Kalkwasser - Educate me

[P-Nut]

I am not new to reefs, and I have had a reef tank for a while with constant levels of Clcium, Alk and Mag. (But I am new to Kalk and a clam only tank)

I am working on a clam tank that will be a top down view stile tank that will be connected to my main tank. Because the additional clams will start using more Calcium, I will need to keep and eye on all three elemnts.

Right now my calcium levels are constant, alk is good and magnesium is also good, and I dont add ANYTHING. (I ahve two big clams in the main tank)


1. since my levels are good and constant, can I jsut use kalwasser in my ATO to keep the levels constant once I build the new tank and start adding more clams? -- I am afraid to start using kalk too soon and mess up the levels.
2. Should I first add more clams and wait for calcium to drop, then bring it back up to were it needs to be and use kalwasser?
3. kalk will also help mantin my Alk. is that correct?


I didnt know if this belonged in the "advanced" forum or not. Mods, please move it if you believe it shouldnt be here.

 

[JohnK]

Kalk will directly supplement Ca, and it will indirectly supplement alk, so for all intensive purposes it is a balanced additive and should supplement both in the porportions that they are used.

Kalk does not add any mg, but mg is used along with Ca and alk but at a slower rate - so you will have to monitor and supplement mg seperately, but not super often. Check and correct monthly and it won't get far off.

There are a couple of cautions to consider when adding kalk via ATO;
1- Kalk is super good at clogging up pumps, valves, and just about anything else. Depending on your ATO system this may or may not be a major consideration. Forget about gravity dripping kalk through a mechanical float valve, it will clog up constantly. If you rely on a small pump that's controlled by a level sensor of some sort, expect that pump to need MUCH more frequent cleanings than it does with straight RO going through it. If you use a peristaltic pump (or most other kinds of dosing pump) it may work fine as is.

2- Without some sort of safeguard an ATO can and will overdose and potentially nuke a tank if the tank loses any significant and unusual amount of water (skimmer overflow, leak somewhere, a bunch of water being removed to bag frags without that water being replaced manually). Anything that causes the ATO to add a large amount of kalk at once can completely nuke a tank due to the super high PH. Safe guards to protect against this would be to have a secondary control of the kalk drip via PH controller or system controller, and or using a pump that is too slow to deliver a dangerous overdose.


In terms of bringing Kalk online, you can start with a very weak mix and gradually increase it as the tank starts to take up more Ca and alk.

HTH

 

[frank180reef]

Thanks John!

fwiw I do gravity feed kalkwaser, I mix a 5 gallon bucket and drip in it slowly ,
it does clog , but if I turn the knob all the way up it tends to flush it sufficient to start the drip again

in a way it isnt bad as I cant really OD

but when u drip Kalkwasser it is hard to really figure out how much kalk to add to match the daily consumption , I dose 2 part also

(with mag)

 

[JohnK]

Frank, clearly you are more patient than I am
Yrs ago I used to gravity drip through a kent float valve, I would never subject myself to that again...

I revise my statement to; "Forget about dripping kalk through a float valve UNLESS you're attentitive and patient enough to keep up with frequent clogging".

 

[mchartier]

I drip kalk with a 1.1ml dosing pump. I have it on my reefkeeper and run it right now for 1.5 minutes and the off for 4.5 minutes. I prefer the dosing pump due to having more control over how much is dosed at a time seeing it can raise your pH pretty quickly. I end up making a 5 gallon bucket of it every other week. I use the ESV powder, but you can also use pickling lime, I just never have luck finding it when I need it.

 

[frank180reef]

Frank, clearly you are more patient than I am
Yrs ago I used to gravity drip through a kent float valve, I would never subject myself to that again...

I revise my statement to; "Forget about dripping kalk through a float valve UNLESS you're attentitive and patient enough to keep up with frequent clogging".

