Kalkwasser help!

[Mr.Guy83]

Hello all, I’ve been reading about kalk for a few days because it’s something new to me. Please let me get my thoughts down in text to see if I have a hold on the concept and possibly get some input from you pros as far as dosing kalk...
1. Mix it in your ato: easiest way, but hard to control because it’s based on water evaporation and will shorten the life of ato pump.
2. With a doser: have a separate container of kalk connected to the doser. Now you can adjust how much is going into the tank , but you’re now running kalk through the doser which will shorten the life of the internal hosing.
3. With a kalk stirrer: dosing line in the ato fresh, water runs through dosing pump into kalk stirrer which in turn pushes kalk into the sump.my question with this is, If you’re using the ato to replenish the evaporated water AND constantly dripping kalk in through the stirrer wouldn’t that in turn lower salinity over time? You’re adding more fresh water than is needed or is the kalk drip so insignificant over a 24 period( or however many hours you decide to drip the kalk) it won’t effect Salinity.
I do know that “kalk” doesn’t effect salinity but the freshwater it’s mixed in does.

side note: this tank is not fully setup yet, so I’m sure that water changes will carry me for a while (TM pro reef salt) but I just want to be prepared when the time comes and feel confident in what I’m doing, which is why I’m asking now. Due to the tank not being fully setup I won’t be able to answer questions like how much my tank is evaporating in a day.

I’m bouncing back and forth between option 1 and 3. Option 1 gives me the option to just mixed it and let evap do its thing option 3 allows me to actually control how much my tank is getting.
Any information is much appreciated and remember I’m a rookie be gentle don’t bash me if this doesn’t make sense. Thanks in advance reefers

 

[rwreef]

I dosed via my ATO for years. Works well.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I dosed via my ATO for years. Works well.

How often do you clean out the pump and ato container? Also on my last tank my ato would stay on for 15-30 seconds at a time until my levels were back where they needed to be. Do you think that would be too much kalk going in at one time?

 

[splitting_lanes]

I used to dose via the ATO, switched to a litermeter. It doesn’t shorten the life of hosing or the right kinds of plastic

 

[rwreef]

How often do you clean out the pump and ato container? Also on my last tank my ato would stay on for 15-30 seconds at a time until my levels were back where they needed to be. Do you think that would be too much kalk going in at one time?

I dose two part now on my 75g. I used to clean out my ATO ....uhh...I cleaned ...it at ...least twice in 4 or 5 years..

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I dose two part now on my 75g. I used to clean out my ATO ....uhh...I cleaned ...it at ...least twice in 4 or 5 years..

 

[Flippers4pups]

I use calcium hydroxide in my ATO reservoir for top off. Pump hardly ever gets cleaned. The precipitation that settles to the bottom gets syphoned out a couple times a year.

I would suggest that starting out with a new tank that you may not need to use it at first until your corals up take enough to warrant using it. If you decide to start from day one, I would suggest dosing half the recommended dose and test on a regular basis to see where your alkalinity and calcium levels are.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I use calcium hydroxide in my ATO reservoir for top off. Pump hardly ever gets cleaned. The precipitation that settles to the bottom gets syphoned out a couple times a year.

I would suggest that starting out with a new tank that you may not need to use it at first until your corals up take enough to warrant using it. If you decide to start from day one, I would suggest dosing half the recommended dose and test on a regular basis to see where your alkalinity and calcium levels are.

Did you have any major PH fluctuations when using the ato method being that kalk was introduced in spurts and not drips?

 

[fish farmer]

I've played around with many ways of delivering kalk for the last 20 years.

Manually dripping....least moving parts. It worked pretty well in the beginning, except when it didn't. I'd over shoot numbers this way when the drip was too fast.

Manual ATO...water cooler/hampster bottle design....least moving parts, but needs to be set over tank/sump. It worked ok.

ATO pumped into kalk reactor then into tank....this was the messiest system for me, but my homemade mixer was huge and hard to pull out and clean. I don't remember it doing much good when I used it.

Dosing pump (BRS brand). I've been using this pump for a year or so, dosing out of a 3 gallon stock solution, timing it with a light timer to click on for 5 minutes every 15 minutes. This has been the most stable method for me to deliver kalk. I recently bought spare pump tubing just in case I need to replace it.

My tank is 29 gallons and I don't want a huge dose of kalk, this is one of the reasons I have it on a timer. I also have a separate ATO for freshwater. I also use the pharm grade BRS kalk. I don't need much, the small bag has lasted me a long time. It mixes really well, very little residue left in my container.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I've played around with many ways of delivering kalk for the last 20 years.

Manually dripping....least moving parts. It worked pretty well in the beginning, except when it didn't. I'd over shoot numbers this way when the drip was too fast.

Manual ATO...water cooler/hampster bottle design....least moving parts, but needs to be set over tank/sump. It worked ok.

ATO pumped into kalk reactor then into tank....this was the messiest system for me, but my homemade mixer was huge and hard to pull out and clean. I don't remember it doing much good when I used it.

Dosing pump (BRS brand). I've been using this pump for a year or so, dosing out of a 3 gallon stock solution, timing it with a light timer to click on for 5 minutes every 15 minutes. This has been the most stable method for me to deliver kalk. I recently bought spare pump tubing just in case I need to replace it.

