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Are you tired of
constantly mixing and adding calcium to you tank manually?
The DIY calcium mixer will
fix this problem for you in no time at all. It is based on simple
principles and the calcium is automatically added with the top-off
water.
What you need is.
-
Small circulation pump that can work outside
water (ask your retailer).
- PVC coil (size is up to
you, it all depends on the tank size, 22 to 24 inches should do
fine).
- 2 PVC coil endings.
- Rubber tube (must fit
the in and outlet of the pump).
- Silicone / PVC glue.
- Calcium.
- Electric timer.
- A small top-off pump if
you do not have one already.

- You glue one ending on
the coil so that it is sealed and have no leaks. This will
become the bottom of the calcium reactor.
- Drill two holes in the
coil. One just above the bottom of the reactor, and another one
just bellow the middle of the coil. (the holes must fit the
rubber tube for the mixer pump).
- Drill a small hole near
the bottom of the reactor. This is where the water inlet from
the top-off pump will be connected.
- Drill a small hole 2 or
3 inches from the top of the reactor, this is where the outlet
to the sump will be.
- Now connect the rubber
tube to the mixer pump. The intake goes at the hole just bellow
the middle of the reactor and the outlet goes in the hole near
the bottom of the reactor.
- Connect the top-off
pump to the reactor. (Connect to the hole near the bottom).
- Connect the reactor
outlet to the sump.
- Make sure that all the
connections are sealed tight with PVC glue and Silicone.
- Remember to let it sit
for a day or to before use.
Now you have a calcium
mixer for your tank. The calcium will be added with the top-off
water, so it is already automated. In order to automate the mixing
of water and calcium you will have to connect the mixer pump to a
timer.
Set the mixer pump to mix
for 15 minutes every 3 hours.
You can also set your
top-off pump on a timer. This way you could set the top-off to 1
hour every 2 or 3 hours. Then you set the mixerpump to 15 minutes
of mixing 45 minutes before the top-off pump switches on. This way
you can avoid blurry water from entering the tank as the calcium
has time to settle before the top-off system switches on.
Good
luck with your project.
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