http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:12:17 +0000 Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:52:17 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.03 360 www.utahreefs.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=5447 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/1by1.gif http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/ http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5447&PID=54624&title=diy-kalkwasser-gravity-drip-system#54624 Author: nellans
Subject: 5447
Posted: February 19 2005 at 6:52pm

it made a huge difference for me since i don't have to add calcium/alkall the time now... i check it once a week now and its rarely out ofwack and i adjust as needed.  definitely saving me on maintainencewhich is ideal!]]> Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:52:17 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5447&PID=54624&title=diy-kalkwasser-gravity-drip-system#54624 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5447&PID=54622&title=diy-kalkwasser-gravity-drip-system#54622 Author: Crazy Tarzan
Subject: 5447
Posted: February 19 2005 at 6:37pm

Nice write up, the pics help put it all together.  Very helpful.  I might have to do that sometime soon.  ]]> Sat, 19 Feb 2005 18:37:30 +0000 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5447&PID=54622&title=diy-kalkwasser-gravity-drip-system#54622 http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5447&PID=54598&title=diy-kalkwasser-gravity-drip-system#54598 Author: nellans
Subject: 5447
Posted: February 19 2005 at 1:35pm

A lot of folks don't want to spend the money to set up auto top offswith switches pumps and all the associated stuff.  There are lowtech ways to drip kalk into your system like the "glug jug" or justpushing a pin into a milk just full of kalk.  Niether of thesesystems was satisfactory for me because they weren't easily refillableand reliable about the feed rate of the fluid into the system.  Idesigned my own gravity drip system with the goals of being, cheap,reliable feed rate, easily refillable.  Here is the write up aboutit.

I wanted to be able to replace my evaporation with kalkwasser but don'thave room below my tank for an elaborate system.  The only answeris a custom setup to make the best use of space!  I decided tomake mine out of acrylic (my first acrylic project, and no it isn'thard to do) with a reliable drip system that is adjustable for speed.

Step 1:  I decided that I could build a custom spaced "tank" outof 3/8 acrylic that would hold about 2 1/2 gallons of kalkwasser. This meant i would have to refill it about once a week or maybe twiceto replace evaporation.  This fit in perfectly with my "goal" ofhaving to do aquarium maintainence only twice a week.  So down tohome depot I went and found that 3/8 acrylic is the thickest theyhave.  I bought a sheet about 20x30 for about $9 bucks.  sofar so good.

Step 2:  I needed acrylic solvent to "weld" the acrylic togetherto form the tank.  Chris at Fish4U on highland just south of 39thhad a little bottle with more solvent than I'll ever use for about$6.  Perfect, everything I needed to make the "tank" obtained forabout $15!

Step 3:  I decided how big i wanted the older to be by measuringthe available space "on" my sump under my tank.  This way it couldsit on the edge of the tank maximizing space and still use gravity dripto drip into the sump slowly.  perfect for a kalk auto top off!

Step 4:  With measurements in hand i used my table saw (you coulduse a bandsaw, or a jigsaw if you are really steady with your hand) tocut the pieces to size.  mine is approx 12 inches long, 4 deep,and 8 inches tall.  I did a little experimenting and found thatyou don't want more than 1/16 variation in the piece sizes, meaning youneed a reasonably straight cut, but if you do woodworking or somethingsimilar you are used to tolerances MUCH tighter than this, so do notworry.

Step 5:  Glue all the acrylic together using the "pin"method.  Look this up to see how it works, its not very hard toget a good bond, although i think it will take some practice to makethe bonds "look" good and not get solvent in places that will cloud theacrylic.  This is a great first project to work with acrylicbecause you probably don't care about the end "look"

Step 6:  Drill a 1/4 inch hole in the end of the "tank" about 1/2and inch above the bottom.  This allows the drip tube to draw fromjust above the bottom so that any precipitation from the kalk doesn'tget sucked up and clog the tube.  After a month now I've decidedto wash that junk out just to be safe.  Super simple.

Step 7:  Obtain an "iv drip" package from a medical supply or havea VERY nice WMAS member borrow one from their hospital job.  cutthe tubing (3/16ths) into a 3 foot long section and feed it halfwaythrough your hole.  gob that bad boy up with silicon on eitherside and make sure you get a very nice seal.  let it dry overnight.

Step 8:  cut the tubes to length and put the flow controlregulator on it, put it on top of your sump, pour some kalk from yourbigger kalk container (i use a 5 gallon water jug that i always shakeup when i add RO and let settle before i pour the clear kalk into thegravity feed tank,  adjust your drip rate with the adjuster andyou're set!

Tips:    have the "end" of the drip tube actually underthe surface of your water the sump.  if you don't eventually thetip "crusts" over and you end up dripped slower and slower andeventually stopping.

i found that even with 2 1/2 gallons and a 12 inch longest dimensionthe 3/8 acrylic looks like its "bending" out.  its not anywherenear breaking but if i had to do it again, i would probably put a braceacross the top because i'm anal like that.

i left the top open on mine so i could easily just pour into it from a5 gallon jug without having to move anything.  to make it all alittle more sanitary if i had to do it again i would make the top of itabout 3/4 covered with just enough room for pouring in.  thiswould prevent sloshing around if i have to move it a little bit better.

a gravity feed system WILL feed slightly faster when the tank is fullthan when the tank is almost empty.  determine your drip rate whenthe tank is full so that you never add kalk too fast (bad) but thenaren't adding quite fast enough by the time its empty.  eventuallyyou'll find the happy medium that you never add too fast but don't addto slowly and you'll never have to top off manually again!

hope this helps other people out,  feel free to ask some questions i'd be more than willing to help out!










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