? kalkwasser and vinegar

[clevebill]

i been useing kalk with top water and the solution never got clear even sitting overnight useing kent kalkwasser.i went out and bought mrs wages pickling lime i yet to actuall mix it 1 teaspoon with gallon water and let it sit over night to see if it clear up.but i read adding vinegar helps dissolve the kalk better so i tried it.i used 1 teaspoon and 15ml of vinegar add a little water and after mixing the water was clear and then added the rest of the water and there was no sediment what so ever.i tested the ph pinpoint meter it was 11.64 now by useing the vinegar i read its a carbon source like vodka. what is a safe level of vinegar to add to kalk i read somewhere like 3teaspoons of kalk to 45ml vinegar to a gallon water iam not useing that much will i be ok i heard ya had to much can have crazy effects on coral fish and weird alge blooms.the reason i added the vinegar was to get the solution to be clear when i did my normal way of mixxing kalk the contaniner was always hazy and when it was added to the tank the tank it had a hazy look to it to.i been reading so many articles and of course people say go fo it other people say dont do it. here is a pic of container sitting over night useing kent kalkwasser.

 

[HighlandReefer]

Many hobbyists complain that their lime water does no get clear and they dose it anyway (not dosing the contaminates that settle to the bottom) & they don't seem to report problems. FWIW, kalk reactors dose all the contaminates found in lime water & problems do not seem to arise from their use. Personally, I would not worry about it if you allow the lime water to sit for at least 24 hrs.

What most likely causes this clouding in lime water IMHO, is calcium carbonate (the same as very fine reef sand) which precipitates out in lime water and will not dissolve. The smaller precipitates will take a very long period of time to settle. Certainly there can be some heavy metals attached to these small particles suspended in the lime water, but no where near as much as when using the reactors.

Adding vinegar to lime water will dissolve calcium carbonate and thus eliminate these fine particles causing the clouding. When you add vinegar to kalk water you will increase your alk and calcium output of it. This means you will need to use less kalk in your mix. So if you were using 1 teaspoon kalk per gallon, you may need to drop back to 2/3 -3/4 of a teaspoon plus about 10 - 15 mils of vinegar. Adding 10 -15 mils of vinegar to 2/3 of a teaspoon of kalk to 1 gallon of rodi water and using it for top-off should not cause bacterial blooms in my experience if you choose to add vinegar. If your nitrate is high, this will help reduce its levels. If your nitrate reads zero, then I would not add much more then 15 mils of vinegar to your mix & watch for bacterial masses or blooms.

 

[HighlandReefer]

FWIW, adding kalk slowly to your rodi water in smaller amounts may help reduce the amount of calcium carbonate that precipitates out. I would mix the lime water thoroughly as you add small amounts, instead of dumping it all in at once.

 

[clevebill]

i have it hook up to my auto top off and when it calls for water its on for no more than 2 sec or so.and it turns on maybe once and hour

 

[HighlandReefer]

I would use a dosing pump (if you are not) with the timer, which allows kalk water to be dripped. Too much kalk water added at one time can increase your pH level too high (like above 8.5). Also adding too much kalk water at one time can lead to precipitation in the area it is added.

 

[bertoni]

The PinPoint meter won't be very accurate at that pH, due to calibration issues.

The amount of vinegar that's safe to use varies from system to system, which is why you see such varying opinions on its safety. I wouldn't add vinegar just to make the kalk clearer, personally. A little cloudiness is fairly normal, and I haven't heard of it causing problems.