Kalwasser question

[minyee]

Hi Everyone-

I posted a couple of weeks ago about my hammer coral dying. Thanks to everyone here I was able to pinpoint the problem to my calcium & mg levels. I'm slowly using liquid calcium to bring my levels up since my salt (IO) doesn't seem to have enough.

A lot of people here recommended using kalk. As I understand it I can make up a week's worth (mixing it with my top off ro/di water) and just add it to my tank as I need to top off. I add about a gallons worth of topoff by hand per day. Is that all right? I read here that people use auto top offs and dosing systems to add kalk. Are there issues with adding too much at one time? Will my adding a gallon once a day at one time be a problem?

I don't really have room in my stand for a doser. I basically just have room for my sump and a 5 gallon bucket of topoff. I really don't want equipment out where it can be seen.

Thanks.

 

[Deanos]

What size tank?

 

[minyee]

It's a 90 gallon.

 

[Deanos]

I think 1 gallon of kalkwasser at one time will be detrimental to your livestock's health.

Here's a great article on kalkwasser: [SIZE=+1]What Your Grandmother Never
Told You About Lime[/SIZE]

 

[minyee]

Thanks for the quick answer and the great link. I guess a diy doser (searched for it where you sent me) as well as a shelf for it will need to go on the honey-do list Now I just have to sit down and figure out the math.

 

[GQ22]

the dyi doser is real easy. the trick is to get the valve that stops the flow to how you want it.

1) air line hosing one piece short
2) air line hosing one piece long. The long should be long enough to touch the bottom of the jug and extend out through a drilled hole in the cap to somewhere in the place you want to dose.

to make inserting the tubing easier into the drilled holes in the cap cut the hose in an angle so you make a pointy tip. this also allows for more space to suck in kalk water.

To drill the holes just use a drill and a drill bit the size of the air tubing.

good luck.

 

[bad coffee]

If you have the funds, get a dosing pump. I love my litermeter. The BEST thing I ever bought my reef. (next to water and salt.)

B

 

[HAVIC]

I just use of floatswitch and maxijet 600 pump. put pump in small rubbermaid garbage can, floatswitch in sump at desired water and when the water falls below the floatswitch it turns on the pump and pumps my kalk water in the tank. Will cost about $15-20 for maxijet 600 and $25 or so for a floatswitch. I got my floatswitch 4 years ago on ebay. It still works great.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

just as a precaution i no u said u had it 4 years but wat happens if that float switch ever got stuck in the on position.... that wouldnt be a good thing....