Kalkwasser
- Thread starter llowwelll
- Start date
Utterly amazing BReefCase, you know you shish on Chem. If this man doesn't have a PhD in Chem, hand it over.
Really though, thanks for the brush-up course and the bit about not adding the water to the acid (i never knew that???). Much appreciated.
DW302
Really though, thanks for the brush-up course and the bit about not adding the water to the acid (i never knew that???). Much appreciated.
DW302
Hi again,
This thread is just too cool.
I was doing some more reading when I happened upon a mention of adding baking soda? Does this sound right?
I believe they mentioned it was the same thing. Now, if I had the link I'd put it here, but my browsers history is just that, history!
Cheers!
This thread is just too cool.
I was doing some more reading when I happened upon a mention of adding baking soda? Does this sound right?
I believe they mentioned it was the same thing. Now, if I had the link I'd put it here, but my browsers history is just that, history!
Cheers!
Bob Gardner -- That should be OK. I can't see it hurting anything. At worst, the Kalk solution will be already saturated with Calcium and just won't pick up any more as it passes through the reactor.
esmithiii -- Most places on line that manufacture and sell graduated cylinders and other labware sell only in bulk to lab businesses. Indigo.com will sell single pieces to individuals, but they carry Bomex brand -- Commie Chinese stuff. Look for places that cater to the home-schooling crowd. They have quality stuff, better than what the public schools will buy. Try southerncientific.com -- they carry scientific labware made from low-extractable Borosilicate glass, like Pyrex brand, and will sell by the single piece.
esmithiii -- Most places on line that manufacture and sell graduated cylinders and other labware sell only in bulk to lab businesses. Indigo.com will sell single pieces to individuals, but they carry Bomex brand -- Commie Chinese stuff. Look for places that cater to the home-schooling crowd. They have quality stuff, better than what the public schools will buy. Try southerncientific.com -- they carry scientific labware made from low-extractable Borosilicate glass, like Pyrex brand, and will sell by the single piece.
BReefCase - The addition of top off (kalk) is - 1" in the sump. The sump is a 15 gallon tank that is partitioned at about half the tank. So I guess I'm adding about a quart of water at a time. It is pumped into the sump by a small rio pump. Am I adding it too quickly? Maybe I should dose smaller amounts a kalk. The tank is a 72 bow front. Thanks!
Yeah, if that's the same type of little Rio I used to have feeding a countercurrent protein skimmer, it pumps way too fast to be considered a Kalk-dripper. If you don't think the back-pressure will kill it, you might try putting a pinch-clamp of some sort on the feed line to slow down the volume.
Even with Vinegar, fast dumping of Kalk solution into the tank can cause precipitation and screw up the ionic balance of the Kalk.
Even with Vinegar, fast dumping of Kalk solution into the tank can cause precipitation and screw up the ionic balance of the Kalk.
Well I may just start dripping it again from a gallon jug. It's just such a pain to do it that way. My tank did great for the longest time until I went out of town and came back to find that my hang on overflow had lost it's siphon. This dumped all the water from the sump/plus what kalk water that was in the resovoir into the tank. This is when I noticed the alkalinity plumit to 1.5 meq. I finally buffed it back up again only for it to do it again. We're in the process of moving right now so I took advantage of the move and replaced the tank with a built in overflow. I just need to figure out how I want to add kalk to the new set up. Thanks for info.
This is a truly enlightening thread, and I appreciate all the good comments people have posted!
At the risk of bringing the whole discussion down an intellectual notch, let me ask a very basic question. I'm new to the kalkwasser dosing thing, and I only recently dosed my first time (inspired by this thread, in fact.) But how much should I use? Is this one of those things I just adjust by testing?
At the risk of bringing the whole discussion down an intellectual notch, let me ask a very basic question. I'm new to the kalkwasser dosing thing, and I only recently dosed my first time (inspired by this thread, in fact.) But how much should I use? Is this one of those things I just adjust by testing?
Not at all -- that's actually one of the thorniest questions about Kalk.
Some people use test kits (Salifert is a respected brand) to measure Calcium ion concentration weekly and try to keep it around 450 ppm. Others go by the appearance of their tank -- health and growth of livestock, Coraline algae, etc. Some people just drip a convenient amount reguilarly and hope for the best. They very often seem to get away with it, too.
I personally am very lucky, as I am able to do my own water testing without relying on commercial test kits. I test weekly until I know how much Kalk a tank needs to replace regular Calcium depletion, and then I get into a set routine for a while, testing monthly or even less frequently until I have reason to change for that tank -- added livestock, growth in the tank, or some unusual indication that the ion balance is getting out of whack.
Remember to check pH, Magnesium and Alkalinity as well as Calcium to check on your Kalk dripping progress -- it's all related.
Some people use test kits (Salifert is a respected brand) to measure Calcium ion concentration weekly and try to keep it around 450 ppm. Others go by the appearance of their tank -- health and growth of livestock, Coraline algae, etc. Some people just drip a convenient amount reguilarly and hope for the best. They very often seem to get away with it, too.
I personally am very lucky, as I am able to do my own water testing without relying on commercial test kits. I test weekly until I know how much Kalk a tank needs to replace regular Calcium depletion, and then I get into a set routine for a while, testing monthly or even less frequently until I have reason to change for that tank -- added livestock, growth in the tank, or some unusual indication that the ion balance is getting out of whack.
