If you're using Kalkwasser on your system
either through your ATO, a Kalkwasser dosing bin
or a Kalk reactor, hang in because today
I've got several tips using your apex
That will completely change the way you
dose Kalk going forward.
(upbeat music)
Hi guys, Randy here with BRStv's guide
to mastering your Neptune apex controller
where it's all about improving your gears performance
and avoiding all those inevitable reefing issues
that happened to nearly everyone.
And today we're talking Kalkwasser dosing
and how your apex can make it more accurate,
safe and stable for your tank.
There's three dosing approaches.
I'll show you how to set up today
along with how to implement apex tools like pH probes
optical sensors, leak detectors, power monitoring
and others that will help safeguard your tank
against the most common Kalkwasser dosing issues
that reefers face
including a little tip at the end
to prevent your Kalk ATO or Kalk dosing reservoir
from running dry using a Neptune breakout box
and a horizontal float switch.
Right upfront these three dosing methods
are what I would consider to be good, better
and best ways to get the job done
with good being Kalkwasser in your auto top off
it works well and is the easiest
but it is prone to more potential issues.
It is more difficult to accurately dial in
a consistent daily dose
better being a Kalkwasser storage bin
with a stable concentration,
coupled with a dosing pump where you can dose
the exact same amount each day and the best option
being a Kalk stirrer and fresh water box to feed it
which could be done in a super small footprint
is easy to adjust and requires less maintenance or filling.
We're gonna get into setting up
each of these dosing methods individually a bit later
but first we need to solve one
of the most potentially catastrophic issues
using Kalkwasser being overdosing.
One of the biggest benefits to using Kalk in the first place
is to boost the tank pH but at the same time
it can be detrimental if overdone
which is why it's so critical to catch quickly.
So to protect against overdosing
the first thing we wanna set up for all three
are apex pH alarms alerts and actions
that will send you an email or notification
if something's very wrong
automatically shut down gear
which might be causing the pH spike
like your ATO or dosing pump
or trigger a loud warning radio or alarm
If you're away from your phone or to wake you up
if you're sleeping.
First to start with that high and low pH alarm
using the probe alarm task function
choose the task, choose your pH probe
set them in a max pH value
for when you wanna be alerted
which I typically stick
to your apex's recommendation of 7.8 to 8.4.
Then hit send.
Now you receive a post notification text or email
if higher than normal pH is triggered
but to protect your tank even further
the next thing you'll wanna do is to ensure
that your Kalk dosing gear is not the issue
and having your ATO pump or dosing pump turn off
when that pH elevation is triggered.
To do that you just need to add a single line
to either your ATO outlet or dosing pump outlet
by clicking on the gear icon from the dashboard
and adding the line if pH greater than 8.4
then off either at the bottom or just above any defer line
that might already be there.
So with this line edit in either outlet
you can nearly eliminate the chance
that it's this gear continuing to fuel the overdose.
And the last part of protecting your tank
from that overdose is to add a super loud warning system
to prevent you from missing the alerts and notifications
whether you're busy doing something else
or if your phone's not near you or even if you're sleeping.
To do this pick up a loud radio horn
or even one of these apex specific alarms
like these from Adaptive Reef,
plug them into an outlet or the OneLink port
on your energy bar
find the outlet and click the gear icon to rename it
Something like OHSHIT_ALARM
choose the advanced type for a control.
Make sure the fallback and set are both off
and add in a line that says
if pH greater than 8.4 then on.
All right, moving on to each of those three
Kalk dosing approaches individually
let's start first with the potential issues
of dosing Kalkwasser in your auto top-off.
We didn't just set up those overdosing alerts
and actions that solves those times where
you might have an ATO siphon or your ATO sensor fails
and leaves the pump running
but we can also use pH trans to dial in the time of day
your ATO runs and help reduce high tank pH
during the day time when your T pH
is typically high enough already.
To change that time of day that your ATO is on
like at night when you typically need that Kalkwasser boost
just to add a line at the bottom of your ATO outlet
that says if time 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM then on
which you can always come back
and adjust based on your own TA pH trends.
But what if the opposite were the issue
and your ATO wasn't dosing enough
or it stopped dosing altogether because the pump
or sensor failed and there, or the reservoir ran dry.
