Dosing Kalkwasser!!!!

[LuckySingh]

need to get sme feed back on this....I hve been thinking about dosing kalk for quite a sme time now but dnt know much about it...i know a lot of members mix it in their auto topoff and sme use reactors.....whats the best route to go with..so far i am thinking about just mixing it with my top off....but not for sure...how does the reactor work ..do u plumb it through ur topoff or is theres another way to do it

[Europhyllia]

top off is separate from my kalkwasser container for me. I do not use a reactor because I like how in a container where the impurities are not constantly mixed in again the stuff divides and sort of filters impurities out by itself. In a stirring reactor everything just gets mixed again.
My kalkwasser pump (aqualifter) is hooked up to my RKL and dosing happens when the pH monitor detects pH to be below a certain point and shuts off when it goes beyond a certain pH level. In practice this happens in the early morning hours.
So my kalk also stabilizes my ph during a 24 hour period for me.
The auto top off is simply triggered by water level and not connected to my kalkwasser at all.
I am sure in the winter with the heater on in the house and drier air the tanks will evaporate more water than in the spring and fall when I keep the windows open, etc. so I don't want to dose more kalk in the winter just because it's part of the top off.

[ErikH]

My boss uses kalk. His tank is top notch.


He runs a slow steady drip all the time, and skims very wet. He just uses a large garbage can for his mix.

[ErikH]

My phone takes horrible pics!

[CoryDude]

That is the tank that caused me to get rid of my calcium reactor. Kent, two little fishies, or brightwells should give him a years supply of kalkwasser to pitch their product.

I drip mine at night. Ph stays pretty consistent at 8.3 day/night and total alk is around 3-3.25 meq/L.

[justahobby]

Dripping kalk is great.... if you don't mind the tediousness. Personally, I switched to a DIY 2 part because my alkalinity/ PH wouldn't maintain w/ kalk alone. I would have great calcium levels and low alk and ph. I would start with kalk dripping and test your levels over the span of a few months. Don't forget magnesium plays a crucial role in the calcium, alk, ph battle. A few articles to get you started:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/10/chemistry
http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/6/chemistry
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/chemistry
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/2/chemistry
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/4/chemistry

[allan]

I modeled mine after Todd's method. Autotop off by float in my sump, and another float in my autotop of tied directly to my RODI unit. I had to lower the bulb in the auto top off to prevent kalk build up and shutting off my RODI feed. I put in a few large spoons every now and then to keep saturation to a light milky color. I came back home after two weeks of TDY and my top off was clear and my purple tip valida was burned. I had another sps that burned a bit. But everything seems to be recovering well.

When I mix heavy I notice a lot of new growth in my sps, lot of white tips stretching out. I imagine that I'll get a lot of growth over the winter with the drier air inside. I don't dose to keep PH steady, just for the supplementation and the ph is a side benefit.

About every two months I'll get in there and do some maintenance on the floats and lines to keep them clear of kalk, and I have a pump running 24/7 in the auto top off to keep the stuff stirred. I ruined a K4 in there, but it was old and had been in my possesion used for a couple of years. I think that compiled with the nature of kalkwasser finally led to its demise.

I put in a small handful of epsom salt to keep mag up... but I don't test for it. I do this about once a month .

[justahobby]

Also, you can add a little vinegar to go over saturation and dissolve the kalk better. Less surface agitation and air exposure is better.