drip rate for kalk

[bleedingthought]

Well, I plan to have a whole fish room in the future. Right now, I have a 32 gallon brute trash can right next to my tank which holds my top off water. So I have space... Unsightly, still. But I do have it.

 

[Fastmarc]

I made up a drip system that used a float to match the evaporation rate. It worked well and required only occasional cleaning (pinching up the hose to loosen solids) to prevent clogging.
The only problem I found with it is that whenever the evaporation rate was low, it could not keep up with the calcium demand.
I have since been convinced by Anthony Calfo to try the slurry method and have not looked back. By far a better method.

 

[bleedingthought]

I remember the slurry method vaguely. How does it work again?

 

[Anonymous]

I recommend caution with the slurry method as there are a couple, very devistating, problems that can occur if no done correctly. The method works great and you can get more Calcium and Carbonate in the water than just replacing evap but:

1 - It rapidly raises PH. If your PH isn't already high then it's probably not going to be a problem. If your PH is already above 8.4 then don't dose this way. If you get PH too high too rapidly then you can initiate a precipitation event. This will have the opposite of the desired effect.

2 - Lime particles are toxic before they dissolve. If the particulates settle on corals or pass through fish gills it will cause some damage, especially if the coral decides to eat to particle.

I would recommend against the slurry method unless you are not able to maintain Calcium and Alkalinity with just topoff.

 

[bleedingthought]

Oh ok, so no ATO with kalk water?

How much space do you have by the sump? There is a way to auto dose safely but it takes some rigging.

How does this work, Guy?

 

[Fastmarc]

I find my experience with the slurry method a lot more safer than Guy's experience.
I was actually convinced to try it by Anthony Calfo who has been using this method for years.
As for avoiding raising the ph too much? I dose it when my ph is lowest. With proper dosing a raise of 0.2 is acceptable, though with my experience, if it goes a little higher, no harm is done. It just fall's back to where it usually does before the lights come back on.
As for the particles? From my years of battling aiptasia, I can't tell you how much time kalk paste has fallen onto coral in my tank and it has no effect on them. My inquisitive fish eats it all the time. Again no harm.

Again, this is just my experience. You can visit Calfo's website or forum to find info and it is detailed in his book on coral propagation.

I still use my DYI doser when I travel, but I find with this method I can find out the amount of calcium I need to replace and dose accordingly. A lot easier and efficient.

Again, to each their own.

LOL... this is actually the second site I end up explaining this method today. I need to do some work.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh ok, so no ATO with kalk water?

How much space do you have by the sump? There is a way to auto dose safely but it takes some rigging.

How does this work, Guy?

Add a container between the RO reservoir & the Sump. I'll call this between container the reactor. The float goes in the reactor container to control water from the RO to the reactor. An airline siphon or direct connection goes from the reactor to the sump. This siphon needs to be restricted so that it is not able to add a large amount of limewater to the sump. The amount is, of course, dependent on the size of the system. If you evap a gallon a day then the siphon should probably be limited to a 2 - 4 gallon a day drip rate. The water level in the reactor should be set (float valve) to whatever level you want to maintain in the sump. In reality the sump will probably stay a little below this level because of the drip rate from the reactor.

How it works. As the water in the system evaporates water from the reactor will trickle into the sump because of the siphon. The lower the sump level the faster the siphon from the reactor. As the water level in the reactor drops the float opens and lets in more RO.

Lime is added the the reactor occationally to replace what had dissolved. I stir mine once a week when I add new lime, this has kept to limewater saturated for me. I keep it covered and I clean it out completely once a month to remove accumulated impurities from the lime. I also flush the line to the sump once a week with pure vinegar.

If you wanted to use a lower dosage than saturated limewater just measure out the daily dose and dump it in the reactor.

 

[Anonymous]

I find my experience with the slurry method a lot more safer than Guy's experience.

The method you outlined is safe if done properly. I just believe that someone new to Calcium hydroxide should be informed of possible downsides as well as the benefits. It is dangerous stuff if you don't know what not to do. It has a PH above 12 and will turn the fat in your skin to soap in a matter of minutes. I think that this kind of substance should be respected.

Just my $0.02

 

[Fastmarc]

The method you outlined is safe if done properly. I just believe that someone new to Calcium hydroxide should be informed of possible downsides as well as the benefits. It is dangerous stuff if you don't know what not to do.

True. No argument here.
A read of the warning label would be wise when dealing with any chemical.

 

[bleedingthought]

Oh ok, so no ATO with kalk water?

How much space do you have by the sump? There is a way to auto dose safely but it takes some rigging.

How does this work, Guy?

Add a container between the RO reservoir & the Sump. I'll call this between container the reactor. The float goes in the reactor container to control water from the RO to the reactor. An airline siphon or direct connection goes from the reactor to the sump. This siphon needs to be restricted so that it is not able to add a large amount of limewater to the sump. The amount is, of course, dependent on the size of the system. If you evap a gallon a day then the siphon should probably be limited to a 2 - 4 gallon a day drip rate. The water level in the reactor should be set (float valve) to whatever level you want to maintain in the sump. In reality the sump will probably stay a little below this level because of the drip rate from the reactor.

How it works. As the water in the system evaporates water from the reactor will trickle into the sump because of the siphon. The lower the sump level the faster the siphon from the reactor. As the water level in the reactor drops the float opens and lets in more RO.

Lime is added the the reactor occationally to replace what had dissolved. I stir mine once a week when I add new lime, this has kept to limewater saturated for me. I keep it covered and I clean it out completely once a month to remove accumulated impurities from the lime. I also flush the line to the sump once a week with pure vinegar.

If you wanted to use a lower dosage than saturated limewater just measure out the daily dose and dump it in the reactor.

And airline that goes over the top of the container (a trash can, for example) and back down into the sump would work? How would you set a drip rate with a siphon?

 

[saltank]

FWIW I've been dripping Kalk for about a year now, a very slow constant drip from a 3gal bucket. I also constantly drip fresh RO/DI from a 5gal container modified to work like the Kent dosers. A simple valve attachment from home depot installed near the bottom of the container with airline tubing attached to it and an airflow restrictor to control the pace of the drip.

This setup seems to work really well as I can drip the kalk at whatever rate is necessary and make up for additional evap by the freshwater drip line.

I do have to clean off the end of the kalk drip line occasionally and adjust because it does clog up, but it does still provide a contant supply. I use 3-4 teaspoons to about 2 1/2 gal fresh water for my mixture. Less than that and it was no longer maintaining my alk level. I did however start off using about 1/2 tsp per gallon of water and increased from there.

Hope that helps, good luck!