Kalk with Doser help needed

[10" Red Devil]

Hello,

So I think I want to dose Kalk with the aid of my Stabalizer pump from innovativeaquatics.com. It does anywhere from 1-250ml per hour.

Currently I have been dosing B-ionic but just ran out of the calcium pt.

Here is where I am at with my consumption of b-ionic.

Go through 4ml a day diluted in 20ml of R/O and dosed at 1ml per hour to maintain Alk at 3.2meq/l

Also looking at 15.6ml diluted in 8.4ml of R/O and dosed at 1ml per hour.

The tank is a 20Long SPS system, 1 crocea clam at 3+" (25 gallons volume including sump) with maybe 6 sps frags. 30lbs of Live rock.

So how many ml of Kalk should I start with? Should is be saturated (2 tbsp per gallon)? What ml per hour should I do to maintain the above mentioned levels?

Or should I just stick with the 2-part?

Thanks for your help.

 

[10" Red Devil]

bump

 

[GatorReefman]

I would start with 1 tsp of kalk per gallon since you have a small tank. I would slowly add it ( dripping) over several hours after the tank lights go off and the ph drops.

 

[The_Nexis_One]

I'm not sure for your exact setup - but I've played around with Kalk for a few years now and haven't run into a 'bad' situation with it.

The obvious rule of thumb is slow and cautious. From that you might dose a little and see how your Ca/Alk react.

From my own experiances, I have always ended up dosing the maximum. 100% of evaporation loss was replaced with Kalk mixed to saturation (even went down the "Vinegar in the mix" road for a while). Right now I have a ~75 gal system which is topped off by a Kalk reactor. The effluent is reading 12+ on the PH meter and tops off around 1.5 gallons a day.

IMHO the important thing isn't how much you dose, but how fast/slow. you want to drip it in as fast as you can slowly Meaning that the faster you drip it, the more your pH will be raised. So, you have to slow it down to keep the pH from going higher than it should (8.5 IMO) But if you are starting out, you might consider dosing half your evaporation as Kalk and the other half as RO and work your way up to all Kalk if that works to keep your Ca/Alk levels where you want them (based on what's using those chem's in your system).

Best of luck,
John.

 

[10" Red Devil]

So you guys know I have a medical electric type doser that will do anywhere from 1ml to 250ml per hour, right?

Thanks.

 

[The_Nexis_One]

yup - not sure how that alters things... other than it makes me a little jealous

LOL - seriously, just dose it LOL.

if you loose about a gallon a day, then pump in a half gallon of Kalk or a quarter of kalk a day.... let your regular top off system/method cover for the rest with RO (or whatever you normally use).

John.

 

[rscotti]

Just remember that 3750 ml = 1 gal. If you lose 1 gal a day set your pump at 78 ml (or so) per hour, then 1/2 will be Kalk and 1/2 would be RO, to start with.

 

[10" Red Devil]

How much should I increase?

Thanks.

 

[10" Red Devil]

bump

 

[The_Nexis_One]

you are going to have to figure that out on your own.

It's a matter of how much you feel comfortable dosing/increasing and how your particular system reacts to the influx. If you are dosing 1/2 of your top off with Kalk solution and your Ca/alk is falling a little each day - you should increase your Kalk dose... How fast it's dropping will tell you how much to increase - the larger the Ca drop, the more you should increase.

Just use your head and go as slow as you can (in both increaseing the dose and dosing your quantity). You'll find your own way - it's not difficult, you just have to keep your eye's open and test frequently to start with until you understand how this new 'dose' affects your system. Then modify your dose based on that info.

Best of luck
John.

 

[jimbo045]

I gave up on that Kalk thing and use PurpleUp or aragaMILK, they seem easier. JD

 

[10" Red Devil]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6813159#post6813159 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The_Nexis_One
you are going to have to figure that out on your own.

It's a matter of how much you feel comfortable dosing/increasing and how your particular system reacts to the influx. If you are dosing 1/2 of your top off with Kalk solution and your Ca/alk is falling a little each day - you should increase your Kalk dose... How fast it's dropping will tell you how much to increase - the larger the Ca drop, the more you should increase.

Just use your head and go as slow as you can (in both increaseing the dose and dosing your quantity). You'll find your own way - it's not difficult, you just have to keep your eye's open and test frequently to start with until you understand how this new 'dose' affects your system. Then modify your dose based on that info.

Best of luck
John.

You keep saying its not hard, but everything you say makes it sound difficult. I never had this kind of worry with the 2-part. I think ill just wait till I can pick up another bottle of 2-part.

Thanks.

