how to use a kalk stirrer properly

[swissgaurd]

ive got a kalk stirrer hooked up to water top up.i have the stirrer on a timer that turns it on every 2 yours and stirs for 10 mins at a time.
should i leave it turned on all the time.

vic

 

[Jcr's Reef]

Is it hooked up to your ATO? Just curious because I have been thinking of doing the same

 

[Paul_N]

It will depend on your calcium demands and also your parameters. I dose 2part but also dose kalk just in the evening. Some people (including myself) dose when the lights go out to counter the drop in PH. Some people run it more often if it is your only source of dosing calcium besides water changes.

 

[swissgaurd]

Is it hooked up to your ATO? Just curious because I have been thinking of doing the same

yes its hooked up to a tunze

 

[Captain Nemo]

Personally, I would leave it on the schedule you have or switch it to every hour. I dont think you need to use it continuously....IMO

 

[Paul_N]

Oh where you asking if you should leave the stirrer turned on all the time? If so, then no.

 

[swissgaurd]

It will depend on your calcium demands and also your parameters. I dose 2part but also dose kalk just in the evening. Some people (including myself) dose when the lights go out to counter the drop in PH. Some people run it more often if it is your only source of dosing calcium besides water changes.

i also use a calcium reactor
my ph does drop.
i was always under the impression that you should use the clear liquid and not the cloud.

for some reason and i cant figure it out is my ph drops from 8.0 to 7.6 at night im adding 4 table spoons every 2 weeks to the reactor.
if i keep it stirring all the time my skimmer goes nuts.

 

[Viva'sReef]

Depends on how much water evaporates your system, and how much kalk water your Kalk stirrer will hold.
My system was mixing every 12 hours for 10 minutes at a time.
My older GEO kalk stirrer is rather large and holds a few gallons for water.
Even if my topoff system called for water, and it happened to be stirring at the time, there was easily enough clear saturated kalk water to topoff without getting into the cloudy mix lower in the chamber.
I would not mix the Kalk all the time....there is no reason for it, and its alot of stress on the mixing pump for no reason.

Also I never really measured out such small amounts of kalk, I usually would put about 2 cups of Kalk in the chamber at a time. Less filling the reactor with kalk

 

[swissgaurd]

Depends on how much water evaporates your system, and how much kalk water your Kalk stirrer will hold.
My system was mixing every 12 hours for 10 minutes at a time.
My older GEO kalk stirrer is rather large and holds a few gallons for water.
Even if my topoff system called for water, and it happened to be stirring at the time, there was easily enough clear saturated kalk water to topoff without getting into the cloudy mix lower in the chamber.
I would not mix the Kalk all the time....there is no reason for it, and its alot of stress on the mixing pump for no reason.

Also I never really measured out such small amounts of kalk, I usually would put about 2 cups of Kalk in the chamber at a time. Less filling the reactor with kalk

maybe im not using enough kalk
its a MRC...18" tall 6" diameter
its a magnetic stirrer.
i use approx 3 litres per day to evapuration

 

[VegasRick]

Generally there are 2 different reasons for low pH in the aquarium. Build up of co2 (as carbolic acid) and build up of decaying organics. As bacteria metabolizes decaying organics different acids are released.
CO2 is released by algae at night through respiration and algae use co2 during daylight hours. This is usually the cause of night time lows and daytime highs. Increasing the surface movement and other forms of aeration like a powerful skimmer help remove the co2 from the tank. Some run a refugium on an opposite lighting schedule.

Its always best to use the clear liquid. The biggest problem with using the sludge is the build up of calcium carb on equipment. The high ph from the sludge increases calcification rates and tends to dramatically increase build up on pumps heaters and plug up small lines. I can't remember whether its from high flow or higher temperatures, but one or both of those also play a factor in it/

 

[VegasRick]

maybe im not using enough kalk
its a MRC...18" tall 6" diameter
its a magnetic stirrer.
i use approx 3 litres per day to evapuration

I seem to remember the recommendation to be 3 tablespoons per gallon for full saturation. A ph meter would be the best way to tell, fully saturated is around 12.5. If you are using it with a ca reactor though you probably don't need it fully saturated. Increasing the amount you add to your stirrer will also mean you will need to turn your ca reactor down.

 

[Emoney]

what would be the down side of running Kalk 24-7 with a Cal reactor???

not trying to jack this thread

 

[Viva'sReef]

maybe im not using enough kalk
its a MRC...18" tall 6" diameter
its a magnetic stirrer.
i use approx 3 litres per day to evapuration

Once the water reaches 100% saturation, Kalk will no longer dissolve in the water. So you really can't have too much Kalk in your reactor...if you still have kalk slurry at the bottom after each mix your probably ok though.

 

[VegasRick]

If the OP was adding 8 tablespoons a month and using 3 litres per day then his wasn't fully saturated. The sludge may not even have any usable material left in it and be precipitate. Check out RHF articlefor a breakdown on it What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

I don't know of any downside of using it 24 7 with a ca reactor. In systems with lower ca/alk demand you may be able to turn off the reactor entirely. A lot depends on your individual system, its demands, its evaporation rate and whether you are using fully saturated kw. The only thing that comes to mind is that if you don't keep a consistent mix of kw, then you will have to constantly adjust the reactor to keep stable levels.

 

[swissgaurd]

i just tested the ph coming out of the kalk stirrer it measures 11.40
so i imagine i need to add more kalk to the reactor.
im going to add and check for 12.5 this sounds like a good rule and take the guessing out of should i add or not

vic

 

[Sasquatch]

i just tested the ph coming out of the kalk stirrer it measures 11.40
so i imagine i need to add more kalk to the reactor.
im going to add and check for 12.5 this sounds like a good rule and take the guessing out of should i add or not

vic

adding more will only improve the ph reading, water can only hold so much, so having a cup extra in the mixer is just back up supply, if you want to increase the saturation level higher you can add vinegar

 

[swissgaurd]

how much vinegar would be a safe quantity

 

[Maximus]

Fyi, kalk saturation point is 2 teaspoons/gallon.

 

[VegasRick]

Fyi, kalk saturation point is 2 teaspoons/gallon.

Thanks, I looked for that info and couldn't find it, I just dump a half a bag in a 50g barrel at a time

 

[Paul_N]

how much vinegar would be a safe quantity

3 tsp kalk and 45 ml vinegar per gallon is recommended.

Here is a great article on kalk. There is a section about adding vinegar.

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com