Thank you for the review! I just picked one up. I found that if I use semi flexible tubing with a heat gun, I can then use a quick connect. Agree that was a silly design choice.
Well I was using the largest deltec kalkwasser unit for year's, and I never heard any buzzing. You need to use a one way tap valve, so then you can disconnect it very easily when you want to clean it. I don't have an aquarium now, but I still used mine on my reptile room enclosure for a misting system, by having a booster pump connected to the inlet pipe, and sucking water out from the bottom and pumping the water into the reptile misting system.
I have the KM500, the length of the power cable and low hum niggled me to be honest especially as you say its pricey. I run the stirrer for 5 minutes every six hours to alleviate the hum. I have a small dosing pump pushing RO water into the stirrer during the night but it is not constant duty. I think I am going to have to invest in a Versa doser.
When i dose osmosewater slowly to this reactor, the water has difficulty to go trough. I calibrated my versa dosepump and it works fine. When i dose to the reactor for instance 30 ml and the dosepump starts working, the water start coming out maybe after 30 seconds, and i get about 28 ml. Its like it cannot dose on a continous duty. Do you also have this effect?
You need both - I lose about 4L to evaporation per day but it fluctuates so you can't just match it with the kalk. So I dose 3.5L of kalk per day and the ATO tops off the last bit
Hey Al, I totally agree. I own the bigger version of the 500 and it is just as loud. The price seems outrageous considering what you get in terms of parts, functionality and noise level. I was under the assumption that the stirrer could be loaded up and then run for basically an endless amount of time which is why i did get the bigger 500 one over the one you have. What would really be a game changer is a device which would add fresh kalk powder to the stirrer every so often. How much powder do you add how often?
I had a deltec km500 the stepper motor was noisy, got rid of it and just use a 60l blue barrel out side and using a versa drawing it to the tank. Much better and cheap set up.
its using a high quality stepper motor that does mikro steps (start/stops). they do this because they want it to vibrate when it rotates. this way the kalk powder on the botton mixes and you dont have some old slug down there, when you add new kalk. the result is a higher price and a humming noise.
I have one and have to agree with all the issues. You forgot one. 7.5v adapter! Why or why would you use a different voltage to every other bit of kit in my aquarium where its all 12 24 DC. so instead of sharing a DC adapter, I need to find a socket just for this bit of kit! So, when the loudest thing in my sump is the stepper motor there are issues for this price point. It's like whoever designed it never used it. The stepper motor noise wise would be fine if it was isolated from the vessel from the vibration. Where the lid rests on the tube it should have a silicon gasket and the motor also on a silicon sheet. That would reduce the audible noise, also pretty much everything I purchase with a motor now comes with rubber isolating feet...apart from this item. So to fix these basic issues I have purchased silicone stick on feet for the base and I have used some spare silicon water tube station cut in half length ways to create a silicone gasket that I insert in the groove in the top. These two simple mods make it almost silent now as there is no vibration being passed onto the tube and it's also isolated from the base of my sump. I then purchased some small waterproof quick disconnect 12v pigtails from amazon & 4m of 12v cable, I replaced the wire to the stirrer motor directly with one pigtand and a 3m extention to the adapter. So I can now plug it in where I want and easily remove it when it needs a clean. Total cost about £10 and it took me half and hour to cut the wire and add the disconnect pigtails. If they did this themselves and fixed these issues, price aside it would be where it should be. So if you have one and the whine drives these hacks might help. All that said my ph and alk are now exactly where its needed so the positives do outway the negatives.
Hi Alex. Interested to hear your thoughts on Stirrer vs kalk vat now that it has been a couple of months since you switched. I have the exact same reactor and am actually thinking about switching to a vat. My main concerns with the vat are the wear and tear of the dosing line and doser tubes as well as potential clogging of the lines. The advantages would be to free up space in the sump and one less plug.
