difference between kalkwasser and 2part?

[natas]

Right now I do the 2 part thing using B-ionic. It works great, Every night I put the same amount of each 2 part in the sump and I am done. It's not to hard, but sort of a pain.

Could I stop using the B-Ionic 2 part and dose Kalkwasser instead using my ATO? What are the benefits or losses I will take when doing so?

 

[Playa-1]

here's some good info on the subject.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

 

[natas]

I will go and read that article, however will dosing Kalkwasser get rid of my need to use B-Ionic 2 part?

 

[acpoweradapter]

For the most part if your demand isn't to high it should. I use kalk and I haven't had to dose in a month or two.

 

[aquaman67]

Here's a post that might help...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1289956

 

[Aquarist007]

Re: difference between kalkwasser and 2part?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13061872#post13061872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by natas
Right now I do the 2 part thing using B-ionic. It works great, Every night I put the same amount of each 2 part in the sump and I am done. It's not to hard, but sort of a pain.

Could I stop using the B-Ionic 2 part and dose Kalkwasser instead using my ATO? What are the benefits or losses I will take when doing so?

If you have stable water chemistry with the two part then I would suggest you keep with it.
It takes less then a min each night to dose--not much time IMO

Dosing with kalk can be alot for tedious to use then two part

 

[reefworm]

I've dripped kalk as my top off to replenish Ca++, and for a 29 gal. with it's evaporation rate it does fine. I use a 2-part to "bump" levels when the kalk isn't quite keeping up. I agree it's a bit more work, but now it's part of the routine, and it's less $$.

 

[Haksar]

But is it rally required to dose 2 part every night unless your paras are way off.

 

[aquaman67]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13066031#post13066031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Haksar
But is it rally required to dose 2 part every night unless your paras are way off.

No,

You only have to replace what is used up. If you have less demand then you would use less. You might be able to only dose every other night or 3 times a week.

You need to test often until you get a feel for how much you need then you can test once in a while to check it.

 

[IslandCrow]

Short answer. Kalkwasser is probably going to be your cheapest calcium/alkalinity supplement, especially if you use pickling lime (reference the first article linked above) instead of LFS bought kalkwasser. The amount of kalkwasser you can use is severely restricted by its effect on PH, though, so it's generally only effective at maintaining proper calcium and alkalinity levels in lower demand systems.

I'd do exactly what reefworm does (and I do for that matter). Drip kalkwasser, and add part A/B as necessary to bump your levels up to where they need to be. It'll save you some money, but since you'll probably be dosing both now, it's obviously not going to save you any work. Also, be sure to read the information in the above links as well as keeping a close eye on your PH if you decide to start dosing kalkwasser.

Hmm, my short answer turned out to be not so short. . .

 

[Sk8r]

I find kalk sufficient for a 54 g (except right now, when a damp basement has slowed evap: I'm ordering a dehumidifier).
When running properly, it means dosing once a month, testing once a week. Magnesium is what you have to dose besides, now and again: as long as that stays up, kalk will hold your alk/cal wherever it was when you began to drip kalk.

You don't need a reactor, just dump it in your topoff reservoir---you don't even have to measure, much--- and prop your topoff pump out of the soup at the bottom. Ro/di only dissolves a certain amount of it before it saturates, and that saturated ro/di is what your pump should be picking up, kind of filmy water, not milky..
5.00 a jar of pickling lime lasts me 2 months. Lot cheaper than Kent's.
Not dangerous, either: I've had accidents, never lost a specimen.