Calcium hydroxide aka kalkwasser

[CLINTOS]

Is it safe to still use this nightly drip after I buy my seahorses?

 

[rayjay]

I replace all evaporated water nightly with kalkwasser (limewater), dripping it in to a high flow area starting about 1 to 2 hours after lights out.

 

[CLINTOS]

Great new's

Was wondering about the vinigar I mix with it do you think it might be too much or not worth the risk it has never been a issue with other fish like mandarin and boxfish but feel that maybe seahorse might be a bit more sensitive?

 

[rayjay]

I found that when I used vinegar to boost the calcium levels, two things happened.
First, the alkalinity gradually eroded because the pH was no longer as high.
Second, I ended up with nuisance algae problems including cyano that went away when I quite dosing kalk with vinegar.
Now, I use Randy Holmes-Farley's DIY supplements to increase any level that gets too low. The calcium chloride to boost calcium, the magnesium chloride hexahydrate to boost magnesium, and the baked baking soda to boost alkalinity.
Once up, the kalk is used to maintain.

 

[CLINTOS]

Do you test a lot?

or do you get into the swing of thing's and get a schedule going where you can wait a bit between testing knowing that thing's are fine as long as you didn't do large water change or add a lot of calcium consuming coral?

with me I use a lot of calcium hydroxide and a little vinegar
like 45ml every other day

 

[seattleguy]

Is the vinegar added just to increase the dissolving of the Kalk? What's wrong with just plain RO water and Kalk? Especially if you don't have ton's of corals in this tank.