whar are the benifits of kalkwasser?

A

amf82380

New member
I was reading a diy thread and found plans for a easy kalk doser but before i went ahead and built it i was wondering what excatly does this do for your system ie. what are the benifits of it and how many of you out there use it? all input would be helpful thank you in advance.

Aaron
 
Kalkwasser raises Ca and alk levels evenly. Just be sure those levels are in balance from the start. You can keep those levels at an ideal range if your evaporation in your aquarium is significant and demand is low. If not then you may still need to use a 2 part additive like B-Ionic.

Over time without proper water changes you will experience a decline magnesium levels. So be sure to still do your regular water changes.
 
I found that dosing kalkwasser kept my calcium and alkalinity balanced in a good range and it also eliminated my low pH "problem" (pH was always 7.8-7.9 before dosing kalk but I have been able to get it to the 8.2-8.4 range with kalk). My DIY doser is more simple than the one in your link but it is not automatic and that is a true pain.

I simply took an empty two liter bottle, cut the bottom off, drilled a hole in the cap the right size for your standard flexible tubing, and glued a short (6") piece of tubing to the cap. To that piece of tubing, I attached an airline valve (similar to the one in your link) and then added an additional length of tubing to get it to a length that was reasonable for the location. I built a cheap wood holder for the bottle so it could rest upside down without tipping over.

I used this contraption to drip kalk for all my topoff water and it worked very well. For small tanks, it is much easier. I am trying to figure out a better method for my larger tank since there is so much evaporation loss that the kalk drip method I have been using is not really practical anymore.

Hope this helps.

Kevin
 
yeah it does thank you kevin anything that is easier that is proven to work in my book is definitly a plus :) I was wondering do you have any pictures of yours just so I have something to look at as I am working on it for refrence thanks again

Aaron
 
hey lake side thats pretty neat although its pretty much and IV setup like they use in the hospitals except with a bigger resivor Im a vol EMT I could of got you everything except the resivor for nothing :D but serisouly thanks for the info now I know of a better way to make one

Aaron
 
yep kalk mix makes great dosing for calcium and ecourages rapid coraline development and growth . if you want purple you will get it. heres my purple powerhead.lol

DSCN0593.jpg
 
well scientificlly when dosing kalk you must drip it so the dose rate is 1 gallon mixed water /kalk dripped at 1-3 drips per second every night is the ideal time to do this. normally it takes 3-5 hours to drip a gallon and thats what i dose about nightly.
 
another good thing is that it precipitates Phosfate (PO4) out of the water in the skimmer skum when used, it bonds it and then u export.,\

have to be careful, if u use it milkey VERY VERY VERY caustic to fish and strong i use it milkey or so, because im dosing in a 450 gallon tank, but , when i had a 90, not much was needed, unless u plan to use it for all ur Evap, water ??????????, i dont i just u it in addition to my reg water topped all all the time which is ro/di

Very good for buldin all hard corals and corlina groth.......i use a Calicum reactor with c02 and use a KAlK drip too, awsome benifits, and the co2 keeps my ph from goging to high, i wish i had low ph with no kalk and CALICUM reator y ph is like a 8.9-9+++so with my system at 8.6 day and 8.2 at night.......with the co2 it works good for me....

the key thing is very slow with the drip the better and for a begginer i would use the KALK after it seteleted, and clear..

also dose at night when PH low.......not day will raise it fast up.....


my kalk doser is a dosing pump and a small power head to stir it, all are on a timer, turns on for a few and them off and on again for a few later......only at night
basicly a 5 gallon pail(square better) and flot to keep fresh water in all the time conected to the RO?DI and then one line of the doser in the bucket and the other in my sump
(it gets stired and slowley dosed to the sump, all with one timer with stop pins)


Peace

sorry for the long info, hope it helps

Mike
any questions feel free to PM ....
 
yes that helps but i will be dosing on a much smaller level being i have a nano its a 10 gal so any idea what it would be for that size tank? thanks
 
i have a ten gallon that i dose a gallon over two nights. the drip is about one drop per 5 seconds. does just fine as coraline grows well and stock shows zero stress. buffer is a must every two weeks when using kaalk
 
Dave any particular brand buffer you recommend? (kent...) how often do you dose you said you dose over a 2 night peiod do you let you doser run those 2 days non stop or do you only dose after the lights go out ect... I know I ask alot of question I am just always leary on trying something new dont want to kill everything that I have worked so hard to acomplish is all. whens the next time your on at union I might stop by and say hi my wife and son take karate next door at pais we were there tonight as a matter of fact I was going to stop over and see what pauls got for corals but my two yr old didnt want to see nemo tonight :)
 
i only dose at night...so i basically dose half then half a gallon over two nights. i work tuesdays and thursdays during day hours( no later than 4pm) but next week on the 26th ill be working evenings till close. i use kents kalkwassaer as i know no other product like this(powder form ready to mix...hobby is dominiated by kents kalk as far as i know) ..........again i dose about two hours after lights out. must monitor late night ph as if buffer isnt used it may and should be used especially when ph swings occur during night dosing.
 
Thank you once again I think I finally got the idea now ( I know a concrete slab absorbs more then I do sometimes :) ) I think Ill drop in and pay you a vist next week sometime then thanks again dave

Aaron
 
sorry i just read my post and i didnt answer you. i have used a few buffers...home made and commercial...over the last two years ive used kents superbuffer dkh. i luv it. its very very effective . after using it for a bit ph is rock solid at 8.2...no shifts at all.
 
there are other powder form supplaments for calcium but they are mostly not focused for the hobby but effective(dowflake i believe is just marketed as clacium chloride used for::::DOWFLAKE. commonly used to treat industrial wastewater. Dow produces magnesium )....kents kalk is the only popular powder calcium addative that is focused for the hobby ( if i remember right)
 
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