Started dripping a kalkwasser mix...

[speakeraddict]

I found an article on reefs.org about dripping kalkwasser that is made up from premixing pickling lime with vinegar then putting it into RO water.

It has no sediment at all.

I am dripping it at about 2 drops per second into my 10 gallon reef in hopes to raise calcium and have my coralline take off.

It was incredibly easy to make the dripper in this months reefkeeping magazine. I used a gatorade bottle and an airline valve to make it.

The tank evaporates about 2 quarts a day so I am going to do one quart of the mixture and one of RO and see what happens.

speakeraddict

 

[Mariner]

Sounds good. My 10g only evaporates about a pint per day, so I have trouble dripping enough Kalk in it to keep calc/alk where it should be. I use a gallon water jug from Walmart and IV tubing for my drip.
Mariner

 

[speakeraddict]

I have heard that you can directly add the mix by just diliuting in a little water. I didn't test the pH of the mixture thought, so I would before adding it this way.

Could be the key for adding it to your tank.

Just mix 12 to 15 ml (about 1 Tbl) of vinegar to 1/2 tsp of pick;ing lime and dump it into a pint of water and test the pH.

speakeraddict

 

[MaryBebo]

I know this is a old thread, but I bought the Wages pickling lime / vinegar and was wondering what measurements I would mix for a gal. I usually mix it up in 3 different gal jugs and then pour into the container that I drip from. TIA for your help. I just want to make sure I do this right.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Mary,

The dosage is "three level teaspoons of solid lime per gallon of limewater, and 45 ml (three table spoons) of vinegar per gallon of limewater."

Without vinegar you can dissolve only about 2 teaspoon of lime into a gallon of water. If you add any more lime than that, the excess will precipitate to the bottom of the container.

Tomoko

 

[MaryBebo]

Thank You Tomoko, That helps alot.

 

[cainchristy]

Hey! I like this thread, I'm proud you bumped it Mary. Where do you buy Wages Pickling Lime at? Thanks!

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Christy,

I got mine at Wal-Mart. Someone said that Winn Dixie had them not too long ago.

Tomoko

 

[im_buford]

So glad to see this thread I did not know, that you could add vinegar to the mix to get a better mix. I constanly fight with the crap on the bottom. I bet that fight will be over now.
THANKS

 

[j1b1e1]

Actually the vinegar is an important part of the reaction. I'll link a few articles here that helped me. The thing about pouring it straight into the tank is it depletes CO2 in the tank. Anyways check out these links as I found them informative. After I started dripping in my tank everything started doing 100% better. I now have purple rocks.... and glass. I recomend you have a scraper before you start dripping though.

Kalk dripper -
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/nftt/index.php

Lime in depth -
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

Kalk in depth -
http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/breefcase/kalkwasser.html

 

[Mariner]

Not so fast there cowboys and cowgirls
You should be aware of the potential side effects of using vinegar with kalkwasser. Please read this article on the subject before proceeding. If you have further questions, check with Randy over in the Reef Chemistry forum.
In short, vinegar can cause bacterial blooms (which may or may not be a good thing for your tank).
Also, the junk that settles in the bottom of your kalk water when you don't add vinegar is stuff you don't want in your tank (impurities, heavy metals, etc.) The fact that vinegar keeps this stuff in solution may not be a very good thing.
FWIW,
Mariner

 

[j1b1e1]

You're right, and like most things in this hobby, wrong at the same time. The article you linked is the middle one I posted also. I always encourage people to read all they can about this hobby as it's SO opinioned. There are pro's and con's to the vinegar. Read up on this in the article you posted, I believe it states the majority of these. The impurities you've mentioned are a problem as they're thought to be metals by a few. I've read conflicting articles about that... I think as a way to control PH (to an extent), vinegar is ok, but it's all a matter of opinion isn't it. The key to this conversation is to not just trust someone when adding/taking away things for your tank without knowing why you're doing it and the side effects of your actions. Don't just do it because someone told you it was the "thing" to do, rather understand why it works or doesn't. Thanks for pointing that out mariner you pointed out a good fact.

 

[Mariner]

You're right too Jason and I'm sure that you understand the chemistry far better than I do.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all... I'm toying with trying it myself after having dripped straight kalk in all my tanks for the last 3 years, I just want everyone to be fully apprised of the pros and cons before jumping in.
Mariner