My tank is 29 gallons and I don't want a huge dose of kalk, this is one of the reasons I have it on a timer. I also have a separate ATO for freshwater. I also use the pharm grade BRS kalk. I don't need much, the small bag has lasted me a long time. It mixes really well, very little residue left in my container.

So you have a separate container for kalk and a container for ato, correct? the BRS doser pulls directly from your kalk container into the sump and the ato works separately as it normally would.

 

[fish farmer]

So you have a separate container for kalk and a container for ato, correct? the BRS doser pulls directly from your kalk container into the sump and the ato works separately as it normally would.

Yes.

I have a plastic tote for my ATO which has a danner mag drive pump which is hooked to a Ultralife Tank Boss float switch which is in my sump.

My kalk container is a 5 gallon sealable square plastic jug. I usually mix up 3 gallons, but could do up to 5 gallons. I have a rigid tube poked through the screw top of this sucking about half inch off the bottom. This is attached to the flex tube that attached to the doser tubing assembly. Then another flex tube goes up to the sump from the doser.

Both of these are in my basement.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Yes.

I have a plastic tote for my ATO which has a danner mag drive pump which is hooked to a Ultralife Tank Boss float switch which is in my sump.

My kalk container is a 5 gallon sealable square plastic jug. I usually mix up 3 gallons, but could do up to 5 gallons. I have a rigid tube poked through the screw top of this sucking about half inch off the bottom. This is attached to the flex tube that attached to the doser tubing assembly. Then another flex tube goes up to the sump from the doser.

Both of these are in my basement.

Ok that makes sense, thanks for the reply

 

[Hermie]

my personal experience is that an ATO wasn't precise enough and my first doser was too fast at dosing, so if you get a doser make sure it can dose very slowly (this is how I have it setup now), about 10ml per minute for mine. ATO just didnt let me control the dose enough and I like being sure that only RODI is in my ATO.

basically if you are dosing max rate for kalkwasser an ATO wouldnt cut it based on my experience, but if you are just starting out, ATO is perfect. it depends on the rate at which your tank uses up Alkalinity

 

[92Miata]

Kalk in an ATO in new low draw tank is a recipe for instability and poor coral health.

Start with 2-part. It's way easier to control and keep your alkalinity consistent.

 

[uhgster1]

Stability is the key. Your coral will adapt to which ever method you use as long as you’re not constantly changing it up. I’ve been dosing through my top off for 5 years and haven’t lost a pump. If you just keep your equipment clean you’ll be fine. Don’t get caught up in the exact parameters game. Dose whatever amount you’re going to do and test constantly for the first few weeks. Just as an example, I add 10 teaspoons of kalk to my ato for my 65 gallon. I don’t add or take away from that dose and over time my coral has grown to the point that I’m now using All for reef WITH the kalk. Just test your alkalinity and you’ll figure out where to go. Again, that’s how I use it. It’s the simplest way I’ve found.

The five gallon jug you see on the lower right is my ato/kalk. Happy reefing!

 

[Orm Embar]

I tried kalk in my ATO; I had substantial clogging problems as my ATO was a gravity fed one where the float valve would get gummed up. Other ATO types may well be immune to this.

I would think that a kalk container hooked up to a pump (independent of an ATO) would be ideal, as you can control your Ca/alkalinity additions precisely.

Here's a calculator to get you started: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Stability is the key. Your coral will adapt to which ever method you use as long as you’re not constantly changing it up. I’ve been dosing through my top off for 5 years and haven’t lost a pump. If you just keep your equipment clean you’ll be fine. Don’t get caught up in the exact parameters game. Dose whatever amount you’re going to do and test constantly for the first few weeks. Just as an example, I add 10 teaspoons of kalk to my ato for my 65 gallon. I don’t add or take away from that dose and over time my coral has grown to the point that I’m now using All for reef WITH the kalk. Just test your alkalinity and you’ll figure out where to go. Again, that’s how I use it. It’s the simplest way I’ve found.

The five gallon jug you see on the lower right is my ato/kalk. Happy reefing!

Beautiful tank!!! The last time I had a tank my ato would run 15-30 seconds until the water level came back up. do you think that much kalk going in at once would create fluctuation in parameters?

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I tried kalk in my ATO; I had substantial clogging problems as my ATO was a gravity fed one where the float valve would get gummed up. Other ATO types may well be immune to this.

I would think that a kalk container hooked up to a pump (independent of an ATO) would be ideal, as you can control your Ca/alkalinity additions precisely.

Here's a calculator to get you started: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Thank you my friend

 

[Spkarim]

I use kalk in the ATO, to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and keep things as simple as possible. It’s also cheap. And it will help bring down phosphates. I use the hydor ATO sensor in the sump and a hydor pump in a 5g container.

If you start off low dose with a reliable ATO, you should be okay. Theoretically, your evaporation rate may change throughout the year, but that is likely minimized with good climate control.

My corals have been growing well for a while, so I stopped testing.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I use kalk in the ATO, to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and keep things as simple as possible. It’s also cheap. And it will help bring down phosphates. I use the hydor ATO sensor in the sump and a hydor pump in a 5g container.

If you start off low dose with a reliable ATO, you should be okay. Theoretically, your evaporation rate may change throughout the year, but that is likely minimized with good climate control.

My corals have been growing well for a while, so I stopped testing.

Thanks!