@@ReefDorkXtra What I notice with mine for the past 6 months is that I need about 3 inches of Kalk in the unit to get the full pH boost. Otherwise I start seeing my pH dip lower at night. And every 4 weeks I do need to throw out the powder and fill it up fresh. And space for me is not a concern as I am dosing from the basement where I have my salt and ro bins. I am using a dosing pump which uses a very slow rotation speed so wonder if it stirs up the kalk properly everytime it doses.
I dose lab grade pure calcium cloride every day in my overflow box perfext 7 quid for 2kg does not alter ph or dkh i do them separately switched me reactor off less chance now of over dosing
I've just looked back at my pH graph and it's gone from 8.28 to 8.37. I might have calibrated the probe around the time of the change though (can't remember) so can't say if it has definitely increased pH...
Do I need dosing kalkwasser when I cycle a new tank or should I wait,dKH is 6 atm- looks like I can raise kh and ph is the same all the time 8ph,I was using your suggestion first week 100ml per 100l of tank water per day,than I double it 270 ml... 6gr per 4l of RODI water but still nothing happening,sorry for so many questions during those few weeks 🙂
Cause they know people will pay it because where else you gonna go for very niche stuff like this there just isn't 50 companies make these things and the couple of companies that do sell Um want the price as high as possible.
This unit is completely overpriced for it is, I built my own stirrer for half the price off these units . Our choice in the uk is very poor , only Deltec
Deltec products are a massive rip-off. I know it's a nesh market, but they live off of the whole German quality sales pitch. In reality, they haven't made a decent skimmer in years, and they have zero innovation . It's just my opinion and have owned a Deltec skimmer. Poor acrylic and a cheap DC pump at a premium price point.
@Bimmerboy1989 For sure, I also have a Reef Octo skimmer, a Regal ss150, have had it for years, and it's been bulletproof, built like a tank. But my issue is with deltec, who has little to no innovation, and use average materials yet still charge an arm and a leg for their products.
If only ppl would admit soda ash does the exact same...but better and it doesn't ruin all the other equipment surrounding it....buy a DIY version like from BRS....easily 8.5 ph all year round....no top off of kalk powder...just fill doser containers once every two months for my systems ....I just wish ppl would speak about kalk being low key destructive to your pumps ....powerheads etc... it eats at wires till they short out and your left with dead equipment
I have been running a Kalk reactor for 3years now and before I bought a Kalk stirrer I was mixing kalk everyday to drip over night. I have never had a pump seize or break or a cable melt from kalk. And to say soda ash is giving same ph benefits is not true. For the amount of soda ash you supply to see a measurable ph swing you would have to dose may more than 2-3 ml a hour. I clean all my flow pumps monthly due to coralline algae and my return about every quarter and haven’t seen any calcium build up on Impeller shafts. I currently dose 3 liters a day of Kalk and 30ml of both soda ash and calcium to keep up with a very heavy stocked stick tank (40 breeder) without issues other than probably to much growth right now. Just my 2 cents have a great day
I have to say, my jaw hit the floor a bit when you said the price! Great video though, looking forward to more!
Crazy huh 😬
I think for the price it should come with a basic timer for the stir bar as they are not supposed to run continuously.
Deltec stirr is ok to run 24/7.
Thank you for the review! I just picked one up. I found that if I use semi flexible tubing with a heat gun, I can then use a quick connect. Agree that was a silly design choice.
Great review! I am currently dosing my tank with kalk via a Kamoer Doser and it seems to be doing fine just fine tuning it to raise my alk.
Well I was using the largest deltec kalkwasser unit for year's, and I never heard any buzzing. You need to use a one way tap valve, so then you can disconnect it very easily when you want to clean it. I don't have an aquarium now, but I still used mine on my reptile room enclosure for a misting system, by having a booster pump connected to the inlet pipe, and sucking water out from the bottom and pumping the water into the reptile misting system.
I have the KM500, the length of the power cable and low hum niggled me to be honest especially as you say its pricey. I run the stirrer for 5 minutes every six hours to alleviate the hum. I have a small dosing pump pushing RO water into the stirrer during the night but it is not constant duty. I think I am going to have to invest in a Versa doser.
