Why put lime in your ATO?

[srusso]

I have a gravity fed ATO. Simple float valve in the sump (the KENT brand model that is black and most people are familiar with...) Seems to be far more accurate when it comes to topping off, then any float switch/ pump ATO... That given can I use kalk still? The gravity feed allows 1 inch of water to remain at the bottom of the storage container. And I have no chance of dumping loads of fresh water into the tank so long as I don't let it ever completely empty. As a gravity fed ATO only adds a few drops of water at a time... Can I still use kalk?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Seems to be far more accurate when it comes to topping off, then any float switch/ pump ATO..

What are you comparing to? My float switch (Omega LV-1201) is very precise, with a 1/4" activation.

That said, precision is not my primary concern with a float valve. The concerns are addition rate and whether solids inside of it, which does happen over time using limewater, could possibly allow it to stick open.

 

[Sport507]

I have been using baking soda with good results. Can anyone thing of a reason that I should use it?

I could just a easy to buy canning lime.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Baking soda is a fine alkalinity only supplement.

Limewater adds calcium and alkalinity in the same ratio they are used in the aquarium, and also boosts pH.

Both have uses.

 

[007Bond]

I read the thread. Question, are you adding lime to your ATO of new salt mixed water, or to new RO/DO water only? Thanks

 

[RocketEngineer]

I read the thread. Question, are you adding lime to your ATO of new salt mixed water, or to new RO/DO water only? Thanks

The water for top off should be RO/DI only. If you add any salt to it the amount of salt in the tank will be increasing while the water volume stays the same. An ATO adds water as the fresh water evaporates from the tank and by adding lime to the ATO water, the tank gets an addition of calcium and alkalinity at the same time. Only when you are doing a water change should you be adding salt water to the tank.

HTH,
RocketEngineer

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I don't literally 'drip'. I have the 1/2 inch line from a Majijet reduced to a 1/4 inch---I took one of the connectors for a 1/4 locline and stuck it inside the half inch tubing, then hose-clamped it in place. WOrks like a charm.

I have a fierce evap rate in my 54 gallon very packed lps reef: my sump is 30 gallons, and it's a downstairs sump, so the water comes barrielling into that tank pretty fast; ditto the skimmer is poised above the sump on lighting grid, and shoots water into it, so yes, my evap rate is pretty high.

My statement s by no means inclusive of all 50-75 g tanks, because every tank is individual as a snowflake, by reason of its locale, climate, equipment, etc, and whether you have central air etc. But an ATO limewater rig will sure give you a leg up on supplementation. The deal is, if you do this right, you can have supplementation for free---until you do reach the point where you need to bite the bullet and get a calcium reactor. I don't think I ever will, because of my set-up, but some might have to, who have something faster growing than euphyllia.

do you have a picture of how you reduced this sk8r? I would love to see it because I have the exact same set up as you do with the maxijet 1200. would the JBJ time go off? I am always afraid that if the water rate is too slow that it will trigger the safety timer and shut off the JBJ. As of right now my pump probably pumps RO/DI into the sump for around 5-7 seconds and shuts off. would that be ok with kalkwasser or should I reduce like you did?

 

[srusso]

Seems to be far more accurate when it comes to topping off, then any float switch/ pump ATO..

What are you comparing to? My float switch (Omega LV-1201) is very precise, with a 1/4" activation.

That said, precision is not my primary concern with a float valve. The concerns are addition rate and whether solids inside of it, which does happen over time using limewater, could possibly allow it to stick open.

I thought the same, that it would get clogged or stick open. So far so good... I thought about it a little, so long as I clean it once in a while. I think it should be ok.

 

[007Bond]

RE. I keep the water in my reservoir at 1.023 same as my main tank so as it needs water the ATO replaces it with the same sg. Am I doing this wrong? Thanks for any input.

 

[bamf25]

RE. I keep the water in my reservoir at 1.023 same as my main tank so as it needs water the ATO replaces it with the same sg. Am I doing this wrong? Thanks for any input.

Your ATO should be fresh water only!!! As the tank water evaporates the salt is left in the tank, ie the salinity goes up. If your are replacing this with more salt water your tank salinity will gradually rise.

As for limewater, how have people done with periodic two part dosing with kalk, or even kalk with automated two part dosing done in tanks 100g +?

 

[Sk8r]

How to reduce to 1/4inch---actually my lfs guy did the original, so credit to him, but you get a hose clamp---metal's fine, since it's in ro/di, not salt water---and a 1/4 inch locline 2 way connector, sort of like a hose barb for locline in function, meant to stick two loclines together. You stick the connector into the end of the half-inch hose, tighten the hose clamp about it so it won't pop out, and shove a piece of locline onto the exposed side of the connector: reduces it nicely for a Maxijet 1200 to push water into a regular-height tank, and do it very gradually. I've been waiting 2 years for that line to clog: I've worn out 3 impellers, but that line is still flowing nicely.
Kalk's supplying this nicely (54g) and popped heads are growing new bases quite nicely, so they're getting plenty of what they need. I fragged this thing out of one specimen I grew from 3 heads, and I've already taken 2 buckets of it to the lfs.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

How to reduce to 1/4inch---actually my lfs guy did the original, so credit to him, but you get a hose clamp---metal's fine, since it's in ro/di, not salt water---and a 1/4 inch locline 2 way connector, sort of like a hose barb for locline in function, meant to stick two loclines together. You stick the connector into the end of the half-inch hose, tighten the hose clamp about it so it won't pop out, and shove a piece of locline onto the exposed side of the connector: reduces it nicely for a Maxijet 1200 to push water into a regular-height tank, and do it very gradually. I've been waiting 2 years for that line to clog: I've worn out 3 impellers, but that line is still flowing nicely.
Kalk's supplying this nicely (54g) and popped heads are growing new bases quite nicely, so they're getting plenty of what they need. I fragged this thing out of one specimen I grew from 3 heads, and I've already taken 2 buckets of it to the lfs.

can you show me what piece of locline you're talking about? I'm not sure which piece it is. Thanks!

