Kalk stirrer for 400 U.S gallon aquarium

Question:

I have a 400 gallon sps reef aquarium system. I have been using a Precision Marine 620 Kalk Stirrer. I am considering upgrading to a Deltec Kalk Stirrer but am confused regarding the claimed performance of the 500T and 500S units. My PM kalk stirrer has similar dimensions to the 500S but the smaller 500T claimed performance seems to accommodate systems of my size. Which unit should I consider? I want to be conservative in my equipment choises. Thank you.

Answer:

Doug
I am running a km500T on an 800 gallon system and it really depends on how much water you pass through it.

With this smaller one I use a simple segment timer which restricts the amount of time that the top up runs per day so that I do not run the risk of completely flooding the tank with Kalk if the float switch sticks on.

This means that the tank tops up in bursts of 15 minutes throughout the day and during this time the flow is continuous.

With the small unit there is really too much water passing through during this period and the water flow causes cloudy Kalk to rise up the unit rather than just the clear liquid at the top. I just about get away with it

If the bigger one was used then this would not be an issue and I really should upsize it. On a 400g system then the smaller one will be ok as long as the flow rate through the reactor is not too high. Having said hat the bigger one will future proof your purchase and allow more time between topping up the Kalk

Hope this rather vague answer helps

Stuart