kalkwasser mix cloudy

jlinzmaier

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my ph is not going up at all either by adding.i am getting very frustrated

Have you taken the time to find out why your pH is low in the first place or are you just dosing the kalk hoping it will fix the problem?? Sometimes just doing things hoping it will fix a problem, without actually determining the cause of the problem, can create more issues than you began with.

Again, the quote from the article I posted in your last thread:






The first step in solving a low pH problem is to determine why it exists in the first place. Some possibilities include:
    1. A calcium carbonate/carbon dioxide reactor (CaCO[SIZE=-1]3[/SIZE]/CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] reactor) is in use on the aquarium.
    2. The aquarium has low alkalinity.
    3. The aquarium has more CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] in it than the surrounding air due to inadequate aeration. Don't be fooled into thinking that an aquarium must have adequate aeration because its water is very turbulent. Equilibrating carbon dioxide is MUCH harder than simply providing adequate oxygen. There would be NO change in the pH between day and night if equilibration of carbon dioxide were perfect. Since most aquaria have lower pH during the night, they also are demonstrating less than complete aeration.
    4. The aquarium has excess CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE] in it because the air in the home that it is being equilibrated with contains excess CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE].
    5. The aquarium is still cycling, and has excess acid being produced from the nitrogen cycle and degradation of organics to CO[SIZE=-1]2[/SIZE].



I also use a cup to skim the surface, using surface tension.

It's not good to remove that top layer of crust/surface film. That film will prevent room air co2 from reacting with the kalk. As the co2 from the room air reacts with the kalk (in the kalk solution), it will form calcium carbonate. This will cause it to become less potent (calcium carbonate is generally useless in a reef tank). Kalk does effectively mix with co2 within the tank water thus creating the "alkalinity" portion of what kalk adds to the tank (carbonate and bicarbonate). If it binds with co2 before it gets into the tank, the reaction that kalk can perform (bind with co2 within the water column thus increasing pH and adding carbonate and bicarbonate) can be limited.

The Degradation of Limewater in Air by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com



In a related experiment, a limewater solution with excess solids was allowed to settle for 24 hours and the liquid was decanted from the solids. This liquid was then monitored by conductivity while stored in an open container. In this case, the probe was generally not left in the solution, but was added for each measurement, breaking the solid crust and permitting much of it to settle to the bottom. Figure 6 shows that the conductivity does decline slightly over a period of several days. The drop in potency here is likely due to both the fact that there is no excess solid calcium hydroxide on the bottom that dissolves as potency drops, and because the crust was protecting the solution from penetration of carbon dioxide.

Limewater can lose potency by reacting with carbon dioxide in the air, forming insoluble calcium carbonate. Since calcium carbonate is not an effective supplement of calcium and alkalinity in reef aquaria, the limewater can become less useful through this process. The rate at which this happens in large containers, such as plastic trashcans with loose fitting lids, is much less than many aquarists expect. There is, in fact, little degradation under typical use conditions. Consequently, the dosing of limewater from such large still reservoirs can be just as effective as dosing using any other scheme, and may have substantial advantages. These advantages include simplicity of the system and the ability to use organic acids such as vinegar to boost the potency. The use of a reactor to dose limewater has the advantage of requiring less space, but does not have the oft-stated advantage of eliminating degradation by atmospheric carbon dioxide that is reported to plague delivery from reservoirs.


In regards to the cloudiness of the kalk, I wouldn't worry too much. Mine stays cloudy for a day or so and also creates a film on the container sides thus making it look cloudy (I use the BRS kalk). Mixing it up thoroughly when you initially mix it is all is required. There's no need to mix it after that (in fact it will only make it less effective).

If your seeing it look cloudy as it drips into the tank then that's totally normal as the kalk reacts with the tank water.

Jeremy
 
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heliguy71

heliguy71

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i think i will try brs kalkwasser-ph is 8.0 most of the day.maybe i should just leave it.i just thought a ph of 8.2-8.4 was the norm.calcium is around 340-360 i would like to bring that up to 420-450 being the norm.
 

Bri Guy

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ive used Mrs Wages Pickling lime since the beginning, and it works great for me, found in the pickling isle at Walmart, Woodmans and Fleetfarm around $3.00 for a Lb!!
 

