aquaman183
New member
Thank you for the informative reply bertoni. I think I will try to use limewater in the near future with my ATO.
Mrs wages pickling lime
- Thread starter aquaman183
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OrionN
Moved on
I use a MasterFlex lab grade pump to continuous dose my Kalk as top-off though a magnetic kalk reactor. I also use a high out-put Ca reactor also deliver with a MasterFlex pump. This combination allow me to just dial in any level of Ca/Alkalinity I want.
I have used hobby pumps before and they never last more than a year or two run continuously. The MasterFlex pumps and pump heads are robust steel or stainless steel rollers that last many years of continuous use. Some of these pumps are variable speed, while cheaper pumps have single speed. Single speed pumps need timer to control the amount of fluid deliver.
No one addressed your question on vinegar so I will try to do this. Anybody with knowledge of this method please add their experiences.
Regarding the use of vinegar with Kalk/lime water top-off, you can add Vinegar into the Kalk chamber itself. The Acetic acid will react with Ca(OH)2 with form Calcium acetate[Ca(CO2H3O2)2] which is very soluble in water. I have never use this, but it should be possible. The vinegar will add carbon to your system and will fuel growth in bacterial which use up nutrients in your tank . You really need a good skimmer if you want to do this to export the increase growth in bacterial.
I have used hobby pumps before and they never last more than a year or two run continuously. The MasterFlex pumps and pump heads are robust steel or stainless steel rollers that last many years of continuous use. Some of these pumps are variable speed, while cheaper pumps have single speed. Single speed pumps need timer to control the amount of fluid deliver.
No one addressed your question on vinegar so I will try to do this. Anybody with knowledge of this method please add their experiences.
Regarding the use of vinegar with Kalk/lime water top-off, you can add Vinegar into the Kalk chamber itself. The Acetic acid will react with Ca(OH)2 with form Calcium acetate[Ca(CO2H3O2)2] which is very soluble in water. I have never use this, but it should be possible. The vinegar will add carbon to your system and will fuel growth in bacterial which use up nutrients in your tank . You really need a good skimmer if you want to do this to export the increase growth in bacterial.
Mrs. Music
New member
aquaman, did you read the article posted in the top of the thread? I have read it a couple times over the years, and although some of it is over my head, I learned a lot from it. I also found I understood even more of it when I reread it a couple years later.
Just to share an additional experience for anyone whom would like to read it... For awhile I was using vinegar to dissolve more kalk but I kept having issues with cyano. I did some more research and decided to stop using vinegar in my kalk solution. The cyano cleared up after I quit using vinegar. The calcium acetate can fuel bacterial grown. This is the whole point of carbon dosing but you need a way to remove the bacteria. and your whole system needs to be set up in such a way as to remove it. Truthfully I realized later I did not need to hypersaturate the kalk because my Ca, ALK, and Mg values were solid with just regular kalk. I should have realized my tank did not need it. My tank chemistry was in balance with availability and uptake. Why did I start adding vinegar? I should have examined my goal. Sometimes we tinker with things and do not need to.
That is the live and learn of this hobby. and why I love it.
Just to share an additional experience for anyone whom would like to read it... For awhile I was using vinegar to dissolve more kalk but I kept having issues with cyano. I did some more research and decided to stop using vinegar in my kalk solution. The cyano cleared up after I quit using vinegar. The calcium acetate can fuel bacterial grown. This is the whole point of carbon dosing but you need a way to remove the bacteria. and your whole system needs to be set up in such a way as to remove it. Truthfully I realized later I did not need to hypersaturate the kalk because my Ca, ALK, and Mg values were solid with just regular kalk. I should have realized my tank did not need it. My tank chemistry was in balance with availability and uptake. Why did I start adding vinegar? I should have examined my goal. Sometimes we tinker with things and do not need to.
That is the live and learn of this hobby. and why I love it.
aquaman183
New member
Yes, I read it, I understood a lot of it, but didn't understand a lot of it as well, lol.
I definitely agree that sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something..and sometimes we think we need to do something when we really don't. I just want to acquire as much knowledge in the hobby as I can. And I am starting to actually keep some corals, so I'm thinking that since they're going to be using things like calcium, it would be best to learn how to replenish what the corals use.
I definitely agree that sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something..and sometimes we think we need to do something when we really don't. I just want to acquire as much knowledge in the hobby as I can. And I am starting to actually keep some corals, so I'm thinking that since they're going to be using things like calcium, it would be best to learn how to replenish what the corals use.
dkeller_nc
New member
You will definitely need to start monitoring the calcium and alkalinity levels of your tank water if you've recently added stony corals (either LPS or SPS). Unless you have a nano tank and do regular massive water changes (some folks with nanos change nearly 100% of the water every week), water changes alone will not keep the calcium and alkalinity levels of the tank water from falling.
Some types of hardy LPS don't require rock-solid stability with respect to calcium and alkalinity; they can tolerate some moderate swings. Other types of coral, particularly certain SPS corals such as Acropora species, will do very poorly without very stable alkalinity values in the water.
Adding lime (kalkwasser) to your ATO will assist you in maintaining calcium and alkalinity levels in the tank at first if you have a small population of stony corals relative to the tank water volume.
However, as those coral grow and/or you add more, most find that they must supplement calcium and alkalinity to keep up. The least expensive way to do this is by making your own calcium and alkalinity solutions out of calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate/carbonate. All that's required is a decent kitchen measuring pitcher and measuring cups, and the raw chemicals. Baking soda from the grocery store will be fine for the alkalinity part, and calcium chloride dihydrate can be purchased in bulk from multiple on-line aquarium supply retailers and also from food ingredient suppliers. This article goes into detail about how to prepare and dose your own 2-part solutions.
Some types of hardy LPS don't require rock-solid stability with respect to calcium and alkalinity; they can tolerate some moderate swings. Other types of coral, particularly certain SPS corals such as Acropora species, will do very poorly without very stable alkalinity values in the water.
Adding lime (kalkwasser) to your ATO will assist you in maintaining calcium and alkalinity levels in the tank at first if you have a small population of stony corals relative to the tank water volume.
However, as those coral grow and/or you add more, most find that they must supplement calcium and alkalinity to keep up. The least expensive way to do this is by making your own calcium and alkalinity solutions out of calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate/carbonate. All that's required is a decent kitchen measuring pitcher and measuring cups, and the raw chemicals. Baking soda from the grocery store will be fine for the alkalinity part, and calcium chloride dihydrate can be purchased in bulk from multiple on-line aquarium supply retailers and also from food ingredient suppliers. This article goes into detail about how to prepare and dose your own 2-part solutions.
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