kalk dosing options

I have been dosing for a while now, but I am thinking about going to a kalk dosing instead. I was thinking of using the Brightwell Kalk+2 even though it is more expensive it has the added magnesium which is nice. I cant decide which method will be more effective and easier. I know people have used the drip method which I believe I may do. I currently have about 1.2 gallons of evaporation per day. Could I set up an effective kalk drip and use it for an ATO also? would I just have to use a lesser concentration of kalk because so much water needs to be added? I was also thinking of using an aqualifter pump to control my top off but I believe that would add the kalk to much at once unless I time it for very small increments. What are y'alls opinions?

 

I like to drip the Kalk separate from the ATO. My demand is low and the amount dripped doesn't keep up with evaporation though.

Here is how I did it. Dripping Kalk For The First Time

 

Just started a similar thread today - I am going back to the Kent aquadose with float. Worked for me kalk wise and evap very well for years...

http://www.3reef.com/forums/filters-pumps-etc/recommended-auto-kalk-dosers-mixers-105210.html

 

i use the brightwells kalk+2 i dose it threw my ato. i stopped for a bit and tried dosing calcium . i found nothing works better for me than kalk for keeping things stable, without kalk i fight low ph.
and even at the price of the kalk+2 its cheaper than dosing liquids. and for me like i said more stable, its been keeping my ph at 8.2 steady, no matter when i look at the probe.

my tank is a 35 gallon, tank evaporation is about 1.5 gallons a day right now. i use 2 teaspoons kalk to 2.4 gallons of water. i use the jbj ato unit. the float is in my sump in the center section and water level hardly drops at all when it kicks in to bring the level back so its a very small amount of kalk it throws in. i have the kalk going into the section where my skimmer sits. so even that small amount is diluted more before it goes over the walls to get to the main pump which feeds the tank. you can use the aqualifter pump. but i found it to clog often. so i switched to a very low flow pump and have it dialed down to the slowest flow.
i have been reading about people adding a small amount of vinegar to their kalk. i wonder if that would keep the aqualifter from clogging? ...the vinegar is used for carbon ( i guess kind of like vodka dosing???) from what i understand, ( correct me if im wrong)
well what i have now is working and all is stable so i will leave it be.

oh aquacave has the kalk+2 in the economy size a bit cheaper that way.

im new to kalk myself. havent been using it for years. but i can see in a short time its a more stable route. but its best to read all you can about it, before you start. i had so many questions i read so much on it i took it all in and went the route i felt would work best for me, there are several ways to dispense it it seems. i still when i see kalk i look to see what people have to say.

 

Yes, it is a form of carbon dosing. I don't believe it will help keep the aqalift from clogging. It is typically used to increase the potency of limewater by reducing the pH. However, the pH is still high and there is more calcium-hydroxide in solution to clog things. So, I would guess it would be a wash.

It may help a little, if you didn't supersaturate it, but I don't think it would help that much, if any. Also, it is somewhat dangerous though because it is a carbon source, so you should not do unless you want to dose carbon and understand the process, risks, and warning signs.

As far as clogging, I found it was more the tubing that cloged rather than the pump. Running 50% vinager solution through the system once a month seemed sufficient to prevent clogging. Alternatively a more expensive parastalic pump could be used, this is probably much less likely to clog, although the tubing will still clog.

 

the tubing clogging was what was happening when i used the aqualifter also. i could roll the tubbing in my fingers and get it to break lose and it would work again. but it clogging became a pain. it was happening every 4 to 5 days. once it started

 

Are you flushing the line in between batches? I flush the drip line with RO water after a gallon or two of Kalk has been dripped. It helps keep the line from building up precipitation and clogging.

 

I use Kent Marine Float and mix Kalk in my top off water. But you need to add the float to your maintenance schedule as the slow drip of Kalk will seal over the valve eventually. Easy enough to clean, just something you don’t want to forget about.

The set up is dirt cheap and works very well.

 

no im not, but i can see how that would work well. i went the easy route i went with a pump that had a larger line. my goal is to make that tank run well without needing to much attention.

 

Using a bigger pump and adding quickly probably won't clog much and should be ok for small additions. However, if you add any significant amount, the raise in pH can be detrimental and even counter productive, as the elevated pH will drive precipitation. if you want to use saturated lime-water as your main calc/alk source, then dealing with the crud in the tubing is sort of a part of life. Some tubes do handle this better than others though, so you can play around with different tubing. More rigid is actually worse IMO. Softer airline tubing is easier to clean.