limewater aka kalkwasser

stevie-o

New member
I just read Randy's article about lime water, and i have to say it was very informative. My question is my ph is at 8.2 because I don't keep a lid on my tank since I have a metal halide, and when I do my temp raises like crazy. So if i dose kalk I know my ph will be higher, but will it fluctuate a lot? I'm going to be dosing through my ato, also my tank is only 29g
 
I think as long as you have enough surface agitation or a protein skimmer bubbling enough air (CO2 specifically) along with the kalk, the OH will be processed into the carbonate buffering system fairly quickly and the ph shouldn't rise more than predicted by your alkalinity increase.

In other words, i don't know. :)
 
I drip about 8 ounces of kalk into a 5.5 gallon and 12 ounces into a 10 gallon over about a 20 minute span almost daily without problems. Key is to drip into actively moving water so it gets dispersed quickly.
 
Am I correct in assuming calcium, alkalinity & magnesium supplements are rarity needed in a fowlr tank?
 
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I drip about 8 ounces of kalk into a 5.5 gallon and 12 ounces into a 10 gallon over about a 20 minute span almost daily without problems. Key is to drip into actively moving water so it gets dispersed quickly.
thanks for the input I might just build a drip system the main thing I want to know is about putting it in the ato
 
I think it depends on how much evaporation you have verses your calcium and alkalinity needs. Also, most people drip it at night when their ph is lower to begin with.
 
my ato goes off 2 times a day which equals 7cups I used a kalk calculator I found which said i would need to add 1 tablespoon to my 5g top off to get the calc, and alk requirements that I need. does this sound right? My ph is at 8.2 it doesn't fluctuate too much since I have a reverse lit refugium
 
I believe that alkalinity is what keeps your ph from fluctuating. So, theoretically, if your alk is high enough, you shouldn't see much ph swing at all, except for the normal range. I am not a chemist and I do not play one on tv.
:)
 
Post your ? in the reef chem forum. Randy answers a lot of questions there.

The protein skimmer doesn't produce co2, it just introduces the co2 in the air into the water.

Kalk requires enough co2 to convert to carbonate and buffer rather than simply increase pH.

OH + CO2 --> HCO3

HCO3 + OH --> H2O + CO3
 
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