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kethomps 
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 Topic: adding kalkwasser automatically
Posted: January 13 2005 at 10:35pm |
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I need some advice on this idea I have. Will it work?
I have a neptune controller, I can program it to turn on a pump if the ph gets too low.
What I would like to do is the following:
container with kalkwasser + aqua medic sp3000 pump + x10 module + neptune controller
If the ph drops below 8.0 then it will turn the x10 module
on. This would turn on the sp3000 pump. The pump will take
water from the container with kalkwasser and pump it into the
sump. Once the ph reaches 8.2 then the pump would turn off.
Is this how a peristaltic dosing pump works or do I need an additional pump to push water to it?
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210g sw fish
West Jordan
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 13 2005 at 11:10pm |
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Your idea has merit but lets see if you can make it work around the one overriding drawback. Kalkwasser is very base. If I remember correctly, on the pH scale it is a 12. This means that it immediately burns any life that it touches. So you would need to find a way for the pump outlet to the tank to be in a place where the kalkwasser could adequatly mix with tankwater before it hits a coral or a rock or even a fish. The smallest powerhead you can find with the flow severely restricted might work.
Also, and I just thought of this, tank pH should not rise too fast or it will cause distress, so the lower and upper limits need to be set accordingly. Like the pump would turn on at 8.1 or 8.2 and turn off at 8.3?
Those are my initial thoughts.
A peristaltic pump gives a kind of constant back pressure to the fluid. Little cylinders roll around squeezing and releasing a flexible rubber hose delivering a constant pressure at extremely slow feed rate . The Spectrapure Kalkwasser Dosing Pump I have is designed to run 150 times per day for an adjustable length of time which determines how much fluid is delivered at each run.
Edited by Mark Peterson
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kethomps
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Posted: January 13 2005 at 11:35pm |
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Mark,
Do you have the litermeter?
The kalkwasser would be added to the refugium(in a water only compartment) before it would be added to the main tank.
So the aqua medic sp3000 pump does not have a way to limit the
flow? A powerhead pushing water to the pump obviously would.
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210g sw fish
West Jordan
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: January 13 2005 at 11:44pm |
In the container wouldnt you need a pump to mix up the kalk. From what I understand that is the main job of the reactor?
kethomps, You sound like me. Like that last meeting got you thinking about DIY 
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jfinch
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Posted: January 13 2005 at 11:57pm |
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I wouldn't automate it (although it will work the way you want it to, but I'm not sure you should want it to). Just put that sp3000 (this is a peristaltic pump, btw) on a timer to run in intervals during the evening. Have the controller shut the pump down when/if the pH reaches 8.4. I think you'll have a more steady pH if you do it that way.
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kethomps
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Posted: January 13 2005 at 11:59pm |
 pistonfister wrote:
In the container wouldnt you need a pump to mix up
the kalk. From what I understand that is the main job of the reactor?
If you mixed the kalkwasser a day ahead and poured off the top part of
the water then I was thinking I could just use that. Then I
wouldn't have to worry about the sediment.
kethomps, You sound like me. Like that last meeting got you thinking about DIY
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Yes, how can it be so difficult to move water from one container to another and have it work with the neptune?
Come on, someone knows how to do this. I don't want to have a
kalkreactor. I want to use the neptune to control when the kalk
is dosed and have the drip set to about 1 drip per second.
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210g sw fish
West Jordan
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kethomps
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Posted: January 14 2005 at 12:04am |
jfinch wrote:
I wouldn't automate it (although it will work the way you
want it to, but I'm not sure you should want it to). Just put
that sp3000 (this is a peristaltic pump, btw) on a timer to run in
intervals during the evening. Have the controller shut the pump
down when/if the pH reaches 8.4. I think you'll have a more
steady pH if you do it that way. |
Let's see if I understand what you are saying.
Timer + x10 module + sp3000 pump
Set the timer to run every other hour for 6 hours, for example.
If the ph goes to high then the x10 would shut the pump off but the
timer would continue to run. If the ph drops then the x10 would
turn the pump on but it would only turn on if the timer was also on.
Does that sound right?
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210g sw fish
West Jordan
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jfinch
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Posted: January 14 2005 at 12:08am |
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Yup, that's how I would do it if I had that equipment.
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