 

[stevedola]

red devil, its very simple- figure out how much your daily evaporation is (nexis was using an example of 1 gallon per day).

are you using a reactor? or just mixing it up in the morning in a small container>?

if you use a reactor then:

there is 3750ml=1 us gallon

convert the daily evap from gal to ml

get that number and divide by 24 (how many hours in a day-your doser is in a hourly mode)

set the dosing pump to that number to slowly drip ro water to the reactor to drip the solution

make sure there is a mixing pump on the reactor set atleast 4 times daily for 10minutes of operation.

if youre using a daily filled container of kalk solution then just mix up the kalk with the amount of water evap and slowly drip over the day

 

[The_Nexis_One]

I'd like to add that IMHO any difficulty is coming from your electronic doser....


Kalk couldn't be easier.

1) Grab a jug
2) Add 2+ teaspoons of Kalk powder (you can't add too much)
3) Fill jug (completely) with RO/DI/distilled/etc. water (best not to use tap)
4) Shake for a minute or until you get tired of shaking....
5) wait until the liquid is clear
6) drip clear liquid into your system by whatever means fits you best.

Done....

Your tank is evaporating the almost the same amount of water each day... like it or not (personally I dislike it ) Because of this, you are adding 'something' back into it. That is a given otherwise your tank would be dry or at least very saline. All you are doing is replacing your normal "RO/DI/etc" water with Kalk water.

When you top off your tank with "RO/DI/etc" water you add it slowly I'm sure - like you are supposed to... so adding Kalk slowly shouldn't be that big of a deal by any means. Just drip it at whatever rate will work for you. I've done everything from 1 drip per second all the way up to a steady stream of kalk water from a airline! it doesn't make much difference.

The above posts are filled with advice and recommendations - but this post is the bottom line.

I hope you gain something from this, even if you decide Kalk isn't for you.

Simple as that.
John.

 

[10" Red Devil]

I gotta say kalk is not as easy as is being toted. I added 1 gallon of saturated kalk and it raised my alk and calcium far above what I wanted. It was crazy. I was told I needed a doser after that and given some hints much like this now I see how to use the doser to use it.

Thanks.

 

[stevedola]

ive never had my kalk raise my alk or calcium...OTOH over time your levels will drop and have to supplemented with a 2 pt additive like B-ionic. thats only every couple of weeks.

In my opinion, kalk is that easy. figure out how much is needed and set it and forget it. (kinda-still have to test levels)

 

[10" Red Devil]

I guess I got unlucky then, because it did happen. Im not making this crap up dude! Jeesus, wanna linch me because I had a bad experience with Kalk and I dont find it easy.

 

[The_Nexis_One]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6828728#post6828728 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 10" Red Devil
I guess I got unlucky then, because it did happen. Im not making this crap up dude! Jeesus, wanna linch me because I had a bad experience with Kalk and I dont find it easy.

Wooaah... hold your horses and the linch mob LOL...

no-one is doubting that these things happened to you... I didn't even read his post that way. If we were 'after you' we'd not bother trying to help you bud.

As far as Kalk goes. There is a very simple recipe - but if you very from it (dose it milky rather than clear, dose more than your tank needs, use vinegar in your mix, etc) you are on the fringe of it's use and need to expect that you are going to have to experiment a bit with it to figure out how to use it in your own setup.

In my setup, I dosed 1 to 2 gallons a night over the course of a few years. The system actually topped off more as RO/DI automaticly in addition to my nightly drips. But for me those amounts kept my levels where I wanted them.

I currently use a DIY reactor that makes saturated/clear kalk and doses 100% of my top off through it. my Ca/Alk are very high (450ppm/11DKH) but that's becuase I have very little calcifying load.... but that's not the fault of the Kalk

So... like I said before - you've got to figure out how much your system needs. You can't just go pouring (over simplifying here - not suggesting you just poured it in) a gallon or two in and checking your levels.

As was said above - you might start with 1/4 gallon or 1/2 gallon and see how your system reacts.

IF you don't like a little experimentation or don't have time to work at finding the right amount of kalk (or making it daily). Then the commercial solutions are probably your best route.

Best of luck,
John.

 

[10" Red Devil]

John,

I did not intend that post towards you. Sorry. Thanks for your help it has been greatly appreciated.

 

[stevedola]

devil,
I didnt intend that post to come across harsh. I was just trying to be concise...I guess I should have extrapolated.

My setup is very close to what nexis uses. for my purpose-kalk works well. maybe you should think about either purchasing or builting a reactor if you wish to further this endeavor with kalkwasser. Im sure you would love the auto top off and no 2part supplementing that a kalk setup gives you.