 

[Michael]

sk8r,

I currently have a tunze osmolator in a DIY acrylic cube that hold about 4.5 gallons of RODI. Using Tropic Marin Pro, I am always low on my PH level and my alk as well. I do not use a Calc reactor, thus I add TLF PH buffer into the ATO tank. After reading this, I feel that I might want to switch to kalk in the ATO rather than the PH buffer?

My current parms are: Ca 440, mag 1350, temp 80, Alk is between 8 and 9.6 (over the course of 2 months measurement).

kalkwasser will destroy your pump, I to have the tunze (fantastic by the way) I use a second resevoir when dosing, the tunze is in a frehwater resevoir and it pushes ro-di water into a second sealed resevoir which is saturated with kalk in ro-di, this way the tank gets the lime but the pump only sits in pure water.

 

[harber79]

Can you add baking soda to the lime water to help increase alk or does this need to be dosed separately?

 

[lordofthereef]

Two quick questions. Thought this was an appropriate place. Was planning on dripping limewater in my 29g using a tunze osmolator. Anyone see anything wrong with that? I was just planning on making a little stand for the pump out of eggcrate, this way it isn't on the bottom of the reservoir. Are people using anything to stir the water at all or do you just mix it once, let it settle, and let the ATO do its thing until it is time to fill the reservoir again?

 

[lordofthereef]

kalkwasser will destroy your pump, I to have the tunze (fantastic by the way) I use a second resevoir when dosing, the tunze is in a frehwater resevoir and it pushes ro-di water into a second sealed resevoir which is saturated with kalk in ro-di, this way the tank gets the lime but the pump only sits in pure water.

Guess I should have read this first, although I am not sure I understand how you have this set up. So you have the tunze in the straight RO water pumping via the tunze into a kalk saturated solution? How does the water saturated with kalk make it into the tank? Maybe some pics, if you could?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Started this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=19161607#post19161607 (info on my system) then got pointed to this thread and the RK article http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php.

I need to raise my pH from about 8.0-8.1 to 8.4-8.5 and keep it there to help with a battle against dinos. Tank is 120g mixed reef, Alk=8.5-9.0, Cal=420, Mag=1350 (all BRS 2 part) and I top off RO/DI about usually 1.5g/day.

The RK article mentioned that adding a quantity of 0.25% of your tank volume of saturated solution will raise pH 0.1 to 0.2. That's about what I want to do, but then I want to maintain it there. I currently plan on using a BRS 50ml/min doser on an digital timer so I can dose for 1 minute 5 times an hour. Will I have to use a saturated solution to keep the pH up, or should I start lower (1 tsp/gal, etc)?

I want to make sure I understand the "saturated solution" thing. If I've got this right, you can add a bunch (let's say a 100 tsp) of Mrs. Wages to a 5g bucket of RO/DI and let it settle, and that will be saturated and stay saturated. Then when it runs low, you just dump another 5g into the bucket, let is settle, and that will be saturated. This keeps going until you have gone through about 50g of water (100 tsp/50g=2 tsp/gal) at which point you would need to add more lime.

Do I understand this correctly? Not that I would necessarily do this, I just want to understand the mechanism.

 

[Sk8r]

That's about right. I use a 32 gallon trashcan and just dump in a couple of pounds of kalk every few months. I add fresh water far more often, of course.
Re the lifespan of pumps, it is abrasive and it does wear out pumps/impellers. I use fairly inexpensive Maxijet 1200's, which deliver a strong enough stream to lift a little water. You do not want a Niagara of kalkwasser coming into your tank. Use the 1/2 inch hose outlet of a Maxijet, insert a locline connector, hose-clamp it into stability, (metal is ok in a freshwater barrel, which kalk is) and let that tiny 1/4 inch line deliver your kalk over several minutes, v. a strong dollop of kalk all at once.

 

[stingythingy45]

I use an aqualifter,the pump last about a year before it gives up the ghost.
A 5 lb. BRS container of kalk has lasted me well over a year.One thing I'm going to do more often is clean out my 20 gallon rubbemaid top of barrel more often.
I had a plug up in the hose and when I unplugged it didn't realize how low my sump had gone down(75 gallon stock tank).Ended up with a calcium of 550 ppm and a DKH of 13.
Lost a couple SPS that were right in the return flow.

 

[DarrinSimon]

There's an inexpensive alternative to ATO systems. I use this. You manually adjust the drip - it takes some trial and error. I have an auto top of but I never set it up because I don't trust it -lol.

Heh, thats where I got the idea from. Got a 1 gallon tupperware jug, drilled a hole near the bottom about an inch or so up from the bottom. Forced airline tubing into hole and use one of those crimper thingies like you see in hospitals when people are hooked up to an IV.
! teaspoon of kalk per gallon and I drip twice a day, morning and evening. I am an MTO (manual top off!). Don't have corals, yet, but corraline is starting to come back strong. I raised my calcium from 360 to 400 ish by doing this so I have to drip plain RO water every third or fourth gallon or so I don't get it too high. PH is still at 7.8 in the AM, will have to check it later in the evening when the lights have been on a while.