kalk - how to use it in an SPS system?

aural

aural

New member
i started a 40g custom cube that i am going to use as a SPS dominated tank. I was talking to some folks and they were asking me what i was going to use for calcium suplimentation, and i really wasnt going to do anything other than buffer. I dont want to deal with CO2 or any more equipment, so a CA reactor is out of the question, but someone brought up that i could dose kalk through my auto topoff system.

Now i have never used kalk before. I dont know what i would need, how much i'd use, or how to impliment this through my auto topoff.

any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
By a limewater reactor. That will save you alot of trouble and give more consistent result's. Still the best option is a calcium reactor, if we can talk you into that.
 
negative on the CA reactor. too much equipment envolved.

can you explain how a limewater reactor is used?

if its going to be too much trouble, i'll just dose manually. just thought i would give the kalk idea a rundown.
 
The most simple reactor is by Tunze, it just goes inline between the topoff pump and the tank. The water is mixed with the calcium hydroxide powder inside the reactor before adding it to the tank. Other model's have a mixing pump to keep the mixture fully saturated.
 
i add 2 teaspoons of kalk per 1 gallon of R.O. water, and have it drip into my sump at a rate of 1 to 1.5 drops per second. i fill up my top off \ kalk water once a week. i personly think this method works great. i dont want to spend the money o a CA reactor right now. for now this is a good cheap alternative for me.
 
I mix two teaspoons of kalk per gallon of RO/DI water in to my 7 gallon bucket every couple weeks and top off with my Reefdoser from there. I also add 75ml of Bionic everday to keep up.
 
Does kalkwasser really help remove phosphates? If so then I would say this would be a better way of adding calcium to an sps dominated system than using a calcium reactor.
 
Well Chin, once you get enough SPS (and clams) you'll be adding kalk and either 2 part or a calcium reactor just to keep up.

That is just the way it is.

And yes, there does seem to be some evidence to suggest that kalk precipitates phosphate. Now whether that is a good or bad thing appears to be highly controversial. Be very careful or you will get a nasty spanking from Fundamentalists on either side of the issue.
 
I don't listen to Fundamentalists nor allow them to spank me ;) With my evap I don't think it would be an issue. I replace roughly a gallon a day on my 29 gallon in the Arizona heat.
 
problem is, excessive addition of kalk results in unusually high pH as well. I'm sure we all have pH test kits, try it for a few days and see where your pH is at. I was doing about a quart a day and my pH shot through the roof, over 8.6. I had to add vinegar to my tank to bring it down. So what I do now is alternate. 1 day kalk, another day Ionic Ca.
 
well that brings me to my next question. if you do impliment a kalk system in your tank - how do you know how much is enough/too much? i mean it seems to me that these things will feed your tank every time your auto top-off tells them the tank needs some water. how do you regulate how much goes in? is it by the amount of media you put in the reactor?
 
I have a 37g mixed reef. SPS, LPS, softies. The kalk never kept up with the ca demand. The ca concentration never exceeded 325ppm with this method for me and as low as 175ppm. I too evaporate about a gallon of water day. You can only dissolve a certain about of kalk in to the water bf it will precipitate out of solution. I switched to a 2 part baking soda and calcium chloride. the tank runs about 400ppm now. Will switch to ca reactor soon. Tire of top off / dosing every day.
 
My 58 evaporates 2 gallon's a day. I used kalk for a long time without a problem, but once I was getting to 100 ml of each part of two part a day to keep up with the demand's it was time to get a CR.

With enough circulation in the tank ph shouldn't be elevated with kalk. Also the tank get's used to it, my ph never got over 8.2 with a pinpoint monitor. But you should see the swing when you add the alkalinity part of a two part suppliment.

That's why I push the calcium reactor. It promotes a very stable alkalinity and ph, wich is what you need for a thriving tank of sps.
 
Mike - so what is everything you need to do a CA reactor? (like an equipment list) how does it set up? Is there one that is small enough for me to use on my lowly 40 gallon? Where do you get CO2 (and the bottle to hold it)? what media do you use and where do you get that?
 
You can do everything for about $500

Tank you get at local shop like Air Gas. it's about $80 for a tank that is full of gas. With a shop like that you trade the bottle in when empty for a new full bottle. That's about $12 for the refill.

Then you need a regulator for the gas. I have the Tunze regulator wich was $89.

The reactor itself will cost you about $200 and will have the circulation pump and the bubble counter most likley.

You'll at least want a ph monitor. Another $89 there

Then you'll need a feed pump for the reactor. I'm using the Tunze mini for $15

I use geo marine CC and dolomite in the reactor, you should be able to get that anywhere.

As far as the size for you're tank, yeah there are small reactor's out there but size doesn't matter as long as it's not undersized. You set how much alkalinity comes out of it.
 
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