Need help with kalk please

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by kss2801, Apr 13, 2011.

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  1. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    Ok, well it has been sitting for about 3.5 hrs now and it's still a bit cloudy. I'll wait a bit longer I guess.
     
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  3. NittyGritty

    NittyGritty Millepora

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    It will be a bit cloudy. I drip everyday now. But there should be a big difference from when you originally stirred it and now. it is not needed to wait past 2 hours. I mix mine around 9 and start the drip before bed. Normally around 11.
     
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  4. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    Good to know. Thanks.
    I just dosed some magnesium(epsom salts) though, so I think I'll wait until tmr to start the drip.
     
  5. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    So I started my drip this morning but I think I have it set too slow. About 1 drop every 3-4 seconds. It's been about 8 hrs and the level in the bottle has only slightly dropped. At this rate it will take about 3 days to drip 1 gallon of mix.
    I have an 80g display and 50g sump, so maybe 110g of water. This mix was 1tsp in a gallon of RO, what's a good drip rate?
    When I up it to 2tsp, what would be a good drip rate then?
     
  6. m2434

    m2434 Giant Squid

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    I get over 1.5 gallons of evaporation per day. So, I drip a bit faster; about 3 drops per second. This is fairly fast, but you can still see the drops. I've calculated at this rate, you can replace up to about 3.5 gallons per day IIRC. I have it set a bit faster than necessary though because I have my ato pump pluged into a pH controller, which shuts off the pump if the pH gets too high. At this rate, the local pH of my sump can get high quick actually. So, I would recommend slower on a gravity drip, but 1 or 2 drops per second should even be fine. There are a lot of variables though, such as sump through put and volume. Amont of pumps and mixing occurring in the sump etc...
     
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  7. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    Well I have a very low turnover in my sump because it's mainly just a fuge. It's also pretty big, 50g, most of that is water.
    I have it up to about 1 drop per second, I think that should be good for now.
    I have it dripping at the output of a waterfall style HOB power filter I have on my sump to hold chemipure, so it's getting mixed pretty well.
    I think at this rate the gallon of mix will be done well before a day though. Is this ok? or too quick?
    Thanks for all the help.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2011
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  9. Clonefarmer

    Clonefarmer Millepora

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    It's good to start off dripping slowly while testing. I try to drip just enough to keep Alk from dropping.
     
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  10. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    Sounds like a plan. I'll test after I drip two gallons of the solution, so probably tmr.
     
  11. kss2801

    kss2801 Montipora Capricornis

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    Ok, so I dripped two gallons, 1 was 1tsp kalk the other 2 tsp.
    I just tested my water and got the exact same readings;
    Ca - 340 ppm
    Alk- 5 dkh

    My Mg was 1200 before I dosed epsom salts, I dosed 500 g of epsom salts which was supposed to send my Mg to above 1300 ppm, I just tested and I got 1130 ppm.
    I'm really confused. What should I do?
     
  12. Clonefarmer

    Clonefarmer Millepora

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    The Kalk keeps the Calcium and Alkalinity levels from dropping, but it shouldn't raise them. I use a 2 part additive to raise the Calc and Alk to where they should be. At that point the Kalk drip is used only to maintain the levels.