Bri Guy

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The pH of fully saturated kalk water (2tsp /g) should be around 12, but its hard to test with our kits, a meter calibrated within that range would be needed to get a precise reading.
 
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heliguy71

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ok been dosing kalkwasser for 4 days-ph stays at 8.0 all the time-i have two ph meters in there a pinpoint and milwaukee-dkh is at 8 calcium is at 340.i did the aeration test and no change using indoor or outdoor air with airstone.i am totally lost.i am ready to throw in the towel and quit.i have no clue anymore calcium not going up dkh not going up and ph not going up using kent kalkwasser.maybe this stuff is junk.:sad::sad:
 

Corigan

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ok been dosing kalkwasser for 4 days-ph stays at 8.0 all the time-i have two ph meters in there a pinpoint and milwaukee-dkh is at 8 calcium is at 340.i did the aeration test and no change using indoor or outdoor air with airstone.i am totally lost.i am ready to throw in the towel and quit.i have no clue anymore calcium not going up dkh not going up and ph not going up using kent kalkwasser.maybe this stuff is junk.:sad::sad:
The purpose of kalk is to maintain levels not raise them. You need to buffer your levels up to where you want them and then drip/dose the kalk and see if it maintains those levels for you.
 
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heliguy71

heliguy71

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ya i have been talking to brandon at bulk reef supply about the two part mix to get my levels up first then dose with kalwasser.i still don't know why my ph has not risen for dosing 4-5 days already.
 

nkelr

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maybe as stated you are just putting enough in to maintain the levels. i dont have any knowledge of kalk at all. maybe you should try my suggestion of the crushed coral for ph and consentrate on one thing at a time. ive had it running in my system for about 3 weeks now and my ph went from 7.8 up to 8.2 and everytime i have it tested ph is 8.2 and steady and alk is at 8 dkh. never thought i needed it and every test kept comming up low ph so i took a little of my own advise and tried it and it worked. calcium has also been steady at 420 ever since going to reef crystals salt. its also helped me by uncovering my tank. it helps the buildup of excess gas in the tank. i hate the idea of having an open tank for fear of one of my critters taking the leap of faith, but so far its been ok. just by reading this thread it sounds like youve tried all the complicated methods, maybe the simple stuff might work. cant hurt to try right????
 

jlinzmaier

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Sounds like your learning a lot about reef chemistry. Good luck. I can give specific answers and send links to articles reinforcing the advice if you have specific questions.Jeremy
 
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customcolor

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crushed coral really doesnt buffer anything till the ph is in the 6's thats why we put co2 in a cal reactor to drop the ph that low to dissolve the media being used.
 

jlinzmaier

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crushed coral really doesnt buffer anything till the ph is in the 6's thats why we put co2 in a cal reactor to drop the ph that low to dissolve the media being used.

I tried to point that out Dave but got nowhere with it. Thanks for seconding my point!

If it were as simple as adding crushed coral to a tank to maintain a pH of 8.2 then there wouldn't be so many threads with people asking "How do I raise my pH?", nor would there be so many published articles about how to raise pH and solve common low pH problems.

Jeremy
 

nkelr

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all i can say is its working for me. take it how you want it, but it has worked for me for about 6 yrs of different tanks including my current salt tank. not to put down any tried and true methods by anyone or get into any big argument with anyone about if it works or not, but this is the way i do it. it might not be the most common way or a well known method. of course this is the reason we post on forums to get a wide range of advise and everyones opinions and tried and true methods easy, complicated or otherwise. heres a chalenge for people, take a filter media bag, fill it with crushed coral and run it in your filter. prove me wrong!!!!!
 

Fishcrazy06

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Crushed coral will not raise your PH. Crushed coral will only raise when your ph is at 6. Several people have mentioned this already. Your PH is at 8 hence adding crushed coral will do absolutely nothing in aiding your raising of your PH!
 

Jhildebrand

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+1.

Google it if you don't believe anyone here. That's a very old reefing myth. Nick, if your pH is where you want it, it's not because of the crushed coral.

If it's consistently at 8.0, why is this so bad again?
 

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