So the short answer to those questions
is also related to pH and will likely show up first
in a low pH alert or lower the normal pH trends
But there are other triggers we can use
to help determine the cause
like maybe a low sump level optical sensor
that sends you an alert or notification
when your ATO is not working normally.
And the water level in the sump
is getting lower because of evaporation.
Adding an optical sensor is very easy to do
with a FMM and magnet mounted optical sensor
or by adding an optical sensor to an existing FMM
that you might already have set up
like a leak detection kit or a flow monitoring kit
Just Mount the sensor in your sample or your ATO sensors
and just above your return pump
plug the sensor into the open port on your FMM
find the sensor in the unused tiles and pull it down
to your dashboard, click the gear icon
and rename it something easy like LOWSMP
and then add a Shortline to your email outlet
that says, if LOWSMP open then on.
And for those of you wondering if you could use
a similar optical sensor and email alert
for your ATO reservoir to know
when it's on the verge of running dry
although the optical sensor will likely hold up
in that harsh Kalkwasser solution environment
it's probably not the best option
due to the potential for buildup on the optical eye
in which case I'll share a more reliable solution later on
with that breakout box and a float switch.
So I've got one more tip for you
to improve that ATO Kalk dosing
and help fine tune it to meet your needs
which is as simple as just following calcium
and alkalinity trends
and then adjusting your Kalkwasser potency accordingly.
So whether you're manually testing and logging calcium
and ALK test using the apex log measurement tool
or if you've got it up to try to end testing
and monitoring daily
If you notice your calcium and ALK trending upward
it probably means that your Kalk solution's too strong
and you need to reduce the potency
for the next batch or conversely
if you see calcium and alkalinity trending downward
Try the opposite and increase the Kalk saturation next time.
Although adjusting potency like that works
it's not the better or best solution.
So of next let's talk about those better
and best Kalkwasser dosing options
that will both allow you to dose daily amounts
more precisely and accurately.
One of which takes up less real estate
and has much less maintenance.
The first of these two dosing approaches
is a Kalkwasser reservoir and a dosing pump
with a specific daily dose
which if you think about it is basically like
a one part dosing machine
set up is extremely simple.
Using any size reservoir from a five gallon bucket
to a Brute trashcan and a dosing pump
capable of adjustable flow rates like the Neptune dose.
So after mixing a large batch of Kalkwasser
to full saturation and covering it
with a loosely fitting lid
all you need to do is set up your dosing pump
using the dose additive dosing task function
choose your dose, choose your dosing head
that's connected to your Kalk bin
rename it something like KALK_DOS
choose how many mils you wanna dose per day
And what time of day you'd like to dose it
then hit the send button.
In most cases I recommend spacing your daily dose out
as long as possible to avoid large pH spikes
or swings while some reefers might only wanna dose
at night when pH is typically lower.
So we also covered protecting your tank
from overdosing kalkwasser using those pH
and alarms and alerts that we set up before.
So all we really need to do to make this dosing
approach much safer and more reliable
is to monitor those calcium and alkalinity levels
and then make adjustments to your dose as needed.
So if your calcium and ALK levels are falling slightly
bump the dose up a few mils at a time and vice versa.
You can also fine tune your Kalk dose using pH
meaning if your pH is climbing too high during the day
try adjusting the doser to only run at night
or spread the dose out over a longer period of time.
So here's a couple of tips
that I found when dosing Kalkwasser from a large bin
and reservoir with a dosing pump.
First, mix your Kalk solution
thoroughly for about 10 to 20 minutes
and test the potency with an electrical conductivity pen
like this one from HM Digital
seal it tightly with the lid but not airtight
So you don't create a vacuum.
Second, let the Coke slurry settle
for about 30 minutes to an hour
before starting your dose again
and third make sure that your dosing line is mounted
above the Kalk slurry at the bottom of the bin
So you don't dose it to your tank
and fourth, watch your sump level
when increasing the kalk dose to be sure
that the amount going in
isn't more than the amount your tank evaporates each day.
So next we're going to set up that breakout box
and floats which I told you about earlier
to make sure that we get an alert and email
when your Kalkwasser ATO or the Kalk dosing bin
are nearly empty and need to be refilled.
