Kalkwasser Slurry dosing Manifold available for testing

Reef AquaCult

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So at the top of the T fitting where i have that barb (I couldn't find a CAD file for a Mur-loc fitting) is where you dose the slurry from your dosing pump. How much is based on your alk demand and the concentration you are running. I have developed a calculator for that. On the right hand side is your water line in that would be coming from your sump, either via a dedicated pump or plumbed into an existing manifold. I've tested this with a pump rated at 260gph, more or less may work. You can also plumb an inline valve to help with flow control if you need it.

The 3d insert will create a turbulent venturi effect that will help prevent pooling at the dosing point and encourage mixing. The left hand side of course is your return to sump point and note that it is larger. The input is 1/2" and the output is 3/4", this must be maintained based on the fluid dynamic principles of how a venturi basically works. A higher flow transitioning to a lower flow at a point of constriction.

Now, you can find devices like this out there pre-made but they are expensive when you try to find ones that conform to NPT standards. Almost all of the more affordable ($12-$20) ones are built to the BSP standard and good luck converting those threads economically. They also tend to be very small at that price range and lack the volume throughput. This setup can be had from any local hardware store for around $10 or less assuming you have access to a printer for the added piece.

Kalk manifold exploded view.png
How long have you had this set up going? What issues have you had?
 
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RobB'z Reef

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How long have you had this set up going? What issues have you had?
I've had it on and off a couple times for testing for a month at a time. My alkalinity requirements aren't quite there yet, but one day they will be and I'll have this down pat as i don't want a Ca reactor and I'm not going to pay for expensive two part additives. Others doing this that I know and learned this from have been doing over over a year and a half in some cases. Other than monitoring for excessively high pH there isn't really any draw backs that I know of. Many using this are hitting daily averages of around 8.5 pH.
 

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im not going to sell it, it's like 12 cents worth of filament. If you have limited access to a 3d printer we could work something out where you just pay shipping for the part. I have a write up on how the manifold works and there are a few other aspects surrounding how you keep the slurry suspended and setup etc. I also have a dosing calculator (excel) that is a good starting point for this as well as normal saturated kalk.
1637349057220.png

I'll be looking at your venturi device.

In the meantime, that excel calculator looks like what I've been searching for in terms of how much to mix and dosages and would work no matter the method of adding the slurry to the tank. Would you mind letting me know how I can get a copy of that? And maybe some explanations:

- what is the Starting Point referring to?
- Is the Est daily Alk your tanks uptake or how much you want to add?
- What is the Target Alk (it can't be your tank's dKH at 1.4...)?

Thanks!
 
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RobB'z Reef

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I'll be looking at your venturi device.

In the meantime, that excel calculator looks like what I've been searching for in terms of how much to mix and dosages and would work no matter the method of adding the slurry to the tank. Would you mind letting me know how I can get a copy of that? And maybe some explanations:

- what is the Starting Point referring to?
- Is the Est daily Alk your tanks uptake or how much you want to add?
- What is the Target Alk (it can't be your tank's dKH at 1.4...)?

Thanks!
Yeah no worries, I have an instruction sheet in there that should explain everything. Send your email via DM and I'll send it over. You can use it to dose a target volume and it will tell you how much dKH you are dosing, out you can set it to dose a target daily dKH and it will tell you the daily volume you should dose
 

2una

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Here's a link to a youtube stream where Telegraham, Luca and myself are discussing kalkwasser and other reefing nonsense.

That ratchet lid bucket that Telegraham has got the hots for - it's also the same bucket that AquaVitro sell there "salinity" salt in if anyone's looking for 1
 

Cory

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I wonder if the vca new salinity stability kit for apex conductivity probes would work similar to this?
 

Cory

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I was asked earlier here and more so on Instagram to outline my setup on this so I made a video for anyone interested.


Great video thanks for posting the setup you have! Im curious if its even necessary to have the venturi effect, or simply just having the dosing tube through your return pump hose would work the same. Whats the purpose of the venturi? To keep the dosing slurry tip clean?
 
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RobB'z Reef

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Great video thanks for posting the setup you have! Im curious if its even necessary to have the venturi effect, or simply just having the dosing tube through your return pump hose would work the same. Whats the purpose of the venturi? To keep the dosing slurry tip clean?
Thank you! The hope was that one it would reduce back feed pressure against the doser thru the dosing line, without it I can attest it can get significant depending on the flow you have going on based on pump type, distance etc. The other is that with more back pressure, if it's enough it may prevent or impede the dosing itself if it's at a lower rate (say you wanted to dose 2-10ml continuously). The venturi design also promotes turbulence which is crucial in getting that kalk mixed to avoid localized precipitation at the dosing point. It was just a simple approach to trying to address those concerns I had.
 

Dennis Cartier

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Anyone using this method will want to pay close attention to the purity of the kalkwasser that they are using. Normally kalk is self purifying due to the high PH, and the impurities precipitate out. By dosing the slurry, any impurities in the kalk will get dosed to the tank. So pharma grade kalk is highly recommended.

The BRSTV episode on testing kalk will help explain the issues involved.



Dennis
 

Dennis Cartier

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Ive read copper precipitates but what about others?
Randy mentions copper, nickel and cadmium as precipitated impurities in his article on Kalkwasser. See What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime. I was not able to locate his article previous to this one that dealt with impurities as well.

Also, magnesium and strontium would also be precipitated, but would be part of the slurry in this case. I guess the take away is, if you are using a slurry, whatever the kalkwasser contained, is is going to be dosed. So YMMV.

Dennis
 

Cory

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Im curious if the tip of the venturi stays clean or does it get a coating of caco2?
 
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RobB'z Reef

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Im curious if the tip of the venturi stays clean or does it get a coating of caco2?
So far it hasn't in the configuration I have it in. Only time will tell however. There are others out there have been dosing slurry in lines smaller and at the same size for over 6 months now.
 

Cory

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So far it hasn't in the configuration I have it in. Only time will tell however. There are others out there have been dosing slurry in lines smaller and at the same size for over 6 months now.
Sounds like a winner then
 

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