Well declogging my kalk drips is one of my many hobbies lol

 

[newenglandreef]

I go through a Tunze ATO pump at least once every 6-8 months from Kalk. B at Unique Aquaria pumps from ATO into a second reservoir and into the sump--so he pushes the saturated solution through the reservoir to avoid having it seize up. Great idea I'll eventually implement.

 

[niftyjosh]

Well declogging my kalk drips is one of my many hobbies lol

Try cutting the end of the drip line in half about 2" up. Remove the top half and taper the end to a point.

I've only had one clog this past 6 months and I still think about it being clogged every morning.

 

[frank180reef]

thanks
I figured it clogged where the valve must pinches the hose, but the end does clog also

 

[niftyjosh]

It's seems the cut section of the line allows the entire line drain back to the pump so nothing remains to clog.

I'm using an aqualifter though not sure what your using.

 

[frank180reef]

no pump
it is gravity fed

lol I gave up on dosing kalk with aqualifters, I have too many in my basement that dont really work

 

[niftyjosh]

Eh you might want to give it a whirl anyways.

Aqualifters are pretty simple to take apart and fool around with the membrane that that actually does the pumping. I've had the same one for over 4 years and even had an incident where I sucked a buncha sand into it accidentally.

 

[dcforester1]

Unless you use a reactor, dont bother. I used it a couple years ago and stopped after I almost lost a tank. Im always adding something to my tank, because I get bored and I had stopped by another reefers house and he was telling me the "benefits" of using it. I set it up in my top off, and another friend told me I was nuts. Well I noticed my water level was low the last couple of weeks and the other night it was real low. Now my Liter Meter keeps it perfect so I didnt know what it could be. What was different HMMMM, It was KALK!!!!!. Low and behold my top off line was clogged, and then I looked at my APEX and my PH was going nuts. I didnt hear any alarms because I turned it off because I was sick of hearing it for low water. The moral of the story, it does work, but use it with caution.


GoodLuck Derek

 

[jt628]

Kalk will directly supplement Ca, and it will indirectly supplement alk, so for all intensive purposes it is a balanced additive and should supplement both in the porportions that they are used.

Kalk does not add any mg, but mg is used along with Ca and alk but at a slower rate - so you will have to monitor and supplement mg seperately, but not super often. Check and correct monthly and it won't get far off.

There are a couple of cautions to consider when adding kalk via ATO;
1- Kalk is super good at clogging up pumps, valves, and just about anything else. Depending on your ATO system this may or may not be a major consideration. Forget about gravity dripping kalk through a mechanical float valve, it will clog up constantly. If you rely on a small pump that's controlled by a level sensor of some sort, expect that pump to need MUCH more frequent cleanings than it does with straight RO going through it. If you use a peristaltic pump (or most other kinds of dosing pump) it may work fine as is.

2- Without some sort of safeguard an ATO can and will overdose and potentially nuke a tank if the tank loses any significant and unusual amount of water (skimmer overflow, leak somewhere, a bunch of water being removed to bag frags without that water being replaced manually). Anything that causes the ATO to add a large amount of kalk at once can completely nuke a tank due to the super high PH. Safe guards to protect against this would be to have a secondary control of the kalk drip via PH controller or system controller, and or using a pump that is too slow to deliver a dangerous overdose.


In terms of bringing Kalk online, you can start with a very weak mix and gradually increase it as the tank starts to take up more Ca and alk.

HTH

IMO Kalk is garbage, it lowers Alk like no other, however I dosed in conjunction with a Ca reactor with devastating results. So now I use the 3 part aqua vitro Along with the Ca reactor with favorable results. Keep in mind my system is 98% Stonies. IME, Kalk drops Alk like no other.

 

[JohnK]

Yes, if overdosed....

 

[jt628]

And I could be the one that committed the crime.

 

[P-Nut]

Would I be better off just using calcium, alk and mag supplements sseparately? Most of my tank is softies except for a couple of corals and the 2 clams. And pretty soon 3-4 more clams.

Also, thank you for your answers. J am a total noob when it comes to this.