All you need to do to get the job done is a breakout box
and a horizontal float switch like this one
that has a silicone O-ring that seals the container.
Install your float switch so that it's closed
When they're covered in water and open when exposed to air
Install one of the wires into the ground post
on the breakout box and one into the switch number one port
which you can always use extending wires
if you need to reach further.
Now plug your breakout box into your apex
Find the switches in your unused tiles bin and pulse
which one down to your fusion dashboard
click the gear icon and rename your switch
something easy like KLKLOW then click the gear icon
for your email alerts and add a simple line that says
if KLKLOW open then on
Now when your switch is open to air
meaning that your bin is empty
you get an alert that says, fill it back up.
Now let's talk about what I think
is the best Kalkwasser dosing method
that not only saves you space
but also requires far less maintenance
and typically lasts longer between changes
depending on how much you dose.
Functionally a Kalk stir setup
is the same as a Kalkwasser bin and dosing pump
where you have a max potency Kalk solution
and you accurately adjust your tank's dose
using a dosing pump.
However here you can accomplish the same thing
with a much smaller footprint that usually fits
under your stand and does in many cases
last you twice as long between Kalkwasser changes.
To set this up you'll need a kalk stir
like the Avast Marine Kalk stir that's designed to
continuously but slowly mix 24 hours a day.
A dose dosing pump to push a measured amount of water
through the stirrer and a fresh water reservoir
for the dose to draw water from
which we prefer using an ATO reservoir.
Using your ATO reservoir as a water source
works extremely well for this purpose
especially if you have it set up with a Neptune Solenoid
and optical sensors to have it auto refill itself
which you can learn how to do in another
master or apex ATO episode we did a while back.
So once you've plugged in your Kalk stir
into one of the outlets you can read
name the outlet accordingly
Like I did Kalk stir
Fill it up with our ODI water and add in your Kalkwasser.
Then mounting connected Neptune dose
connect one dosing line to draw from your ATO reservoir
and the other, to the input of your Kalk stir
Run the dose additive dosing task function
just like we did for the last setup
and you're ready to go.
Again we already solved those potentially overdosing issues
using pH alarms and actions.
But here I would add that if pH greater than 8.4 line
to the dosing pump and to the Kalk stirrer outlet
just make sure your Kalk stirrer
fallback is off and set is on.
Then add the line to the bottom.
As for adjusting your dose based on calcium
and alkalinity levels just like we did
with the Kalkwasser bin, follow the trends in calcium
and alkalinity using your Trident
or logging your alkalinity and calcium tests
using the fusion dashboard log.
One of the issues reefers face using a Kalk stirrer
is keeping up with the potency inside
and how to know when it's time to replenish the Kalkwasser
Some Kalk stirrers like the Avast Marine options
have a port that you can use for a pH probe
but the better, more accurate testing option
is by testing with an electrical conductivity pin.
Actually this is where I would use that other option
in the apex log measurement tool to help you keep track
of your electrical conductivity tests
instead of writing them down each time
Just find the other measurement icon, label your test
something like Kalkstirrer EC
adding your result and hit okay
Now you can watch your potency trends over time
and get a rhythm of when you typically need
to change your Kalkwasser additive
which you should do when the conductivity starts dropping.
Instead of looking for a perfect number
There's another potential issue you might run into
using a Kalkstirrer and that is that the steering motor
won't last forever and will inevitably fail at some point
but you could solve this using power monitoring
on that Kalk stirrer outlet
to know the moment that it fails.
Just find that power usage alarm task function
choose Kalk stir outlet, set the min and max
wattage draw ranges for alerts and hit send.
It's always best to give your apex a few days
of monitoring the normal wattage on the outlet
before running the power monitoring tasks
and then allow it time to refine
those min and max ranges for you
So you don't have to blindly guess where to set them.
The benefits of power monitoring all of your gear
that runs for 24/7 is one feature
that really changed the way I use my apex
which is why I share it on nearly every episode
of the Master Your Apex series,
especially when it comes to monitoring mission critical gear
like your return pump that can make or break your tank
if it ever stopped working
and you weren't around to catch it in time.