Is Kalk dosing "outdated"?

[Essencereef]

It's been my observation for a few years now that very few TOTM's use Kalk. Are there any downfalls to using this method that have been discovered since, or is it just not popular anymore? I am using Kalk and thinking about switching to 2-part only, but it seems like I will be spending a whole lot more on chemicals this way so I am compelled to stick to hybrid of Kalk and 2-part dosing; where majority of Calcium/Carbonate is supplemented by Kalk reactor, and adjustable amounts are dosed via 2-part. Would love to hear the input about this method and if switching would be worth while.

 

[Steve175]

"Out dated" and following along. Interesting thread.

 

[radicaltimes]

What is a TOTM ?

 

[tmz]

TOTM= Tank of the month.

I've used limewater ( kalk/ calcium hydroxide) for years. IMO it is a very pure way to dose calcium and alkalinity.It is my favorite method .

 

[tmz]

Some folks who use reactors for dosing kalk have difficulty with constancy of dose. I use a still reservoir and a peristaltic pump with a built in timer to dispense 150 equal increments of fully saturated limewater over a 24 hour period as top off. It meets almost all of the needs of the sps dominant system for calcium and alkalinity with occasional tweaks with baking soda( ca a tablespoon per week.).

 

[bertoni]

I don't see any reason to switch away from Kalk if the tank is doing well. Kalk does have the advantage of not shifting the SG or ionic balance over time, which is nice.

 

[skunkmere]

we need some space kalk until then its the best. im sick of reactors and im too lazy for 2 part daily.

 

[danderso]

Wow. I just asked almost the same question in "new to the hobby" and then I spotted this thread. I am returning to the hobby after a few years away and I always used kalk for my top off water with a very primitive drip system. I always dumped into my homemade dripper in the morning and it would drip about a quart over a hour or so. This was with a 40 gal tall and I believe it pretty much covered my top off needs. I plan on using the same system for my new 65. Very interested in where this thread goes...

 

[NatureNerd]

I used to fill a 3 gallon container with kalk water and set it on top of my sump. A thin tube allowed the water to drip slowly into the sump at about a gallon a day. That was just about my evaporation rate. Low tech but worked well.

Since then I have gotten fancy and use a peristaltic pump and a six gallon bin so that I don't need to fill it up until the weekend. I turn the pump on about a minute every fifteen minutes, 24/7.

 

[DrBegalke]

Kalk is still alive and well.

I personally switched to two-part b/c I was using the kalk in an ATO and due to varying evaporation, etc, has alk/pH swings in the tank (that and it stained my carpet).

Since switching to two part, my alk is more steady and my pH is always 8.28 +/- 0.03.

If I had a fish room and peristaltic pump, I would probably go back to kalk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

One issue that that many of the TOTM are loaded with SPS corals, and in those cases, limewater alone is not adequate.

In my tank, limewater in an ATO is the only calcium and alkalinity supplement I use and I don't see any reason to switch to something else.

 

[Rybren]

I also use kalk in my ATO. During the winter months when evaporation is high, a less than saturated solution meets my demands. In the summer, when the evaporation rate is lower, a saturated solution needs to be occasionally supplemented with baking soda.

 

[psteeleb]

Is Kalk dosing "outdated"? Nope!

In my opinion it's still the best over all alk/ca supplement you can use. If I could meet my demands with kalc alone, I would.

I've used 2 part, CaRx and kalc. I found that a Ca Rx for the main load with supplemental kalc additions works best for me. I still keep 2 part around for making adjustments as needed.

 

[fishflorist]

One issue that that many of the TOTM are loaded with SPS corals, and in those cases, limewater alone is not adequate.
In my tank, limewater in an ATO is the only calcium and alkalinity supplement I use and I don't see any reason to switch to something else.

why isnt limewater adequtate for a SPS tank ? what is the problem ?

is it mainly because limewater effect PH too much ?

 

[BigAl2007]

why isnt limewater adequtate for a SPS tank ? what is the problem ?

is it mainly because limewater effect PH too much ?

I'm just guessing but I'd say because it doesn't keep up with the demand of a heavily stocked SPS tank. SPS coral tend to have a higher demand for Calc and Kalk alone may not meet these demands.

Is that even close Randy?

 

[psteeleb]

why isnt limewater adequtate for a SPS tank ? what is the problem ?

is it mainly because limewater effect PH too much ?

I'm just guessing but I'd say because it doesn't keep up with the demand of a heavily stocked SPS tank. SPS coral tend to have a higher demand for Calc and Kalk alone may not meet these demands.

Is that even close Randy?

kalc is not used dry it is actually used as a way to saturate water with the available Alk and Ca it contains; where the residual solids fall to the bottom and are not used.

the amount of Alk and Ca in 100% saturated limewater that is used to replace normal tank evaporation is often less then the demand of a heavy SPS tank

there are a couple ways to cheat the formula, one is to super saturate the limewater by lowering the ph (addition of vinegar) and the other is to force more evaporation (run fans 24/7 over a waterfall or other area of high air to water contact) so you can add more lime water.

 

[Essencereef]

kalc is not used dry it is actually used as a way to saturate water with the available Alk and Ca it contains; where the residual solids fall to the bottom and are not used.

the amount of Alk and Ca in 100% saturated limewater that is used to replace normal tank evaporation is often less then the demand of a heavy SPS tank

there are a couple ways to cheat the formula, one is to super saturate the limewater by lowering the ph (addition of vinegar) and the other is to force more evaporation (run fans 24/7 over a waterfall or other area of high air to water contact) so you can add more lime water.

Right ON!

I've been using Kalk dosed via Liter Meter III pump and GEO kalk reactor for some while now with good results.

To dose Kalkwasser, it has to be dissolved in water. As just another property of Kalkwasser- it has a maximum saturation point in fresh water (meaning that you can't have more Kalk suspended in fresh water than a certain amount). As a result, this brings a dose limitation to the evaporation rate of the aquarium. If the fish tank evaporates little water, only a small amount of saturated kalk water can be added. Vinegar dilution of Kalk is great, but can't be used in automated methods like mine (keeping kalk suspended and constantly running RO water through it)

My problem is starting to become more and more apparent: I switched to LED lights and my evaporation rate has decreased. In addition to no fans running to cool the water, the water temperature has been decreased to ease off on the heaters. I am not sure if at the time my new system is grown out Kalk will have enough effect on chemistry of my tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

why isnt limewater adequtate for a SPS tank ? what is the problem ?

is it mainly because limewater effect PH too much ?

As other folks correctly point out, the problem is that the most you can add (assuming you do not add a slurry, which itself is problematic) is to replace all evaporated water with saturated limewater. If you choose to add vinegar to the limewater, you can dissolve maybe 50% more, but it is still not an unlimited dosing method like two part method or a CaCO3/CO2 reactor.

So in a tank which uses a lot of alkalinity and calcium, limewater may not be able to supply enough.

 

[Allmost]

here is my reason for not using kalk in my SPS tank, it could bind with po4 and percipitate out, giving false and low reading on po4. now different tyes of algae, can release enzymes, which would break the bond between po4 and caco3, and would let the algae uptake the po4 previosly percipitated out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Why do you think an enzyme can release phosphate from calcium phosphate or from adsorbed onto CaCO3? I've never heard of such an enzyme.