Kalkwasser info

Can anyone direct me to a link or site to learn more about dosing Kalkwasser? I have been thinking about trying it out. I don't have problems with my setup, I'm just wanting to try something new to pickup some knowledge. I DIY'd a top off that drips RO water into my sump and keeps my salinity consistant. Would adding Kalkwasser to this RO water be my ideal way to dose?? This drip is very consistant and runs 24/7. The water comes from a holding tank that has a pump to keep the water recirculating. This would also stir up the Kalkwasser. What do you all think?? Thanks

 

Why would you want to be dosing Kalkwasser in a 24 gal tank..??
What is your Cal. now..??

Do you have ALOT of corals that eat-up Cal..?
Kalkwasser, is German for Lime Water.. Used to keep your Cal. at 440.
Once you get it to 440.. But not to be used to raise it ..
Do a search on Lime Water.... Sometimes less is better..
I'm sure someone can give you better info then I have..
Keep things as simple as you can..

Good Luck, Larry

 

I do dose pretty heavy. I use ESV B-Ionic 2 part system. I am well over their recommended dosage. Lately my calcium is between 400-420, my alk at 4 meq/L, mag at 1350-1400.
I'm stocked somewhat heavy mostly LPS and a couple SPS, some polyps an mushrooms.
I was actually thinking the dosing kalkwasser would make it easier for me. lets just say I'm at the point were I would want to give a calcium reactor a try, but Kalkwasser is a much cheaper investment.
My system is actually about 40 gallons counting the sump and refugium. You say its too small to dose Kalkwasser??

 

I use a kalk reactor for all of my top off water,and have been very happy with the results,higher more stable ph,much less dosing,precipitates phosphates,better skimming to name a few.I don't think 40 gals is too small to dose kalk if you have to dose 2 part alot to keep up,What is your evap rate?You are also going to want to keep a close eye on your ph as kalk can raise it quite a bit.

 

I use a little over a gallon a week of RO water for evap. My PH is around 8.1-8.3, and I haven't seen phosphates for 2 years. I do dose PH though, so if I started kalk, I should probably stop the PH dosing, and keep an eye on it, along with the other parameters.
I'm thinking up serveral questions about using Kalkwasser that I can't seem to find answers on. Maybe I'll just ask them here..

1. Is it ok to have the kalkwasser always recirculating in my ATO holding tank? From what I've read, it seems like people add 1tsp per gal. of RO, mix until it is no longer cloudy, then dose. The pump in my ATO runs 24/7 circulating the holding tank water while slowly dripping RO into my sump.
2. The holding tank is not air tight. Will that effect the Kalkwasser in it since it will take days to use 1 gal of kalk water??
3. Normally, my ATO holding tank water runs down to 25% capacity before I refill it. Is it ok to add on a fresh mix of kalk water to the week old Kalk water that is already in the holding tank?? I don't like to run my ATO tank until its empty.
4. I would NOT be using a Kalk Reactor. I would just premixing in a 1gal. jug and pouring the mix into my ATO tank. Would that be the best way to mix??
Thanks

 

I am by no means an expert so anyone else feel free to chime in if they disagree.

1. Is it ok to have the kalkwasser always recirculating in my ATO holding tank? From what I've read, it seems like people add 1tsp per gal. of RO, mix until it is no longer cloudy, then dose. The pump in my ATO runs 24/7 circulating the holding tank water while slowly dripping RO into my sump.
The best way is to mix it up in a seperate container and let it sit until the top layer is clear this is what you want to use to dose in your ato.
2. The holding tank is not air tight. Will that effect the Kalkwasser in it since it will take days to use 1 gal of kalk water??
One gallon a week is not very much evap imo maybe i am just used to 2.5 gals a day,the kalk will lose potency being exposed to air there are some good detailed articles on the web on this subject.
3. Normally, my ATO holding tank water runs down to 25% capacity before I refill it. Is it ok to add on a fresh mix of kalk water to the week old Kalk water that is already in the holding tank?? I don't like to run my ATO tank until its empty.
I don't see why not as the new kalk would help offset the decreased potency of the old
4. I would NOT be using a Kalk Reactor. I would just premixing in a 1gal. jug and pouring the mix into my ATO tank. Would that be the best way to mix??
Thanks[/quote]
just to be clear your ato is just a drip into your sump and the pump is just for circulation not for actually adding water.i would probably do away with the circ pump to lessen the amount of air being introduced into the mix

 

Thanks for the info bwalker. Just to clear up my ATO. The pump actually runs the drip. I fabricated a fitting on the end of the pump that pushes water through the silicon line the goes to the sump. The rest of the water that is being pumped goes out the other end of the fitting. Basically, I'm getting about 1 drip per 4-5 seconds to my sump, while the rest of the water the pump is pushing stays in the holding tank recirculating 24/7.

If the potency of the kalk mix decreases, I don't think it would be a big problem throwing away unused kalk water, and starting over with a new mix in the holding tank like once or twice a month.

I just thought of another question. Does the potency really matter? I will most likely still have to dose my Alk and Cal suppelment while using Kalkwasser. Even being less potent, I can just adjust the amount of dosing from my other supplement, right?? ................. That seems like it could be a pain though?? I dont know.. I should check to see the potency change, huh?

 

The potency will matter because you will need to vary the amount of your other dosing depending how much lime you have dissolved, but as long as you test before you dose it won't matter, you just make up whatever the kalkwasser doesn't do with 2part or whatever.

Here's probably more info than you want to know, good info though.
What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

After reading the artical, it seems like I shouldn't have a problem with my setup. The artical said that there is a significant loss in conductivity if the holding tank is aerated. My setup pretty much just circulates the water (air doesn't get mixed in by the submerged pump). After reading the artical, I also noticed that they mentioned not using what gets left at the bottom of the Kalkwasser mixing tank. I guess I can avoid this by mixing the Kalkwasser in a seperate 1 gallon jug by hand, and only pouring the dissolved kalkwasser into my ATO holding tank, leaving behind the undissolved particals in the mixing jug.
Does that sound like a good deal??
How do most people who use Kalkwasser for their top off do it without a reactor??

 

As for the amount of potency that will decrease, I'll just have to do many tests when I start using Kalkwasser to see what happens. And like you said, I'll just have to adjust the dosing amounts of my 2-parts supplement anyway..