Kalkwasser, GFO & Carbon

[cdrewferd]

I'm on the edge about starting to dose Kalkwasser into my Biocube 29. At the same time I've seen a lot of people with these tanks run a carbon or GFO reactor, sometimes both. They claim that it really helps keep the water clean and keeps algea and stuff down.

My question is can I run all 3 at the same time? Kalk would be done by manual topoff for now, 2 cups max a day. Obviously the carbon and GFO would run through reactors. What do you guys think of this setup: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...actors/dual-brs-gfo-and-carbon-reactor-1.html It would allow me run both, and also mount the reactors in my stand which is needed as I don't want them hanging off the back of the tank.

What do you guys think?

 

[Wicked Color]

Yup sure can.

 

[cdrewferd]

Thanks. Do you think it would be beneficial to the system, or should I do kalk first and see how that goes. Then add the carbon and GFO if needed?

 

[SAZAMA]

your gonna love it

 

[KhensuRa]

For your size tank i think you can run the single reactor with both media inside. I just got the single BRS reactor and will running both GFO and carbon in it. That will save you some cash and space. I have also been thinking of putting kalk in my ATO as well, so I will be watching this thread and maybe chiming in, here and there.

 

[cdrewferd]

Does running both in the same reactor create any problems? Do both need to be changed at the same time whether they are in the same reactor or not? I would probably do the BRS Deluxe reactor as the mounting plate looks to be a bit better. Not sure if it's the same and jsut switched to black from the regular one though. Space isn't too much of an issue right now, though I guess further down the line it could be. The dual reactor would also give me more expandability if I ever upgrade tanks, which hopefully will happen down the road.

 

[Walter White]

I use all them on my 28 nano. I don't use a reactor but that would probably be better. I just use small media bags in the rear fuge I change both every week. Changing both every week may be excessive but reduces the chance of either the GFO or the carbon leaching phosphates back into the water and keeps the media reaction much more consistant so I don't get any drastic swings in water clarity that mess with the light intensity my corals are used to.

Just my method others here probably have better methods in terms of biocubes or similar.

 

[Walter White]

I use an elos osmocontroller for ATO with Kalk and love it! Works great but is a pricey piece.

 

[cdrewferd]

Thanks kalgra. I thought you might be using theses on your nano, so glad you chimed in. I'm hoping to start the kalk here soon. Would you recommend I start with 1tsp for every gallon of RO? If I'm doing the top off manually, should I just shake the jug to remix the kalk before I get out what I need? Also, any specific brand of Kalkwasser I should get?

For the media for the carbon and GFO, what should I get? The ROX 0.8 from BRS isn't too bad at $40 for a gallon. The high capacity GFO is rediculous at $140 for the same 1 gallon. I would hope that the GFO would last a lot longer at that price, or can I get away with the regular granular GFO?

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[kyuubichan218]

I just started dosing Kalkwasser in my ATO, and after much reading, I am using Mrs. Wages Pickling lime, rather than an aquarium-made kalkwasser. It's all just a fancy name for CaOH, and pickling lime is way cheaper and available at Wal-Mart. Also, I really like the kalkwasser so far, my pH is slowly coming back up to the range of normal and my corals all look pretty fantastic.

 

[cdrewferd]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into picking some of that up.

 

[jagermeister]

If you don't mix your carbon and gfo media, you can save your spent gfo and recharge it. That'll save you some $$ down the road.

 

[cdrewferd]

That's interesting. How does that work? Does it only work with certain types of GFO, or all types?

 

[kmellon]

I haven't heard of recharging gfo. Do you have any reference to this process?

If you don't mix your carbon and gfo media, you can save your spent gfo and recharge it. That'll save you some $$ down the road.

 

[jagermeister]

I haven't done it yet but will probably give it a try in the future. This thread is where I learned about it.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1838961&highlight=gfo

 

[aztecdreams]

There is also some directions that come with the package of GFO when you purchase from BRS on how to recharge it. I think you can only do it once

 

[cdrewferd]

Interesting. The link jagermeister posted seems to say you can recharge multiple times. That would make it easier to justify the cost.

 

[jagermeister]

Here's another good article for those interested.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/10/chemistry

 

[cdrewferd]

Thanks for the links jagermeister.

 

[cdrewferd]

How often would you guys recommend changing the carbon and GFO on a 29 gallon Biocube? I'm probably going to go with a single reactor from BRS. If I upgrade my tank, I'll just buy another reactor.