Through the day? What are the timers on both the pump and stirrer? Any help would be appreciated

 

[FLSharkvictim]

i run one one my tank becareful using a tom's aqualifter if you do make a small hole on the clear tube too stop it from back siphoning. I have owned a reeftek and a pm kalk reactor and i think avast is the best of the three. no more replacing leaky maxijets.

@kuyatwo , I have the K1 model set up and I can't figure out for life of me how to get it to drain out of the barb and into my sump. I used differnt tubing so bare with me. Ok, this how I have mine set up to run - I have the white line running out of the Kalk reactor 1/4'' push connect fitting to my doser pump and that drains into my sump b.c i CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SET IT THE proper way. Your help will be HIGHLY appreciated. Since Avast has not been so helpful maybe you can.. I went out and bought the BRS doser pump that pumps out 50mls per minute but it has not arrived yet. I know you are using the TOM Aqualifter but can you share a picture on how you have your set up please?

 

[FLSharkvictim]

I know this is an old thread but I just got this unit from a friend and I have some Questions. I now have a tunze 3155 ato... Can I connect this to the k2 to supply to water being evaporated instead of a separate pump. And what are your timers like with the stirrer if water is evaporating Through the day? What are the timers on both the pump and stirrer? Any help would be appreciated

FOLLOWING!! I have just bought a brand new one and I can't figure out how to get water out of the kalk stirrer through that barb that my hose connects to that runs into my sump.

 

[AquamanE]

@FLSharkvictim -I plan on installing with BRS 50ml doser also. Any updates?

 

[sbidny]

FOLLOWING!! I have just bought a brand new one and I can't figure out how to get water out of the kalk stirrer through that barb that my hose connects to that runs into my sump.

Water should be flowing into the reactor via the white hose, which will cause the water level in the reactor to rise. As the water rises, it will simply flow out of the barbed fitting.

Can you confirm that you are flowing water into the reactor via the white hose?

 

[sbidny]

I just purchased this kalk kit from avast as well.. I have never used kalk before and kinda nervous about it. I have a tunze osmolator in my ato container could i use this to pump ro/di water into this kalk reactor? Also how do I know how much kalk to put into the reactor? My ato unit holds about 23-25 gallons of ro/di water and lasts my 90 gallon reef about 7-8 days before needing refilling. So I guess around 2-3 gallons a day are being lost to evaporation. Adding 3 gallons a day of kalk to me sounds like a awful lot considering i already have a calcium reactor. How would you guys reccomend i set this up? Trying to keep natural saltwater levels cause I run a ton of zeovit products and have to have alk no higher than 8 and calcium around 420.. Mainreason for wanting kalk reactor is because of excessive co2 in my home as well as inside my tank. The ph will not go abouve 7.7 no matter what I do.

Kalk reactors are designed to dose fully saturated kalk solution only, which means you can put in as much as the reactor can hold. It will only use as much as needed to create a saturated solution. You just need to keep it full enough to always ensure it creates a saturated solution. And you need to clean it periodically to remove any precipitation that will form over time.

You can certainly use this off your ATO, however, I wouldn't generally recommend it, especially if using a calcium reactor. The reason is that you will usually evaporate at a different rate at different times of the year. This means you will be constantly adjusting your calcium reactor to compensate.

Ideally, you should dose kalk solution at a rate just below your slowest evaporation rate throughout the year. That will guarantee a more consistent dosing rate. You can then adjust your calcium reactor to make up any additional supplementation required. Your ATO will top up the aquarium with straight RODI for any remaining head room.

Hope that makes some sense.