Teach me about kalkwasser

[cojo8888]

I want to start using kalkwasser for more stability. Can I just add it to new ato ro/di water and leave it there? Or do I need to mix it daily? Will it clog the ato pump?

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[journeyman]

I want to start using kalkwasser for more stability. Can I just add it to new ato ro/di water and leave it there? Or do I need to mix it daily? Will it clog the ato pump?

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I've done it just putting it in the ato water without mixing. Now I put a small power head in the tank and leave it on. Everything I've read recommend very slow mixing as you don't really want to oxygenate it. The power head I put in is very small and only stirs the water a little bit. I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it helps to pull the kalk into the water so is not floating on top of the water as long.

I used a tunze ato pump with it for 3 years, no issues. I upgraded my whole system and now use a dosing pump. I haven't had the pump itself clog, but with the dosing pump the ro tubing can get clogged and needs periodic flushing. I think that's sure to the lower flow and smaller diameter of the tube. I never ran into clogging issues with the tunze.

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[wsoldier]

Willie I used Kalk for my first year and it worked great in terms of a balanced additive for managing ALK+CA, but I got tired of it messing up my ATO pump and the ATO water level sensor. There's probably a cleaner way to dispense kalk or use more powerheads to try to mix the kalk when it is dispensed, but I thought it was more work for myself personally in my setup. I have a 20G ATO and would just mix it once every time I filled it up.

 

[hersheyb]

Best way to run Kalk is to use a doser and Kalk reactor. Kalk reactor will keep Kalk solution mixed and set doser to daily amount. Simple brs 50 mil dose will do on a timer. If u run it off the ato the dosage will vary daily based on evaporation.

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[thirst]

Yea I run it off my litermeter doser.

Before I was worried about changing Evap, but it was a non-issue for me.

I use a kalk stirrer to keep the solution mixed


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[bvysochin]

Same as thirst. We use a large geo kalk reactor and mix for 1 minute every 4 hours. Then use a litermeter to dose 4 gallons a day. Works great.

 

[cojo8888]

Thanks guys was hoping more simple solution for it.. my sump or stand dosen't have any more space for kakwasser reactor.. lol I'll just mix with ato and see what happens

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[m0nkie]

depend on your tank size, BRS sells a gravity fed kalk bottle. mix it and just let it drip.

Kalk gunks up equipment fast. don't dose it near your ATO sensors. mine gets clogged in a month and won't read water level until I scrub it

 

[elvis142]

What is the difference between kalk and a calcium reactor? Doing the same thing, right?

 

[five.five-six]

What is the difference between kalk and a calcium reactor? Doing the same thing, right?

Very different. Very very different.

kalk is Ca(OH)2 (Calcium Hydroxide) and dissolves readily in water. it works great as ATO once you solve the systems calcification problems (it will clog yur setup so designe accordingly)

calcium reactor takes calcium carbonate (mostly coral skeletons) and slowly dissolves it in a acid solution of tank water and carbon-dioxide then slowly reintroduces that solution back into the aquarium.


Kalk will temporarily raise your pH and cacl2 reactor temporarily lowers pH

 

[laverda]

Kalk is best dosed from a sealed container. It greats a crusty film on the surface when exposed to air. The crust should not be dosed.

 

[ausndani]

I recently started using Kalk cheap way to manage things so far so good