ReefMon October 18, 2004 Share October 18, 2004 I paid Chip for the plastic on my 2 units and the Kalk. I still owe for the pumps, fittings & etc. If you want I can PayPal you the $$ or get a check to Chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbartco October 18, 2004 Share October 18, 2004 Cool, just trying to get a handle on where things were, who I forgot about. All acounted for now. Thanks, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ruh Roh October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 Try the gaskets out if you continue to have a problem I will dig up some softer durometer rubber and cut a few more gaskets out for you. Let me know if you are out of tries and it still leaks. So I know how many to make. It was a slightly stiffer rubber than I would have liked but it was supposed to be for gaskets. Next time I use a 40 durometer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 James, I have left the gasket soaked in water since yesterday evening. This evening i will reinstall and check it out. I still need to test out that one reactor with the glue leak. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 I'm still getting a small drip from the gasket too. Did anyone NOT have that problem? Did anyone have it and solve it? How? Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 I tried everything and am still leaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 19, 2004 Author Share October 19, 2004 Noland has an orangeish colored gasket material which I have used before on skimmer lids. It is also sold by the liear foot like the black one we bought. If we can't come to a resolution with this material I suggest we all get a large section of that and we can easily cut it with scissors. I spent a few minutes late last night and am really close to being ready to go myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 Ha. This negative information is painful. No incentive to try the leak test on mine, since it probably will. The gasket is still soaked in water. I feel it is definitely softer than before. Chief,are you mucking with the orange stuff that you are talking about? -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctreptow October 19, 2004 Share October 19, 2004 Well I guess I'm the lucky one, Mine has been water tight since the 1st time I tried it. I cleaned the gasket with water and placed it on the lid wet. I then used nylon screws with stainless steal wing nuts, I hand tighten in the criss cross fashion and no leaks. My setup has the water dripping in at 1 drip a second from about 1 1/2 feet above the reactor and the outlet hose is about a foot long going in my sump. The outbound hose raises only about 2 inches above my reactor so the pressure can't be that high inside. The reactor has been working great. When the pump comes on the kalk cloud never gets above the pump and at 1 drip a second has raised my PH by 2 points in the last 2 days. I will have to watch this my PH was low to begin with so 2 points is good. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 Gentlemen, Good news. We have a solution. I used Plumbers silicone grease. This is the food grade grease from lowes. I applied it on the flange. Then placed the gasket. Made sure that the gasket seated firm. I then applied it on the top of the gasket. Then seated the cover and put the nylon screws. Filled with water and no leaks. Now i need to empty it and fill it with kalk and complete RO/DI H2O and let it run . Good luck. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 20, 2004 Author Share October 20, 2004 Chief,are you mucking with the orange stuff that you are talking about? What is this "mucking"? I was offering a possible solution if you were not successful with the leak. Both of my reactors have been flushed and 1 is ready to go. If I complete my obligations early tomorrow, I plan to put one online when I finish. I just may stay up late tonight and get a head start on tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 Chief, No offence. May be a bad choice of words rather. "Noland has an orangeish colored gasket material " - i was referring to you making a gasket out of this stuff that you had on hand. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 I just lathered my gasket with Gasket Sealant Type 2. Will let you know how it does when I get it running again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 And the leak is GONE! Gasket Sealant Type 2 is where its at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 Chris( clownfish) Is Gasket Sealant Type 2 the food grade type? If not, it should not be used in my opinion. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 I have no idea, but its been running all night with no side effects. I sealed it and ran fresh water through it for a while and sprayed the inside down, although it didn't really get anywhere vital, just under the gasket. P.S. - My name is Mike, not Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 20, 2004 Author Share October 20, 2004 No, that piece you may have seen is for another skimmer I'm working on at some point. I rigged mine up and it leaks. When you bring back the #3, bring some of that special stuff you have. I may just go ahead and use another type of material anyway. I still like the black gasket, just can't fool around to much. Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 Chief, It ain't anything special. Its just the plumbers silicone grease found in Lowes. The plumbing section carries it for 2 bucks or so. This is the Food grade version and has no petroleum base. It is for using on O-rings, gaskets etc. Its a small plastic container. I can buy one for you and will be good for 2 reactors. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ruh Roh October 20, 2004 Share October 20, 2004 I'll dig some more material up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 21, 2004 Author Share October 21, 2004 I have that piece I showed you if you think that may be better. It seems spongier, if that's a word You may not be able to make it out but that's a pizza to the left. I'll get a better photo when my thumb heals. I burned the tihs out of it on a homemade cinnistick after we cooked pizza's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish October 21, 2004 Share October 21, 2004 Folks, The Kalk reactor rocks. No leaks and has been running fine all day long. I feed it direct from my RO/DI storage cylinder. I throttle it down on the input with a small valve from HD. The output drains to the sump and it drips like a drop a second. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 21, 2004 Share October 21, 2004 Mine also works fabulously! I have a 5g bucket that I fill every other day or so with RO water and it gravity feeds into the reactor. Then the out line goes into an IV with a valve and drips one drop per second into my sump. I plan on using a big 30g or so garbage can and using a pump to feed the RO. Thanks a lot Chip and everyone else who helped out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 21, 2004 Author Share October 21, 2004 I noticed that with a cup of kalk, the reactor gets really cloudy about half way up ( the level of the pickup on the powerhead) and the top half being slightly cloudy. It is a noticable difference in cloudiness. The beauty of this is while the top half is not as cloudy, it's still very rich in calcium. This is the water that gets pushed into the tank when more water is added and directed to the lower portion, which forces the top water into the tank. This will save dramatically on kalk while still adding very rich kalk water to the tank. If yours is not operating in this fashion, consider turning the PH down a little till you achieve this. All in all, I do not think we could have chosen a better design or built a better - easier more effective reactor. All for $65 - $70 Remember, when you can see the shape of the teepee, it's time to add more kalk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav October 21, 2004 Share October 21, 2004 I gotta get one of these IV drip valves. Seems much more gooder and betterer than my airline valves. Seems like the only way to get one is to buy a dosing system for $35+... anyone know a better place to get them? PS, that is a Pizza??? PPS, GO SOX!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 October 21, 2004 Share October 21, 2004 Grav, ask Lee Stearns about the IV. I got mine through him. P.S. - SOX RULE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now