Automated Kalwasser Dosing

[Jack20120]

I'm setting up an automated daily dose of saturated kalwasser solution and would like to get some feedback from those who already do this. I know people use it in their ATO. My evaporation rate is around 1800 ml/day. So maybe dose at 900 ml/day? I'd add automatic controls to kick off if the pH goes too high. FWIW, I'm running DI water from my DOS to a mixed vessel that overflows to my return pump charging tank.

 

[flyfisher2]

I Try to match my consumption to the T.
I keep my ATO on but it rarely if ever dispenses.
Keep in mind that evaporation varies by season.

 

[anthonymckay]

I dose based on my Alk uptake. I run an Alkatronic that's taking measurements every 4 hours. If I see my values are trending downwards after a few days, I increase my kalk dosing. If I see it trending upwards I decrease it. After some tweaking you'll find a happy spot that keeps it in a general desired window (for me anywhere between 8-8.5 is good. I make sure to keep it less than what my evaporation rate is, but that doesn't drive my dosing amount.

 

[flyfisher2]

I need to clarify my previous post.
Kalkawasser is not enough for my system so in addition I dose 2 part.
Any adjustments needed in order to maintain the Alkalinity I maintain is done with the 2 part.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm setting up an automated daily dose of saturated kalwasser solution and would like to get some feedback from those who already do this. I know people use it in their ATO. My evaporation rate is around 1800 ml/day. So maybe dose at 900 ml/day? I'd add automatic controls to kick off if the pH goes too high. FWIW, I'm running DI water from my DOS to a mixed vessel that overflows to my return pump charging tank.

Sounds like a fine plan to me. I'd personally set the pH limit at about pH 8.55.

What size aquarium?

In my tank, half of the evaporation would not have met alk and calcium demand, but by ATO replacing all evaporated water it did. You may need to up the daily amount, depending on the demand.

 

[arking_mark]

I'm my opinion, using at ATO with Kalkwasser is a recipe for disaster. Many aquarist have stories about accidentental overdosing using this method.

In my tank, I use a doser set to drip kalkwasser into the tank. With a slow drip, you get a very consistent pH boost. Many just run their drip at night to better level the pH swings.

My tank is typical for evaporation, with about 1 to 1.5% evaporation depending on the season. So I drip ~1% volume per day of Kalkwasser through the doser. This provides roughly 1dKH and a 0.1ph boost (more like 0.08).