How to dose kalk?

[kissman]

I would advise against using an auto topoff device to replace evaporated water with kalk. I did that for some time, but then one day a snail got caught in my overflow and caused the water to back up in the tank. The water level in the sump dropped and several gallons of kalk got dumped into my tank. I lost almost all my corals, a sea cucumber and other inverts, and a fish or two. Never again. I still use the ATO for topoff water but now use a liter meter for dosing kalk. This also obviates the problem with different amounts of kalk being dosed at different times of the month/year due to different evaporation rates. I am currently dosing 2.6 liters of kalk/day in my 65 gallon system. I have a 5 gallon container for kalk that I fill weekly which is connected to the liter meter. The dosing pump was expensive but cheaper than all the livestock I lost to the kalk overdose.

Not using sn ATO system i am using a 50mL a minute pump for pump just under 1 gallon of top off from kalkwasser container which is a 20g brute trash can with 10g mix and hose is elevated on a rock about 2" off bottom

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would advise against using an auto topoff device to replace evaporated water with kalk. I did that for some time, but then one day a snail got caught in my overflow and caused the water to back up in the tank. The water level in the sump dropped and several gallons of kalk got dumped into my tank. I lost almost all my corals, a sea cucumber and other inverts, and a fish or two. Never again. I still use the ATO for topoff water but now use a liter meter for dosing kalk. This also obviates the problem with different amounts of kalk being dosed at different times of the month/year due to different evaporation rates. I am currently dosing 2.6 liters of kalk/day in my 65 gallon system. I have a 5 gallon container for kalk that I fill weekly which is connected to the liter meter. The dosing pump was expensive but cheaper than all the livestock I lost to the kalk overdose.

I solved that concern with redundant overflows. That also prevents waterfalls in the living room (that did happen twice), which was much more of a concern to my wife than was limewater overdosing.

 

[kissman]

i think my alk is climbing when i started dosing I was 9.3 i think(halfhimerz), last night I was at 9.9dkh I will check it again tonight after work pfft my holiday to work ! If it is creeping up from the limewater i will need to add some fresh water to my make up water and dilute it some however my calcium is at 430 hasn't moved. Any ideas if its climbing?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Calcium moves much more slowly. That 0.6 dKH alk rise would be accompanied by a 4 ppm calcium rise, which you'll never notice. So use alkalinity as the guide.

 

[kissman]

i am going to run a test for dkh this evening and i will post reults about 6pm. after opening the windows last night I tested ph this morning and it was 8.2

 

[RobertK]

You guys have better setups than I do. I'm stuck with a crappy old tank with a single overflow. Just hoping nobody else makes the same mistake I did.

 

[kissman]

What mistake can't you fix?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

He's referring to the auto top off overdosing.

 

[RobertK]

Yeah, sorry I didn't read the whole thread last night, just the first page. Thought you were thinking about dosing kalk with an ATO and it reminded of my tank crash a few years ago from doing just that. Seemed like a lot of people have been looking at this thread and if I could help anyone else from having a kalk OD it was worth mentioning. Good luck with your tank!

 

[kissman]

Yeah, sorry I didn't read the whole thread last night, just the first page. Thought you were thinking about dosing kalk with an ATO and it reminded of my tank crash a few years ago from doing just that. Seemed like a lot of people have been looking at this thread and if I could help anyone else from having a kalk OD it was worth mentioning. Good luck with your tank!

Help all you can thats what the forum is about!

 

[kissman]

PH is 8.1 Alk is 9.6 dkh and below is a pic I took yesterday I will take another in 30days and see if there is any difference in using Kalk vs 2 part in Coraline Algae growth.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

:thumbsup:

Good luck.

 

[kissman]

I was checking my brute this morning with the kalk in it and noticed a lot settled on the bottom is that normal when only using 1/2tsp per gallon?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, you'll see precipitated calcium carbonate (from CO2 in the air) and magnesium hydroxide (from impurity magnesium).

 

[kissman]

anything to worry about? I do keep a lid on it, snapped shut.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As long as it is closed that is generally fine.

 

[kissman]

How often should I clean it out? I knew there would some undislived build up at the bottom and that was the purpose of putting the hose elevated on a rock to keep from sucking up sludge. I was just suprised I had that much with only using 1/2tsp per gallon instead of using 2tsp a gallon

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I clean mine less than once a year.

 

[kissman]

alk today is 9.3 Dkh so it seems I am going down .3 per day. How would you adjust for that? I am dosing .5 tsp per gallon or 5 tsp per 10g is what I actually made up. My water drip is perfect so I really don't wanna increase that amount I would rather increase the kalk

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Unless you want the alk above 9 dKH, I'd let it go a bit longer and see what happens. It will not keep declining that same amount. The decline will decrease as the alk and pH decrease.