manually mix kalkwasser

[reefGods]

just wondering if I can do this manually without using a dosing pump to top off my tank alkalinity 8.0 calcium 470 drops 2 a day 55 gallon PH is at 8.0 currently dozing all for reef in the daytime

 

[ChrisRD]

It's definitely possible to dose kalk manually and you can also use it in conjunction with AFR. Careful with the amount you dose in one shot so you don't have large pH swings.

 

[reefGods]

It's definitely possible to dose kalk manually and you can also use it in conjunction with AFR. Careful with the amount you dose in one shot so you don't have large pH swings.

thank you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wait wait wait

Are you talking about dosing 2 dKH per day?

Yes, you can do that manually if you do some large number of individual additions spread out over time, but that does not sound like your intention.

2 dKH of kalkwasser added all at once will spike pH through the roof. Much more than a 0.7 pH unit rise, which comes with about 1.4 dKH at once at 7 dKH starting point. .

 

[ChrisRD]

Yes, as Randy said, definitely not too much at once.

 

[bradreef]

I think the easiest way is to add into your auto top off. I do this at half strength and then adjust levels by dosing 2 part. Depending on coral need you could adjust you Kalk concentration.

 

[ChrisRD]

Personally I prefer the dosing pump option...even if it's a cheap BRS doser on a digital appliance timer.

That said, back in the 90s we didn't have dosing pumps readily available (you had to get a medical IV pump and disable the alarm) so I would just make up a big jug of kalk and splash a bit in here and there. As Randy mentioned, it depends on how much you need to add as it can really make your pH jump (avoid).

I've never been one to trust an auto top off setup unless it's a mechanical float valve. I'd be too afraid of it failing "on" and causing a flood and dropping salinity (and nuking the tank if it's got kalk in it). I know a lot of folks use the pump/float switch stuff with success and I'm sure there are ways to manage it...I'm just stuck on the old school thinking I guess...;)

 

[ChrisRD]

To be clear...based on the use of the word "mix" in the title...I was interpreting the first post as meaning the OP wanted to supplement the current AFR use with some kalk (i.e. not a lot of kalk).

If you're looking to handle an alk drop of 2 points per day in a 55 gallon system with kalk instead of the AFR, I agree that manually dosing kalk would be impractical. You'd have to get about a gallon of saturated kalk into the system in a day (assuming you have enough evaportation to even do that).

Apologies if I wasn't clear in my earlier posts...