Kalkwasser in ATO, circulation

[Viking_Reefing]

Hey,

I’m currently using kalk as a means to replenish ca/KH. Its been going well so far and I like it better than two part dosing that I’ve done on previous tanks.

As we all know there comes a point when kalkwasser simply can’t keep up with the demand and I’m starting to reach that point, unfortunately I don’t have the space for a calcium reactor.
I know that I could add vinegar to the solution to make it even more saturated but I’m trying to eliminate as many steps as possible to minimize the risk of me screwing something up.

So my thought is that if I were to add a small circulation pump to my ATO reservoir it should keep the kalk suspended in the water column meaning that I should be able to add more kalk without it just precipitating and ending up on the bottom.

I have a lid on the ATO reservoir so that should, in my mind, keep the CO2 from causing problems.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Reefer5640]

Once the powder is mixed and the kalk slurry separates from the lime water, the solution has met its saturation point so constantly mixing it won’t be of benefit in any way. In fact it’s dangerous, you don’t want to dose the slurry to your tank. It can cause precipitation issues and burn/kill your coral and through your ph way out of wack.

If you could put an auto fill on your ATO reservoir (or if you already have one...?) then you could run a small recirc pump to kick on every time the reservoir topped off. To remix what powder is in the bottom from last batch. That would then hit its saturation point again and would be ready to dose. But keep in mind this only keeps from wasting kalkwasser. It won’t give you anymore out of it than what you’re already getting. Check this video out. It will explain it much better than I can.



Your best option in my opinion, if you want to stay with kalkwasser, is to start dossing vinegar to the mix. It will allow the saturation point to get higher which will make it more concentrated. It will also double as a carbon dosing source so if you have any issues with NO3/PO4 then this will be an added benifit and potentially alllow you to remove any carbon dosing source you already employ. Hope this helps.

 

[Saveafish]

About 2 tsp per gallon is fully saturated.. sounds close to forced evap to keep up.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Thanks for the reply’s guys. It looks like I have to look in to adding vinegar to my mix.

I’m guessing that the best way to go about it is to start real slow as to not strip the tank of all nutrients/causing a bacterial bloom?

 

[Saveafish]

Thanks for the reply’s guys. It looks like I have to look in to adding vinegar to my mix.

I’m guessing that the best way to go about it is to start real slow as to not strip the tank of all nutrients/causing a bacterial bloom?

Put a bubbler in the sump to force evaporate it so you add more kalk ATO.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Put a bubbler in the sump to force evaporate it so you add more kalk ATO.

Yeah, I’ve tried increasing my evaporation but that leads to me having to refill my ATO container more often that I would like [emoji1]

 

[AspiringReefer]

Does anyone know should I be adding trace elements? Maybe those ran out and now my corals are having issues from that? Do you guys use Red Sea trace elements ?