When i dose osmosewater slowly to this reactor, the water has difficulty to go trough.
I calibrated my versa dosepump and it works fine.
When i dose to the reactor for instance 30 ml and the dosepump starts working, the water start coming out maybe after 30 seconds, and i get about 28 ml.
Its like it cannot dose on a continous duty.
Do you also have this effect?
Yep, but it doesn't matter - if you're dosing a litre of kalk every day, a few millilitres more or less won't make a difference
So you don’t need an ATO as well? This setup does both?
You need both - I lose about 4L to evaporation per day but it fluctuates so you can't just match it with the kalk. So I dose 3.5L of kalk per day and the ATO tops off the last bit
Hey Al, I totally agree. I own the bigger version of the 500 and it is just as loud. The price seems outrageous considering what you get in terms of parts, functionality and noise level. I was under the assumption that the stirrer could be loaded up and then run for basically an endless amount of time which is why i did get the bigger 500 one over the one you have. What would really be a game changer is a device which would add fresh kalk powder to the stirrer every so often. How much powder do you add how often?
I aim for 2 weeks but I slip quite often. I aim to clean it out and start again every 2 months but I miss that sometimes too...
I had a deltec km500 the stepper motor was noisy, got rid of it and just use a 60l blue barrel out side and using a versa drawing it to the tank. Much better and cheap set up.
its using a high quality stepper motor that does mikro steps (start/stops). they do this because they want it to vibrate when it rotates. this way the kalk powder on the botton mixes and you dont have some old slug down there, when you add new kalk. the result is a higher price and a humming noise.
I have one and have to agree with all the issues. You forgot one. 7.5v adapter! Why or why would you use a different voltage to every other bit of kit in my aquarium where its all 12 24 DC. so instead of sharing a DC adapter, I need to find a socket just for this bit of kit! So, when the loudest thing in my sump is the stepper motor there are issues for this price point. It's like whoever designed it never used it. The stepper motor noise wise would be fine if it was isolated from the vessel from the vibration. Where the lid rests on the tube it should have a silicon gasket and the motor also on a silicon sheet. That would reduce the audible noise, also pretty much everything I purchase with a motor now comes with rubber isolating feet...apart from this item. So to fix these basic issues I have purchased silicone stick on feet for the base and I have used some spare silicon water tube station cut in half length ways to create a silicone gasket that I insert in the groove in the top. These two simple mods make it almost silent now as there is no vibration being passed onto the tube and it's also isolated from the base of my sump. I then purchased some small waterproof quick disconnect 12v pigtails from amazon & 4m of 12v cable, I replaced the wire to the stirrer motor directly with one pigtand and a 3m extention to the adapter. So I can now plug it in where I want and easily remove it when it needs a clean. Total cost about £10 and it took me half and hour to cut the wire and add the disconnect pigtails. If they did this themselves and fixed these issues, price aside it would be where it should be.
So if you have one and the whine drives these hacks might help. All that said my ph and alk are now exactly where its needed so the positives do outway the negatives.
Good one as always👍. Some advice on keeping disturbing smell down in the sump compartment, will be much appreciated! Thanks.
Ventilation and activated carbon
Hi Alex. Interested to hear your thoughts on Stirrer vs kalk vat now that it has been a couple of months since you switched. I have the exact same reactor and am actually thinking about switching to a vat. My main concerns with the vat are the wear and tear of the dosing line and doser tubes as well as potential clogging of the lines. The advantages would be to free up space in the sump and one less plug.
You've basically summed up the main considerations right there! I much prefer the stirrer for space mainly.
@@ReefDorkXtra What I notice with mine for the past 6 months is that I need about 3 inches of Kalk in the unit to get the full pH boost. Otherwise I start seeing my pH dip lower at night. And every 4 weeks I do need to throw out the powder and fill it up fresh. And space for me is not a concern as I am dosing from the basement where I have my salt and ro bins. I am using a dosing pump which uses a very slow rotation speed so wonder if it stirs up the kalk properly everytime it doses.