Remember to check pH, Magnesium and Alkalinity as well as Calcium to check on your Kalk dripping progress -- it's all related.
For all the folks who go the DIY route, how
do you connect the IV tube? I mean, I know
that I just drill a small hole into the
container, however, how do you seal it?
I guess that is my question. How do I seal the hose that I use in to the jug? I don't
want to have leak on me.
Thanks again.
Regards.
do you connect the IV tube? I mean, I know
that I just drill a small hole into the
container, however, how do you seal it?
I guess that is my question. How do I seal the hose that I use in to the jug? I don't
want to have leak on me.
Thanks again.
Regards.
To be honest, it really doesn't make a difference whether or not you mix the vinegar with pickling lime and then add that slurry to water or you add pickling lime to water and then add vinegar and dose the whole thing by dripping. Even when you make the paste what you are doing is neutralizing the acid with a base to form Ca^+2 (aq), acetate (CH3COO-), water, and hydroxide. What in essence you are doing is adding a weak acid (vinegar - CH3COOH) to a weak base (pickling lime, Ca(OH)2) in aqueous solution and neutralizing the excess acid with base to yield the above mentioned species.
In the end, all you are interested in is getting calcium ions, hydroxide ions, and acetate ions in solution and then dosing this into the tank via drip. Whether you do this with the slurry or adding vinegar to a large tub of RO/DI water and dosing it thru a nilsen reactor should not make a difference. The only thing I could even think of with the latter is that maybe bacteria in the RO/DI/vinegar tub oxidize the acetate prior to hitting the nilsen reactor.
FWIW, I've been using an 18 gal Sterlite tub filled with RO/DI water, excess pickling lime (12 tblsp total in the tub), adding 200 to 300 mL white distilled vinegar, and mixing that entire mixture with a powerhead 2x per day for 15 minutes at a time. I float a piece of styrofoam on the surface to minimize the air/liquid interface to minimize CaCO3 precipitation via CO2 exchange. I have been using this method to drip via dosing pump 4 liters of kalkwasser/acetate per night for 4 months now and have had very good success with it. Parameters are 420 ppm Ca, 10-11 dKH and they're steady. With this method, I only have to make kalkwasser 1x every 2 weeks (which is very nice). If you want to see the specifics of the setup, check in the Equipment section of my website http://liquidreef.freeservers.com/.
liquid
[ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: LiquidShaneo ]
In the end, all you are interested in is getting calcium ions, hydroxide ions, and acetate ions in solution and then dosing this into the tank via drip. Whether you do this with the slurry or adding vinegar to a large tub of RO/DI water and dosing it thru a nilsen reactor should not make a difference. The only thing I could even think of with the latter is that maybe bacteria in the RO/DI/vinegar tub oxidize the acetate prior to hitting the nilsen reactor.
FWIW, I've been using an 18 gal Sterlite tub filled with RO/DI water, excess pickling lime (12 tblsp total in the tub), adding 200 to 300 mL white distilled vinegar, and mixing that entire mixture with a powerhead 2x per day for 15 minutes at a time. I float a piece of styrofoam on the surface to minimize the air/liquid interface to minimize CaCO3 precipitation via CO2 exchange. I have been using this method to drip via dosing pump 4 liters of kalkwasser/acetate per night for 4 months now and have had very good success with it. Parameters are 420 ppm Ca, 10-11 dKH and they're steady. With this method, I only have to make kalkwasser 1x every 2 weeks (which is very nice). If you want to see the specifics of the setup, check in the Equipment section of my website http://liquidreef.freeservers.com/.
liquid
[ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: LiquidShaneo ]
Forgive me if I sound incredibly stupid right now, but does mean I don't need to add the calcium stuff by seachem? How about the carbonate raising stuff?
I am now seriously considering doing the kalk thing, but I'm not sure what it all equates.
Would someone clue me in as to what kalk does and what it doesn't?
Thanks ya'll
I am now seriously considering doing the kalk thing, but I'm not sure what it all equates.
Would someone clue me in as to what kalk does and what it doesn't?
Thanks ya'll
I have had low alk for a while now and am trying to rectify the problem. My alk was at 4 dKH and my pH 8.3.
I mixed 3 teaspoons of baking soda in a gallon of RO water and dripped it in my tank over 24 hours. The alk jumped up to 9 dKH and the pH dipped to 8.0
I decided to try the kalk + vinegar thing, but am getting a drop in alk.
I mixed 3 teaspoons of kalk powder in 2.5 gallons of RO water. To that I added 5 tablespoons of white vinegar. I let it sit for 14 hours then began dripping via my Kent Aquadoser at night.
The first night after vinegar+kalk my pH was at 8.2 and my alk dropped to 7 dkh
Second night: pH = 8.1 and alk = 6 dKH.
Any suggestions on how to stop the alk drop?
I mixed 3 teaspoons of baking soda in a gallon of RO water and dripped it in my tank over 24 hours. The alk jumped up to 9 dKH and the pH dipped to 8.0
I decided to try the kalk + vinegar thing, but am getting a drop in alk.
I mixed 3 teaspoons of kalk powder in 2.5 gallons of RO water. To that I added 5 tablespoons of white vinegar. I let it sit for 14 hours then began dripping via my Kent Aquadoser at night.
The first night after vinegar+kalk my pH was at 8.2 and my alk dropped to 7 dkh
Second night: pH = 8.1 and alk = 6 dKH.
Any suggestions on how to stop the alk drop?
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