Anyone use limewater (kalk) via ATO?

[rj ripetide]

Kalkwasser is just RO water mixed with pickling lime. You can buy it at the grocery store...Mrs. W's or at your LFS for more$$$.
As far as I know it is all the same...Calcium Hydroxide...food grade lime.
Just remember to start off slow with the amount you mix in. 2 teaspoons per gallon of water and adjust from there.
I just keep adding more water every 2-3 days and stir with a large paint stir,and more add lime as the water parameters require. Once you figure out how much your system requires it's easy to maintain the Ca & pH.
As mentioned in someone else's post..just make sure the tube in the kalk reservoir is not all the way at the bottom. I keep my about 2 1/2" to 3"" off the bottom.

 

[MJAnderson]

Hate to add another chef to the recipe, but I've gotten away from using kalk as my topoff. During the day when the lights are on the fan is on and I evap much more than at night. But since kalk raises PH, that's when you need it least. So I made a tub of kalk up at max strength and used a doser on a timer to add it throughout to day to keep my PH rock steady. My topoff is just regular water. Another nice thing about that is that I can add Magnesium or other things to my RO water and it will add slowly.

I will admit that I have an ACJr which makes it easy to set up some odd timers (like dose for 2 minutes during the day but 3 at night.)

 

[MJAnderson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13181482#post13181482 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rj ripetide
Kalkwasser is just RO water mixed with pickling lime. You can buy it at the grocery store...Mrs. W's or at your LFS for more$$$.
As far as I know it is all the same...Calcium Hydroxide...food grade lime.
Just remember to start off slow with the amount you mix in. 2 teaspoons per gallon of water and adjust from there.
I just keep adding more water every 2-3 days and stir with a large paint stir,and more add lime as the water parameters require. Once you figure out how much your system requires it's easy to maintain the Ca & pH.
As mentioned in someone else's post..just make sure the tube in the kalk reservoir is not all the way at the bottom. I keep my about 2 1/2" to 3"" off the bottom.

2 tsp per gallon of RO is the max you can add unless you use vinegar, then it's 3 tsp per gallon and 45 ml of vinegar per gallon

 

[Esquare]

Doesn't adding the vinegar drop the ph?

 

[CleveYank]

I have 12 gallons of water in an 18 gallon res.
I add some kalk powder to this every day to every couple days.
It has powerhead hooked on wavemaker channel to keep things circulating.
Gravity feed from 55 RO/DI water with siliconed (keeps it from sticking open after the Kent factory seal goes which they always eventually have) Kent float switch which keeps this res at 12 gallons.
Topoff switches on 2 sumps that feed 3 tanks fire and pull kalk water from this 12 gal res to keep up with daily evaporation.

Tanks are doing quite well on this system. Need to shut it down for an afternoon and soak the pumps in some vinegar soon to make sure that they don't lock up from calcium build up. But other than that concern it works great and levels are great.

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13182834#post13182834 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Esquare
Doesn't adding the vinegar drop the ph?

That's my understanding.

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13182367#post13182367 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJAnderson
Hate to add another chef to the recipe, but I've gotten away from using kalk as my topoff. During the day when the lights are on the fan is on and I evap much more than at night. But since kalk raises PH, that's when you need it least. So I made a tub of kalk up at max strength and used a doser on a timer to add it throughout to day to keep my PH rock steady. My topoff is just regular water. Another nice thing about that is that I can add Magnesium or other things to my RO water and it will add slowly.

I will admit that I have an ACJr which makes it easy to set up some odd timers (like dose for 2 minutes during the day but 3 at night.)

Someone mentioned that on my build thread... using a timer to dose the kalk at night... which as you mentioned is supposed to also help address the nightly pH drop.

I'm going to watch how much water gets topped off closely this week to try and get a handle on how much I'm going through daily.

Then I guess once I start the kalk... I'll test a few times a day to see if I need to make an adjustment like that.

This is where on of those controllers that monitor and graph the parameters would come in handy :lol:

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13183205#post13183205 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CleveYank
I have 12 gallons of water in an 18 gallon res.
I add some kalk powder to this every day to every couple days.
It has powerhead hooked on wavemaker channel to keep things circulating.
Gravity feed from 55 RO/DI water with siliconed (keeps it from sticking open after the Kent factory seal goes which they always eventually have) Kent float switch which keeps this res at 12 gallons.
Topoff switches on 2 sumps that feed 3 tanks fire and pull kalk water from this 12 gal res to keep up with daily evaporation.

Tanks are doing quite well on this system. Need to shut it down for an afternoon and soak the pumps in some vinegar soon to make sure that they don't lock up from calcium build up. But other than that concern it works great and levels are great.

Ok it seems like I should be able to do what I'm talking about, but I will just need to pay close attention to make sure I don't overdose my tank, or clog my pump.

Eventually I may go to a DIY reactor, but for now I think I am going to give the ATO reservoir a shot.

Do you think I should add a small powerhead in the ATO reservoir to stir the kalk every so often?

 

[serpentman]

Basically, mixing with vinegar frees up more Ca++ ions than kalk dissolved in water. It can, however effect pH.

Here is an article that goes into more detail:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

 

[Tswifty]

btw... thanks everyone for all of the responses.

 

[Dtip]

If you want to test out dripping kalk without combining it with your ATO, you could just use a wide mouthed container (like a plastic jar) with rigid tubing through the lid to create a siphon to drip into the tank. Easy and free, though not a great long term solution.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/skip/agu/kalkdripper.htm

But maybe a good way to get used to the basic concept and proceedure and affects on your tank. That article serpentman just posted is a must-read.

 

[Tswifty]

Thanks for the link.

Someone posted a DIY video on my thread about how to do so. The guy also shows how he uses a 5g bucket with an ATO for one.

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/p...iy-kalk-doser-video-podcast-episode-44-a.html

 

[Tswifty]

Does anyone know where I can pick up Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime? Is this something they would carry at a grocery store... or will I have to order it online?

 

[CleveYank]

I got mine at the Bedford Walmart...the Mrs. Wages that is

I've heard that Kroger stores are other sources, but not sure if there are any of those around here anymore.

 

[serpentman]

Out here in the semi-rural area, its pretty easy to come by. Walmart here (Chardon) carries it. If you need me to grab a few containers, let me know.

 

[Tswifty]

Thanks guys... I have 2 wal-marts (one supercenter) right down the road from me. I'm going to run out at lunch and check for it.

 

[Tswifty]

Well after some serious hunting, and confusing the heck out of a few wal-mart employees, I found the stuff.

They had it in the clearance aisle, and there was only 4 containers left... so I picked them up.

Anyway, I may try and test it out this weekend.

 

[MJAnderson]

It's used for canning, so it's very seasonal. Can't get it in the winter by me.

 

[CleveYank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13184321#post13184321 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tswifty8
Well after some serious hunting, and confusing the heck out of a few wal-mart employees, I found the stuff.

They had it in the clearance aisle, and there was only 4 containers left... so I picked them up.

Anyway, I may try and test it out this weekend.

Confusing wal-mart employees...that's about as natural as breathing I think...lol

Some not all the employees of course.


BTW Swifty, remember that stuff is caustic to eyes, mucous membrane and lung tissue (avioli) so watch the dust from it while handling.

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13186353#post13186353 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CleveYank
Confusing wal-mart employees...that's about as natural as breathing I think...lol

:lol: