ready for a stupid question?

[Harville]

Approx. how much lime is used for 5 gallons of RO/DI?

Does it entirley depend on your current tank specs. or does the kalk need to be at a certein level regardless?

For example, say you have a 100 gal high Ca demand tank that you try to maintain at 400ppm Ca, 8dKH, 8.2 pH etc... what would be the recomended dosage?

Correct me if I'm wrong ( I am a current 2-part user ) but you guys ( who use kalk ) you premake the lime water ( via 5 gal bucket or the like ) and drip it in the tank overnight... is that right?

Thanks and sorry if my question is unclear

 

[ColinPopcorn]

Don't expect Kalk to hold your levels if you have a high demand, no matter how much you use. It just helps a little.

The water should be premade a few hours in advance.

I use 1 well rounded tsp. per gallon, and yes I do drip it overnight. The PH of the mixture is so high, that it could be disasterous to add it all at once.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It does depend on the tank demand, but 1 level teaspoon per gallon of top off water (added very slowly) is a good place to start. Change the dose based on alkalinity after a few days (not calcium).

I make up 88 gallons at a time and use it over a few weeks.

This article has a lot more on limewater:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

 

[Harville]

Thank you,

Also, how do you guys feel about Mrs Wages?

Would you recomend sticking to a name brand like KENT or ESV?

...just looking for a cheaper way to keep up the Ca... no rush

Thanks again

 

[JimW]

I have been uses Mrs Wages for years with no problems and definitely
cheaper than the other alternatives.

Jim

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, Mrs Wages and other food grades are fine. I compare different grades in this article:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm