Kalk drip questions...

[MandarinFish]

I bought a container with a nozzle on the bottom to release the kalk water (think high-end square water jug essentially, with nozzle on bottom).

I ordered an (external) pinch-valve for tubing from Marine Depot.

My thoughts - close nozzle, put kalk and RODI water in container, run powerhead on timer, open nozzle to drip slowly at night.

Questions -

1) do I add vinegar to the mix? The nozzle is at the bottom and I don't want a sediment build-up down there where the mix comes from. If so, what is the best vinegar and how much (I know this has been covered, but soliciting all input here - I want to do it right).

2) DO I run the powerhead 24/7 to keep the mix really fluid, kalk/Nilsen reactor style?

3) Do I drip 24/7 or just night time?

 

[golfish]

1) do you need to add vinegar?

2) I have ran types of kalk reactors. I only mix it for 15 minutes six times a day.

3) I added it 24/7 .......refer to #1

 

[ZigZagZombie]

I don't use vinegar. I have a 5gal jug with the drip line about an inch from the bottom. Add the kalk, put the cap on, and then shake it real good. Let it sit overnight...and then drip it real slow. I don't use a powerhead either. It seems our setup is about the same. I drip 24/7.....for water top off. Iv'e never had a problem doing it this way.

 

[Anonymous]

I do it the same way Zombie does, no vinegar. I have a rubbermaid type container that I poked a hole in about an inch, inch and a half from the bottom. I got a nurse friend to get me an IV line. I cut the line to length, turned the roller around and poked the part that would hook up to the needle into the container.

It's been like that for about a year and a half and I've never had a problem. I refill it daily and rinse it out letting clear water run through the hose once a week or so.

And it cost me about $4.00.

 

[ChrisRD]

1) do I add vinegar to the mix?

I wouldn't, at least not initially. I experimented with vinegar for a while and eventually gave up on it. I wasn't convinced that it was providing any significant benefits in my case (I tracked my Ca/Alk before/during/after I tried it). It didn't eliminate settlement in the mixing container either (that seemed to be the reason you wanted to use it). The biggest noticeable effects I got from using it was a significant lowering of tank pH and a weird algae growth.

If you have a problem with excessively high pH after you start dripping kalk, then I'd consider vinegar. If you do use it, you want the white, distilled stuff. I think it's usually 5% acidity.

BTW, check out this article by Craig Bingman.

2) DO I run the powerhead 24/7 to keep the mix really fluid, kalk/Nilsen reactor style?

I only run the mixing powerhead on my kalk reactor for 1 minute 6X a day. Mixing 24/7 would never give the excess kalk time to settle out which means you'd be dosing solids to your tank.

3) Do I drip 24/7 or just night time?

If you don't have a big pH swing in your system dripping 24/7 that works. If you have a big pH spike during the photoperiod doing it that way, you might want to try dripping at night to help minimize that effect.

 

[Mogo]

I started using vinegar recently, and honestly can't tell if it's making any difference at all.

 

[danmhippo]

Mandarinfish, you said the nozzle is at the bottom? Is it low enough that it will drain all undissolved kalk down the tube?

 

[MandarinFish]

Good questions and comments.

The drain is about 1/2" up from the bottom, so it won't drop kalk silt into the tank. I checked that last night. It should be high enough.

But I also want to minimize kalk silt generally,which is why I want to really mix it up with a powerhead and vinegar if necessary. I don't have the cash nor time nor even cabinet space (I don't think) to do a kalkreactor, which is why I want to drip if I can.

If nothing else, I want to start with the drip, then work up to the rest. I have used B-Ionic, but it is an expensive pain in the arse IMO.

Do I need to make sure the powerhead isn't running while I drip? Would that result in disaster, even on a slow drip?

 

[danmhippo]

You should allow at least an hour of stillness before you start dripping. I would not attempt getting kalk powder into my tank, and I hope you won't either.... 8O

Usually, the kalk reactor are air sealed to minimize CO2 impact on saturated kalk solution. You may have to do something about that for your DIY reservoir too. I have seen people cut up styrofoam sheets to cover up as much surface area as possible.

 

[MandarinFish]

Cool, Mr. Jimmy.

The container I bought is a square h2o jug with a nozzle.

It has a top that seals.

Maybe I should just run a powerhead in it for a while when I refill it, then wait the hour, then turn the drip back on right?

This will have 2 valves - one on the jug itself, and a pinch valve that I bought that goes on the outside of the tubing.

Any clever ways to use thise I haven't mentioned? I'm always looking for better ideas since I'm still relatively new to this (what other hobbies can you do for nearly 2 years and still hardly know anything about?).

 

[smokin reefer]

The biggest noticeable effects I got from using it was a significant lowering of tank pH and a weird algae growth.

Wolfman, can you discribe the weird algea growth in your tank. I may have the same thing in mine. And have tried everything to get rid of it. Thanks.

 

[Marcosreef]

You should not add vinegar unless you absolutely must. It will disolve any impurities and phosphates that are present in the kalk and source water. (Another reason not to add cloudy kalk, but let it settle out first).

Marco

 

[ChrisRD]

Wolfman, can you discribe the weird algea growth in your tank. I may have the same thing in mine. And have tried everything to get rid of it. Thanks.

Looks like cotton. In the refugium (under fluorescent lighting) it went wild overgrowing a lot of the caulerpa. In the fuge it's a dark pink/red color. Oddly enough in the main tank (halide lighting) I've never seen a trace of it.

Once I started using my kalk reactor tank pH starting running a bit high. I decided to try some vinegar in the supply reservoir to help control pH in the tank. This did have the desired effect of lowering pH in the tank, however, I developed the same "cotton' algae in the supply reservoir.

Since the reservoir is covered (and not lit), this stuff developed in almost total darkness. Without lighting it was white in color, but definitely looked like the same exact stuff.

I stopped using vinegar, cleaned out my reservoir, and it has never come back since. The stuff in the fuge is hanging on, but I plan on ripping it all out (along with the caulerpa) when I switch to Chaetomorpha.

HTH

 

[smokin reefer]

Wolfman, that is the same thing I have in my sump. It does not grow in the main tank just the sump. No lights their either. I am cutting out the vinegar tonight. Going to do a 25% water change this weekend and see if the stuff comes back. Hopefully it doesn't. I sometimes get cloudy water that I think is from the vinegar. Man, its finally good to here someone has had to deal with this before. Thanks for the help. Going to start a new thread on this subject. 8)