Opinions on this Kalk dosing method?

[Anonymous]

Since I cannot "Drip" kalk with out it constantly clogging after an hour I stopped using it.

Now that my phosphates are high I am starting to use Kalk again along with water changes and phosphate sponges.

What are your opinions on mixing a 5 gallon bucket with 5 gallons RO/DI/DI and 10 tsp of kalk. Letting it sit over night then taking a cup of the clear solution and dumping it into the sump 5 times a day?
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Mercedes Ponton

 

[tangir1]

It is going to be laborous if you need to remember to do it 5X a day... heck! I can't even remember to eat 3X a day when I am busy with things!

Furthermore, when you pour a cup of kalk into the sump, it may came out of the solution due to the fact that too much was added at once...

IMO, you need to find out why your drip method get clogged so often... the end of the drip tubing does not touch the saltwater, does it?

 

[free_loader]

it's not recommended as it can cause ph spikes, and could also cause your calcium to precipitate out... .. however with a large enough tank it could be done ..but still isn't a wise idea .. take some time and read this thread... it is probably one of the best written about kaulkwasser
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1803

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't see any PH spikes.

I have tried many different methods of dripping Kalk and all have failed.

I tried the Kent Aquadoser - no luck.

I tried a 1 gallon container with the drip line (air line) placed 1 inch from the bottom and a air valve at the end of the drip hose.

I have tried pre mixing the Kalk in a 5 gallon bucket with a valve about 1.5 inch above the bottom emptying the clear (somewhat) into the gallon container and it still clogs after a few hours where I have to open it all the way and reset it constanttly.

I have tried another 1 gallon container with a 3/8 hard tubing with a guest shut off valve at the end and that clogs the same.

I have also tried submerging the end of the line under the water and the same happens.
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Immune Disorders Forum

 

[free_loader]

do you know where it is clogging? or what is clogging it? the only thing I can think of that would clog it would be the junk that settles at the bottom.. my guess is that the problem isn't with what you are using to drip it .. but rather with the kalk solution that you are using. I highly recommend using the method described by breefcase in the link I posted earlier .. by using the vinegar to dissolve the lime first, there seems to be allot less junk floating around in the water to clog the lines..

Or if you decide to use your method, do it when you are able to monitor the tank though the whole process .. and keep a close eye on water parameters, as well as the behavior of the animals in your tank ..
hell if you tank is over 125 gallons I would probably just siphon the kalk directly into the tank/sump using airline tubing .. it faster than dripping ... but should be slow enough to not have any major problems .. I do this from time to time into my 55gallon except I use micro tubing and just tie a loose knot in the end to restrict the flow .. again faster than dripping .. but so far no problems

but regardless of how you decide to add it to your tank I would stick with this solution --15ml vinegar to 1/2 teaspoon kalk per liter of ro/di water-- doing it this way seems to make a much cleaner kalk solution and seems to work well in my tank

but these are just my opinions .. I'm sure someone else will have a better one

 

[Anonymous]

It clogs at the end where I am restricting the flow on the valve. It builds up with what looks like calcium deposits.

Another question while at it, Will Kalk raise the calcium levels to over 400?

Will it keep the Alk between 10-12 DKH?
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college grants

 

[tangir1]

The valve is the problem... did you try a bubing clamp that squeeze the tubing for flow controll?

Kalk can get the ca level way above 400. What limits it, is the amount of evaporation (the amount you can add by top offs).

The alk. issue is less straight forward. But I feel it is suffice to say that it have no problem getting between 10 and 12.

 

[Anonymous]

I evaporate at least 1-2 gallons a day on my 58.

The Kent Aquadoser has the squeeze clamp and that clogged as well.
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debt advice

 

[kleinfreak]

I'm having a somewhat similar problem myself. Kent Aquadoser as well. It happens about once every 1-2 days. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. I can't afford a nice doser right now, so I've just been dealing with it. ohh and thank god your evaping 1-2 gallons a day, I thought it was just me and I had something all wrong.


tangir1,
could you elaborate on the bubing clamp? (assume you mean tubing clamp) Is that the roller style?

 

[tangir1]

bad typist... sorry. It is tubing clamp. There are many styles, but the main thing is that it deforms the tubing and restrict the flow.

When I dosed kalk a while back, I used to hang the doser way up high, and have the valve/clamp way down on the bottom. The hydrostatic pressure of this arrangement might had helped the clogging a little... but it still need to be cleaned once a while. The down side is that it is a real PITA to clean the long tubing.

 

[ChrisRD]

You can use this vacuum pump in combination with a digital appliance timer ($20 at your local home improvement or hardware store) to automate kalkwasser topoff.

The digital timers are accurate down to the minute and allow you to dispense multiple times per day so you can get exactly the quantity you want, when you want it. It's a good idea to dose kalkwasser at night to help keep pH levels more uniform throughout a 24 hour period.

The vacuum pump basically creates a fast drip - much slower than small powerheads and such, and without the use of any valves/restrictors so there's nothing to clog, just an open line.

Basically for under $40 you have a make-shift dosing pump...

 

[PDD]

Rob,

An inexpensive and easy way to drip kalk, that I have found, is using a small power head and an electronic timer from Home Depot. Total cost +/- $35.00. I hook the small tubing into the venturi hole in the power head and cap off the main power head output. Then have the timer do its thing. I use a small valve at the end of the tubing to control the drip. I have been doing this for months and it has not clogged. The pressure of the pump keeps things moving right along.

HTH.

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Any other ideas before I spend $600 on a Kalk reactor and pump?
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Eating Disorders Forum

 

[ChrisRD]

Any other ideas before I spend $600 on a Kalk reactor and pump?

Well, it's your call, but that's totally unnecessary...

Here's one of the digital timers I use for my top-off system. It allows up to 14 separate doses a day. I got it at Lowe's for $18. This combined with a small powerhead or that vacuum pump I mentioned above should do the trick.

http://www.intermatic.com/?action=prod&pid=203

If you're interested in further automating things with a kalkreactor do a search in the DIY forum. They're very cheap and easy to build out of PVC.

HTH