I dose lab grade pure calcium cloride every day in my overflow box perfext 7 quid for 2kg does not alter ph or dkh i do them separately switched me reactor off less chance now of over dosing
Are you running the stirrer continuously Alex?
At the moment, yeah. I'm thinking of running it on a timer only when it's dosing though...
Thanks Alex, I bought the same model this week and was wondering whether to turn it off during the day when it’s not dosing.
How is the PH in the tank when comparing the Deltec km500 and the saturated kalkwasser?
I've just looked back at my pH graph and it's gone from 8.28 to 8.37. I might have calibrated the probe around the time of the change though (can't remember) so can't say if it has definitely increased pH...
Do I need dosing kalkwasser when I cycle a new tank or should I wait,dKH is 6 atm- looks like I can raise kh and ph is the same all the time 8ph,I was using your suggestion first week 100ml per 100l of tank water per day,than I double it 270 ml... 6gr per 4l of RODI water but still nothing happening,sorry for so many questions during those few weeks 🙂
If you have no corals, you don't need to add kalkwasser or any other supplements 🙂
@Reef Dork Xtra thank you very much for always being helpful 😊
really stupid question, what size is the pipe coming off of the kalkstirrer?
It's about 12-15mm I'd guess
How do you feed the RODI water into it, a dose or a pump or something else?
Yep - I use an ecotech versa
Is kalk worth it for a lps and softie tank?
Yep, absolutely - I run it on my softy and LPS Fluval Evo 13.5. I'll make a video in the next couple of weeks showing the setup...
@@ReefDorkXtra ok cool would love to see that I have a Red Sea 250 and thinking of giving it a try
Are you running 24 /7
The stir bar turns 24/7 but I dose overnight from about 8pm to midday
@@ReefDorkXtra thanks for the reply Alex
It should cost around £200
I don’t understand why reefing equipment is so overpriced.
Cause they know people will pay it because where else you gonna go for very niche stuff like this there just isn't 50 companies make these things and the couple of companies that do sell Um want the price as high as possible.
I paid 160 dollars for awast marine
Two more plugs 😂
This unit is completely overpriced for it is, I built my own stirrer for half the price off these units . Our choice in the uk is very poor , only Deltec
Soo expensive. I don't think it's worth the money . Also, they will get stuck on the stirrer bar over time
Deltec products are a massive rip-off. I know it's a nesh market, but they live off of the whole German quality sales pitch. In reality, they haven't made a decent skimmer in years, and they have zero innovation . It's just my opinion and have owned a Deltec skimmer. Poor acrylic and a cheap DC pump at a premium price point.
Honestly that’s a lot of reefing equipment. I do have a Reef Octo skimmer and a EcoTech S2 return pump and those were worth the money in my opinion.
@Bimmerboy1989 For sure, I also have a Reef Octo skimmer, a Regal ss150, have had it for years, and it's been bulletproof, built like a tank. But my issue is with deltec, who has little to no innovation, and use average materials yet still charge an arm and a leg for their products.
If only ppl would admit soda ash does the exact same...but better and it doesn't ruin all the other equipment surrounding it....buy a DIY version like from BRS....easily 8.5 ph all year round....no top off of kalk powder...just fill doser containers once every two months for my systems ....I just wish ppl would speak about kalk being low key destructive to your pumps ....powerheads etc... it eats at wires till they short out and your left with dead equipment
I have been running a Kalk reactor for 3years now and before I bought a Kalk stirrer I was mixing kalk everyday to drip over night. I have never had a pump seize or break or a cable melt from kalk. And to say soda ash is giving same ph benefits is not true. For the amount of soda ash you supply to see a measurable ph swing you would have to dose may more than 2-3 ml a hour. I clean all my flow pumps monthly due to coralline algae and my return about every quarter and haven’t seen any calcium build up on Impeller shafts. I currently dose 3 liters a day of Kalk and 30ml of both soda ash and calcium to keep up with a very heavy stocked stick tank (40 breeder) without issues other than probably to much growth right now. Just my 2 cents have a great day
Where can I find more information on this method please 🙏