kalk question

[don-n-sa]

Sorry about the long winded answer, I just bought a dosing pump and have been thinking alot about KW dosing for my new tank.

apology not necessary Matt, your input is apppreciated. ;)

[Wryknow]

Too much contact with air will weaken the mix over time. mixing it with a pump works just fine, but do it in a closed container (like a rubber maid brute trash can with a lid.)
Also, you can buy lime (Kalk) for a LOT less money on-line as Mrs Wages pickling lime ($3-4/lb shipped) or from Fiesta Mart, where it is labelled as Cal Mexicana ($.99 for 4oz.) Both of these are food grade limes and have much higher regulatory requirements than what wholesalers are selling as Kalk mixes.

[beareef19]

or you can read this link and get all your questions answered


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php


Barry

[mathias]

whats wrong with just adding a lil to my sump?

[Wryknow]

Adding directly to your sump wil work as long as it's just a little bit in relation to the water volume (maybe 1 tsp at a time per 100 gallons would be safe IMHO.) Kalk will raise the Ph pretty dramatically - especially in the localizewd area that it is added. Also, one of the advantages of pre-mixing is that any heavy metal impurities will have a chance to settle and you can discard the sludge at the bottom of the resevoir periodically.

[mathias]

good point....

[GaryP]

whats wrong with just adding a lil to my sump?

1. Adding the straight solid to the tank can cause a large and rapid swing in pH. Not good.

2. Kalk is a very fine powder, like flour, and it will probably end up being sucked into the pump. Unddisolved Kalk powder will basically kill anything it touches. Since it souch a fine powder, its not going to settle in one place and slowly dissolve. It'll probably get blown all over the tank.

3. Adding solid Kalk at one time will cause a localized high pH, high concentration area that will cause scaling. This will have the effect of not adding any calcium and reducing the soluble alkalinity levels. Definitely counter productive. This can also have the effect of causing your skimmer and return pump to scale and seize up and possibly burn up. Scaling always seems to occur in pumps first due to the fact that the pressure change that occurs as you go through the impeller catalyzes scale formation.

4. Your skimmer will probably also go crazy. By adding that much alkali at one time fats go through a chemical reaction called "saponification." Basically, you are making good ole fashioned lye soap.

Other then that, there is nothing wrong with adding Kalk directly to the sump.

[matt]

If you're talking about mixing up a slurry in R.O. water, like a teaspoon or so in 1/2 gallon, or even a gallon of water, then pouring a little of that in your sump, it's okay. Probably not the best way to do it...but mixing kalk powder directly in your tank would be bad like Gary said.