Nilsen Kalk Stirrers - Powerhead Questions

CaymanLoversII · 01-05-2004, 02:57 PM

I have built two Nilsen kalk stirrers sort of along the lines of Bill Esposito's plans. See: Bill's Plans

1. Bill says he uses a Maxijet 250 (I think that was the size) to stir the kalk and restricts the flow by 50%. Object is to just stir the lower "cloudy" kalk in the chamber and not stir the powder up into the clear water that gets dripped into the aquarium. I have been using a MJ 600 that really stirs the powder up and sometimes the entire chamber gets cloudy. Is this a problem?

2. Impellers only seem to last about 2 - 3 months. I have tried running the PH for 5 minutes several times a day and also just leaving it on. Leaving it on seems to produce wear on the shaft so the magnet and impeller starts wobbling in the pump making lots of noise. Eventually the pump will quit if the impeller magnet can touch the sides of the pump body. Turning the PH on and off seems to result in impeller blades breaking, probably due to the on/off/on/off cycling.

I am interested in other's input on these issues.

Thanks!
Steve

Geoff · 01-05-2004, 03:41 PM

mine has been doing fine so far. i should have taken it apart last night when i was recharging it though to make sure. i have a mag 250 on mine and the kalk stays at the bottom 1/2 no problem. i also have the pump outlet really close to the bottom of the reactor so the water can not get going real well anyway.

as far as the precipitate getting into the aquarium i do not think that it is a problem. as far as i know it will just create a pile of calcium carbonate where it dumps in. mine just dripples in so i am not sure on any implications with pH if the kalk is allowed to enter the aquarium in any large quantities.

i think i have mine set for 3min ever 2 hours.

last time i looked my impellor looked fine, but i really need to look at it soon. it has been 3-4 months since i looked at it.

G~

wanareef · 01-06-2004, 08:20 AM

I have a maxi 900 on my kalk reactor. Been running for about 6 - 7 months now. On a timer for about 5 mins every 6hrs. No problems so far. But then I use ESV Kalk by the 4lb jug. I have heard that ball's pickling lime is very coarse and does gunk up the PH impellers.

dot · 01-22-2004, 06:43 AM

I'm planning a similar project so this info is very helpful.

I have some related questions:

My reactor will sit under my tank with a 3g fresh water (RO/DI) resevoir feeding it. How will I get water back up the 5' to the top of the tank?

I would have to put a pump in-line attached so a float switch, right?

Or I could add a little pressure to the 3g resevoir, right?

Which do you guys recommend and by all means don't limit your thinking to my ideas.

dot

Geoff · 01-22-2004, 08:49 AM

Welcome to TRT!!!

do you have a sump? using a float valve in the sump is the easiest thing to do.

if not then the electronic float valve idea would work, but you would end up making a sump anyway to house a pump to pump up the 5 feet.

G~

dot · 01-22-2004, 09:01 AM

Nope. No sump. What if I pushed fresh water into the bottom of the reactor which would force kalk-water out the top to the tank?

I could easily mount a pump/power head in the resevoir. The container I'm considering has about a 5" opening with a screw on cap.

Thoughts?

dot

Geoff · 01-22-2004, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dot
Nope. No sump. What if I pushed fresh water into the bottom of the reactor which would force kalk-water out the top to the tank?

if the 3g water reservior is higher than the outlet into the tank.

Quote:

Originally posted by dot

I could easily mount a pump/power head in the resevoir. The container I'm considering has about a 5" opening with a screw on cap.

Thoughts?

dot

the problem i see with this is sealing around the powercord. but yes that would work. have a float valve control the pump. you will need to make sure the pumps intake is near the top of the reactor so as not to pump raw kalk into the system.

G~

dot · 02-05-2004, 07:39 AM

Here's a couple of pics to give an idea of what I have and what I need to do.

Just a tank shot. There's a very small section of the left and right not visible in the photo. The tank is 36" long. You're seeing about 24" of it.

Here's the full shot. To put this in perspective; this tank is sitting in my living room adjacent to my fireplace. There is a stand that's probably 30" tall, but there is *no* hood. Anything I do I must do in the small area under the tank.

I have no sump, and no refugium at present. I'm hoping to add the 25" AquaFuge sometime this year. My birthday is coming so that's a likely candidate!

Anyway, I want to build the reactor. I'll have to shrink it a bit to fit it under the cabinet. The reactor will be fed by a 3g container. The reservoir will have a submersed powerhead that will run off a float switch in the main tank. The ph will feed the reactor with fresh water at the bottom and force kalk-water out the top and into the tank.

Geof pointed out that I'll likely need a check valve between the reactor and the reservoir. Good catch! I had already planned on one between the tank and the reactor, but hadn't thought about the other at all.

Any thoughts on this setup?

dot

dot · 02-05-2004, 07:43 AM

I should have noted that the 2nd picture was actually taken before the 1st. It was during the initial tank setup and was still shy about 6g of water. =)

I transferred ~45 lbs of Live Rock and ~50 lbs of Live Sand from a 20g that had been setup since September. During the transition I added another ~50 lbs of Live Sand. All of my tank critters survived the move except for one hermit crab that passed a few days ago. I can't say that it was related though because he made it through the first few weeks.

Anyway, there are about a dozen hermits, 3 scarlet hermits, a couple of big snails (visible), and a couple of star fish. They all seem to enjoy their new home very much.

dot

stinkyreef · 02-05-2004, 03:09 PM

Has anyone investigated the use of a magnetic stir bar for mixing the Kalc? It would eliminate most of the problems mentioned in this thread so far. If it could be done on the cheap, I think it would be a great option.

Geoff · 02-05-2004, 11:27 PM

i have seen a couple of stir bar based kalk reactors. their big problem is that the bottom wears out. over time the bar wears through the bottom of the reactor and/or the bar wears down exposing its core. most of these problems could be eliminated if you were able to make the vessel out of glass, but then that would negate any price advantage to DIY.

i think myreef.com has one.

G~

stinkyreef · 02-06-2004, 07:37 AM

GEOFF: Where have you seen them? Online? Can you point me in a direction to get part numbers for some of the stir bar components? I think the other issues can be engineered out of my design for ~el cheepo.

BTW Cool dog

Geoff · 02-06-2004, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stinkyreef
GEOFF: Where have you seen them? Online? Can you point me in a direction to get part numbers for some of the stir bar components? I think the other issues can be engineered out of my design for ~el cheepo.

BTW Cool dog

thanks, he is a great dog!!

My Reef Creations has one. click on the nilsen reactor link.

this is a DIY plan for the stirer. i can not find the link for the DIY stirer reactor right now.

G~

dot · 02-06-2004, 10:01 AM

What if you could find something small and cheap to use as the glass section for only the bottom?

I have another question about this general design. What about putting the input and output connections for the stirer off-center (opposite sides) to create a swirl effect?

Also, in order to get the stirring pump as close as possible; could you use rubber fittins and hose clamps to attach it to the reactor?

stinkyreef · 02-06-2004, 11:07 AM

1/8" piece of glass used as a friction barrier between the acrylic and stir bar would work. I'm sure you can get a stir bar that would hold up to the abuse. They have hundreds of designs, for all different uses.