Dripping kalk

[cvonseggern]

I think we're going to have to start dripping kalk in our 100g tank - pH is chronically a little low and I think it's contributing to the heavy cyano outbreaks I've fought since we set up the tank. I'm planning to use an IV-type setup with a roller valve to control the drip rate. I've got a couple questions about doing this, though:

1. What's a good initial drip rate? Obviously testing pH, alk and Ca will be important, but I have no idea how much to drip at first or how fast. Any guidelines here would be appreciated.

2. How much pickling lime should I mix to how much water?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Chris

[CD]

Are you going to use the thumbwheel type restrictor or an actual pump for dosing?
We recently obtained a Kangaroo pump and have started dripping Kalk.
I think a few people around here suggested 1-2 drips a second flow rate.
I started dripping to stabilize the ph and also increase the calcium readings in our tank. Initially, I was adding 2tsp. of Kent Kalk Mix to 1G. of RO/DI. I had the pump running wide open at 300mL/h for the first few nights until my PH stabilized. Our PH is 8.35 during the day and around 8.2 at night. I have backed the flow thru the dosing pump to about 200mL/h and add about 1.5 tsp/G now and am working on bumping up the calcium slowly. We are not using kalk during the day, only at night.
We have not actually used the "pickling lime", if you are reffering to the less costly alternative, so I don't really know an answer to that question.
I think there have been a few posts here or on Reef Central and you may wish to do a search and get a few more opinions.
I can only tell you my experience and it seems to be working for me.

I hope that some of this gibberish helps you out in some way.

Chris

[GaryP]

I don't really measure Kalk. As much will dissolve in the water as it is capable of holding. Kalk is only slightly soluble in water. It will dissolve up to the point of its soluble capacity and the rest will settle to the bottom. The trick is to never let the solids drip with the clear liquid containing the soluble Kalk.

I have a drip jug that I just put an excess of Kalk in. When I'm preparing it, I add a gal. of water, shake it up to let the solids settle then open the IV valve to get a 1 drop per sec. flow rate. When the water level gets to the drain fitting it will break suction and stop. You'll probably have to open the valve up all the way to flush any air out when you start dripping. I add about 1 gal. of Kalk water almost every night in addition to my 2 part additive that goes in with the make up water.

HTH,
Gary

[cvonseggern]

After doing some more research, I'm considering building or buying a kalk reactor. At first I plan to drip from a premixed reservoir, but the reactor certainly has some appeal. The IV units I have on order aren't big enough to keep up with the evap rate, so I'll probably need to go get a large water bottle or bucket to use instead.

I appreciate everyone's input so far - it really helps.

Chris

[JimD]

If youd like to DIY one, let me know, I can help you with the details, Ive built a few in my time.

[GaryP]

Chris,

I wouldn't tie your makeup water needs to adding Kalk only. If you have a lot of evaporation, you could be adding to much Kalk if you are only using Kalk water for make up. The two needs are seperate. Talk to JimD. He's the guy around here when it comes to kalk reactors.

Gary

[cvonseggern]

Interesting...a lot of the threads I've found on swf.com indicate people are topping off entirely from a kalk drip. But, I can understand the reasoning why this might not be a great idea. For one thing, anything that changes the evap rate (temp changes in house, etc.) would affect the kalk dose.

Chris

[GaryP]

It would also depend on your calcium usage by your corals as well.

[JimD]

The ammount of saturated kalk added tothe tank is determaned by mix/settle frequency, the more often the kalk is mixed to saturation, the more potent the solution, the less frequent, the less potent. So, if you only mix say at lights off and settle for two hours, depending on evaporation, the effluent should be near exhaustion by morning. Confused? lol

[Richard]

Saturated kalkwasser should have a ph of ~12. I have found that how much to add depends on the quality of the kalkwasser you use. For example Kent kalkwasser for me takes 1 1/2 to 2 tspns per gallon to get the ph to 12 while ESV brand only takes a teaspoon or less per gallon.

Using kalkwasser is a good thing but do you know WHY your ph is low? What is your ph and alkalinity currently at?

JimD - Yes I am confused! Is this kalk reactor language? lol.

[cvonseggern]

PH tends to hover around 7.8...it's always been this way and I still don't have all the reasons. I have a small fuge lit 24/7 with grape caulerpa & chaeto growing. I found a while back that my mixed replacement water was showing about the same pH. Aerating for 12 hours or so before mixing it has helped bump that up to around 8 or 8.2, but pH in the tank itself tends to stay stable at 7.8 no matter what time of day.

Don't know what alk is at the moment. I'm going to run out in a little while and get alk/ca kits, which I have not had up until now.

Chris

[Richard]

The two main causes of low ph are 1.) low alkalinity or 2.) elevated CO2 levels.
1.) The alk test will tell you if this is the problem.

2.) Aerate some tank water outdoors for an hour and then check the ph. This will tell you if you have elevated CO2 levels. If your ph increases then you have to figure out why you have elevated CO2 levels. Some typical causes are:

a.) CO2 from Ca reactor. Fix: Turn down CO2 or add a 2nd effluent chamber.
b.) Insufficient aeration in your tank. Fix: Increase circulation. Macro algaes.
c.) Elevated CO2 levels in the room. Fix: Open the windows.

[JimD]

lol, Richard, sorry bout the confusion, Im trying my best to get this concept accross as simple as possible. Some details can be a bit trying untill, "click" is all makes sense. lol. As far as the Ph goes, a stable Ph of 7.8 is much more desirable than a dramatic swing from 7.8 to like 8.4. Kalk may or may not heep it as stable but will definately help raise it. Side note: Kakwasser will not dramatcly raise your Ca-Alk levels, you need to bring them to acceptable levels with a good 2 part system like B-Ionic, once there, the kalk will help >maintain< the levels. One more thing, be sure to use the highest quality kalk you can find, (ESV Ph-12.4)) Ive tried them all, ESV is the only kalk Ive used that doesnt leave a nasty brown residue in the reactor. This may or may not be an issue depending on how religious you are about letting the solution settle.

[cvonseggern]

Thanks for that info, Richard. I'm going to have to do some investigation based on that. I never did make it out to buy the alk/ca kits today, but I suspect alk will be low. And I can do the aeration test tonight. I doubt it's high CO2, as I don't have a Ca reactor and the water is nicely aerated between the splashdown into the sump and the skimmer, but we'll find out.

Chris

[GaryP]

Chris,

Are you adding any sort of buffer supplement?

Gary