Kalkwasser help needed

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by Ryland, Nov 4, 2011.

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  1. Ryland

    Ryland Stylophora

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    How much kalk do you add per gallon of ATO water?

    My ATO water has been mixed and sitting completely unstirred for 4 days. The water is still milky white. I use gravity to feed the water into my sump so there is no pump in the ato. Plastic float valve in the sump is almost fail safe so i love them.
     
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  3. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    over the years kalk has been used by just about everybody in the reef hobby, if they stay in it long enough, and the truth is only about a tsp will desolve in a gallon of water no matter how much you put in or stir so, they try chemicals such as vinegar to desolve it, i don't like vinegar except on my salads with a little olive oil, i'm not sure my fish and coral like salads so,i don't use it. so i put in 2 tsps of kalk per gallon and stir it the old fashion way with a wire whip, its like a little ritual,i get the ro water and put in the kalk give it a 2 minute lashing and put the top on the bucket, i come back a little later and give it all i can, it keeps me in shape thats for sure. the next day its ready for use, i put the bucket on a chair and siphon the liquid gold into another bucket and place a lid on it, i believe it should have a lid,air will cause the cal carbonate to fall outa solution thus thats my belief, kalk has never let me down it has been a good partner through the years:)
     
  4. Ryland

    Ryland Stylophora

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    BRS kalkwasser. I am fairly certain I am using too much after reading more. I am thinking I will cut it back to 1 tsp/gal or maybe a little less than that and see what happens.
     
  5. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    as to staying milky ??? the only thing i can think of then would be the pump you use to mix it. when i clean my pump i place them in a bucket one ata time with some C.L.R. cleaner and run them for a little while it causes the water to heat up quite a bit so the extra heat from the pump may cause a reaction to the kalk causing the milky water this is the only thing i can think of that may keep the water from clearing.
     
  6. Reeron

    Reeron Blue Ringed Angel

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    Here's an answer I gave to someone else on another thread. Rather than retype it, I'll re-post it:

    You should use 1.5 tsp kalkwasser per gallon if you are using 60ml per gallon of vinegar. 1-1.25 tsp per gallon if you are using 30-45ml per gallon. Up to 1 tsp per gallon if not using vinegar. If using vinegar, you should not add any water at all until after you've dissolved the kalwasser. 1 cup of vinegar for 5 gallons of water is about 45ml per gallon (236ml in a cup), so you are ok there but are starting a little on the high side. You may not need that much vinegar, or any vinegar at all, but you won't know until you've tried dripping the kalkwasser and then testing your parameters (to see if it's keeping up with demand). Always allow the kalkwasser mix to settle for about 24hrs before carefully removing the clear portion. The white stuff at the bottom is impurities that you don't want to add to your system.
     
  7. Ryland

    Ryland Stylophora

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    I havent used any vinegar. I think I jumped the gun and dosed too much kalk in my ato water. Ive read (cant remember where) that mixing kalk in a rubbermaid tub can cause it to remain cloudy for some reason. I am going to start a new mix today and mix only 5 gallons at a time. I will let it sit 24 hours before I do anything with it and see if it makes any difference. No powerhead this time. I believe I will cut it back to 4 tsp/5 gallons of RODI. Then adjust accordingly.
     
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  9. Ryland

    Ryland Stylophora

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    Thank you for your help. I am going to try this. I have a bucket that I got from buying reef salt that has an air tight lid. I will use this bucket to mix the solution and keep the lid on it. Will see how it comes out tomorrow. I hope it clears up. I am still worried though about the kalk percipitating upon contact of my tank water. Maybe reducing the dosage will solve this?
     
  10. Azazel

    Azazel Plankton

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    Kalk I have been using it properly and only had ph rise in a very minor way.

    1st don't mix it stir it (this helps to keep from getting too much co2 into mixture)and preferably in the container you will be drip doseing from or your ato container dose only what your Tank evaporates in a day
    2nd let it settle and only use the clear fluid inbeween the film on top and white stuff on bottom. Don't stir again!! The skin on top helps keep out co2 as well. There are kalk stir things you can buy to keep potency.
    3rd go slow less is more and bump up incromintaly

    It's good for a week

    4th don't take my word for it BRStv has whole video on this I recommend watching it.

    Key words BRSTV kalk
     
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