adding calcium

[billy31422]

i have been adding calcium the hard way for a long time. that is a little at a time. i am setting up a drip with kent kalkwasser. i read the instructions and it all makes sense accept the part about how much to add. it says the drip should work for a week before refilling it. i put 2 gallons of water in the drip. i just dont know how much kalkwasser i should put in it. anybody have experience with this stuff?

[skennelly]

billy31422,

I dose Kalk also and this is my understanding. You can't really overdose how much Kalk you mix with your mix (drip) water. The mix water will become supersaturated and the remaining kalk will precipitate to the bottom. What you want to drip is the solution above the precipitate. The recommended way of adding it to your tank is by dripping it so that your ph doesn't drastically change I do about 1 drop every 2 - 3 seconds.

I add approximately 2 teaspoons of kalk to a gallon of water when I create a mix adding much more than that I believe is a waste of kalk because only so much will dissolve in the water.

others will probably chime in also.

[billy31422]

that answers a few questions. i only put in 1 tsp this time and it did just what u said some of it fell to the bottom and some is at the top. so does that mean it has enough in it? thanks skennelly

[Birdlady]

Yup, general guideline is 1 - 2 teaspoons per gallon of water.

Billy, could you please add your tank setup to the signature line in your profile, so when I look at your questions, I will see what size tank, filtration, types of animals, etc. It makes it a bit easier to tailor an answer when needed

Also, when Kalk mixes with CO2, (in regular air) is loses some calcium. I would recommend, a new mix at least once per week, preferrably more that that...every 3 days or so.

[skennelly]

Thanks BL, I did not know that. I usually go through mine in about 2 days so I change it anyways, but definitely good to know.