Kalkwasser vs Kent Liquid Reactor/ other calc suppliments

[JeffersonReef]

Hi all. I planned to begin using kalk with my topoff water this week. The guy at the LFS told me that I should just use kent marine liquid reactor and calcium rather than kalk. Said it works just as well, and is far easier to use. (I do know for a fact that it is much easier to use)

My question is this: I know that kalk also helps to keep PH high/ stable and also precipitates phosphates. Are there any other advantages to using kalk along with an additional calc suplliments rather than just the other calcium suppliments/buffers/ etc?

As far as ease of use is concerned, this is no big deal to me. Im building a REALLY easy kalk doser this weekend (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/s...kalkdripper.htm), so dont mind the extra effort involved in using kalk if it means that it will be a major improvement over other options.

LMK what you think!

 

[sharkdude]

cost is the major advantage. In the long run, kalkwasser will be much cheaper than other additives.

but depending upon your tank calcium demand, kalk may not be enough.

 

[818]

I have used bottles of Kent liquid reactor, on the bottle it says it can completley replace a calcium reactor.

Well....It can but I went through a bottle in 2 weeks, and I needed to dose daily. Plus it clouds your tank really really really bad and disoxygenates the tank because of that. I have lost a few fish from it.

I am now a couple days from kicking off my DIY Kalkwasser set up.

1. 8g rubbermaid
2. Sea Chem Kalkwasser+ 7g Of RO/DI
3. Old pump lying around (300gph)
4. Drip controller (HD in sprinkler section) connect this to 5/8's tubing

Point dripper into return area and viola!! Youll just need to remember to refill the rubbermaid every 2-3 days(depending on size resevoir and tank). And adjust the drip rate.


All in all the cost was:

A little over 40.00, thats because I bought a big amount of Kalkwasser though.

The liquid reactor was close to 20 bux and I was done usually in 2 weeks to 1.5 weeks with those.

 

[818]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8282127#post8282127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sharkdude

but depending upon your tank calcium demand, kalk may not be enough.

In the SPS forum there was a thread called "show me your Kalkwasser/additive SPS tanks.

There were people with extremley nice and big sps tanks dosing kalk, or using randys method. I was amazed and decided I needed to try this out.

 

[rscott76]

right now im dripping kalkwasser and i have to say once you get the right balance of drips per second, it is incredibly easy. Im using the pharma grade kalkwasser (bucket for $20...barely put a dent in it) and a jimmy-rigged airline tubing dripper.
heres my setup:
5 gal jug: $5
stupid amount of Ca(OH)2: $20
rigid airline: $2
old maxijet: $20 (new)
drip valve: $1?

so sam for just $8 more i have enough kalk for a lifetime.

just make sure you dont add it too fast and you dissolve the powder as much as possible to avoid the white cloud effect. Also, you want to monitor the pH as youre adding it so you dont add too fast.

 

[JeffersonReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8282792#post8282792 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rscott76
right now im dripping kalkwasser and i have to say once you get the right balance of drips per second, it is incredibly easy. Im using the pharma grade kalkwasser (bucket for $20...barely put a dent in it) and a jimmy-rigged airline tubing dripper.
heres my setup:
5 gal jug: $5
stupid amount of Ca(OH)2: $20
rigid airline: $2
old maxijet: $20 (new)
drip valve: $1?

so sam for just $8 more i have enough kalk for a lifetime.

just make sure you dont add it too fast and you dissolve the powder as much as possible to avoid the white cloud effect. Also, you want to monitor the pH as youre adding it so you dont add too fast.

So the maxijet is used to stir the kalk/rodi?

 

[plugpitch]

lets see some pictures! I have a kalk reactor, but my evaporation rate is too high. I want to see how i could dose without using it as a autotop off.

 

[rscott76]

yah. im sure having it on 24hours a day isnt the best idea as far as the design of real kalkwasser reactors but im finding that right now the amount of stirring seems necessary to keep up with the Ca demand without adding too much water. evap is at a minimum right now since i dont need to point the fan directly at the water anymore.

 

[rscott76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8283396#post8283396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by plugpitch
lets see some pictures! I have a kalk reactor, but my evaporation rate is too high. I want to see how i could dose without using it as a autotop off.

if you lower the stirring frequency on your reactor you should be able to input less than saturated water. infact...even if you dont stir it at all during the day, the laws of mass action are going to say that some kalk is making it into the tank but it doesnt mean that the water will have the same amount as the slurry you get when you start stirring. what you could do is measure your demand without any kalkwasser over a couple days by not dosing anything and seeing how levels lower over those couple days then hook your reactor back inline and over the next few weeks increase the amount of stirring until you find the right amount to keep up with your Ca demand. you really just need to find a balance between stirrings and the amount of water that flows through.

 

[plugpitch]

how do you add the water to the tank? I have a aqualift pump, but I don't know how to slow the amount added, plus I heard that it can get clogged.

 

[rscott76]

im just using a jug and some tubing. i have the jug on a table above the level of the sump so its gravity fed by siphoning. it will clog over time but i rinse it out daily with some RO water just to minimize clogging. i just add water to the topoff jug every couple days or so.