Kalkwasser with ATO or 2 part dosing

[Sport507]

There are the same thing, although some folks might distinguish the two based on whether the label on the bag of calcium hydroxide said pickling lime or kalkwasser mix.

In Jonathan's case, he simply switched names in the same paragraph without intending, I expect, any difference.

Thanks for the clarification Randy. I thought that might be what happened in Jonathon's post but need to be sure.

 

[JohnV8r]

I dose Kalk in my ATO. I don't find it difficult to maintain proper parameters with kalk. If for some reason I'm going through a lot more ATO water due to increased evaporation, I will simply skip adding more kalk to every other time I fill up my ATO reservoir.

If you're testing your water at regular intervals, you'll know what the draw down on any particular parameter is. You can use the chemistry calculator in the link below to figure out how much saturated kalk (limewater) you need to use. For example, if your Ca drops from 450 to 430 in one week, the calculator will tell you how much saturated limewater you have to go through throughout the week to raise it/keep it at 450.

Here's the link: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Kalk in an ATO is simple.

 

[Sport507]

Kalk alone doesn't keep with my tanks demands, so i use both.

Same here but it sure helps, I’m using fully saturated limewater 2 tsp/gal. The demand in my tank uses about 1.2 dKH per day and when I started using lime it dropped to the point I only need to supplement an additional .4 dKH per day. I’m considering trying the extra-saturated limewater at 3tsp/gal. Correct me if I’m wrong (and I can be a lot) it takes 45ml of vinegar per gal. to make this work. Does that sound right?

 

[nanojg]

45 ml is correct, watch for bacterial blooms and try to skim more because vinegar is a carbon source

 

[Sport507]

45 ml is correct, watch for bacterial blooms and try to skim more because vinegar is a carbon source

I thought that was it. I have a really good skimmer just might give it a whirl.

Thanks