when did you know it was time to use kalkwasser? and why?

[jason24365]

I recently counted 135 corals in mt 75 gallon tank haha. i keep my alk at 8.5 but im sure it drops at night considerably. i do regular water changes weekly and dose accordingly. So i guess im wondering when and what made you start using kalkwasser? was it a certain instance or event? or was it just over growth and research you decided to expirement? and what were the results after you started using? thanks from dato's lagoon

 

[blaxsun]

Every time I entertain the idea I read a thread about someone who's overdosed their tank with kalk. That seems to be enough of a deterrent...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I started with limewater (kalkwasser) from day 1 in my tank, via ATO, and used it for 20 years.

 

[jason24365]

i have seen those horror stories. but ive also seen the healthiest and most beautiful corals grown this way. the 3 main ppl i thnk have the healthiest reed has used this method

 

[jason24365]

I started with limewater (kalkwasser) from day 1 in my tank, via ATO, and used it for 20 years.

so ive had 2 people tell me their set ups and they were different. do you mind telling me yourequipment and process?

 

[bnord]

Started as soon as I added SPS and clams
added with a Kamoer and rarely tweak it based on dKH

 

[Mattiejay6]

I started with limewater (kalkwasser) from day 1 in my tank, via ATO, and used it for 20 years.

Randy when dosing Kalk from day 1 we’re you only worried about PH? I’m just starting myself and my calcium is 486, alk over a 3 day period has gone from 9.9 to 9.4. Ph bouncing from 8.3 during the day to 8.1 at night. 100g system. Currently dosing 24ml a day.. going to up it.. but not sure where my happy balance should be

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

so ive had 2 people tell me their set ups and they were different. do you mind telling me yourequipment and process?

I dosed from a settled reservoir (3 x 44 gallon Brute cans plumbed together) using a float switch (expensive Omega Engineering 120 v switch) and a Reef Filler pump (no longer made).

If I were setting up a system today, I'd use a dosing pump to have better alk control, and RO/DI for the little remaining evaporation top off each day.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy when dosing Kalk from day 1 we’re you only worried about PH? I’m just starting myself and my calcium is 486, alk over a 3 day period has gone from 9.9 to 9.4. Ph bouncing from 8.3 during the day to 8.1 at night. 100g system. Currently dosing 24ml a day.. going to up it.. but not sure where my happy balance should be

It was a reasonably standard practice to use kalkwasser to replace all evaporated water. I measured alk and pH. I made the kalkwasser of a potency so that alk did not get too high or too low.

In your cause, I'd increase the volume delivered or the concentration (if possible).

 

[Rmckoy]

I personally don’t understand using kalk in a ato knowing it will increase Alk but not controlled as it would be with dosing .

how do I know the kalk will top off the same rate as my system consumes ?

I personally prefer dosing 2 part once water changes are not enough to keep up with what’s being used .

 

[Mattiejay6]

It was a reasonably standard practice to use kalkwasser to replace all evaporated water. I measured alk and pH. I made the kalkwasser of a potency so that alk did not get too high or too low.

In your cause, I'd increase the volume delivered or the concentration (if possible).

makes sense.

currently mixed at a ratio of 1 tablespoon to 2 liters of water

 

[Rmckoy]

It was a reasonably standard practice to use kalkwasser to replace all evaporated water. I measured alk and pH. I made the kalkwasser of a potency so that alk did not get too high or too low.

In your cause, I'd increase the volume delivered or the concentration (if possible).

Is the kalk fully saturated or is there a measurement to mix ?

 

[Battlecorals]

After nearly 20 years of very loyal Calcium reactor use, I finally decided to pull it completely in favor of this DIY Kalk "reactor" about 3 weeks ago.

I was dumping so much 6.6-ish effluent in my system daily that I believe the lows were affecting my system.

It has been refreshingly easy to dial in using a DOS pump. Alk is just as stable, as with the Calcium reactor. Refilling it about twice a week and pumping in roughly 5 gallons of limewater in every 24 hours. Stirs three times a day with an hour pause after each stir. Still learning the ropes and fine tuning for sure, but overall I'm happy with how it's going.

The swings are still big, (working on this) but I'm not going lower than 7.9 ish, compared to 7.6-7.7 nightly with commercial size HRV ventilation running 24/7 and outside air into skimmers.

Current ph reading

before I took the calcium reactor off line

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I personally don’t understand using kalk in a ato knowing it will increase Alk but not controlled as it would be with dosing .

how do I know the kalk will top off the same rate as my system consumes ?

I personally prefer dosing 2 part once water changes are not enough to keep up with what’s being used .

I measured it.

I do agree that a dosing pump is likely better, but many, many aquaria that functioned very well in the 1990's used kalkaasser by ATO.

It is not as simple as overdosing, since both higher alk and highe rph increase demand. That negative feedback loops helps stabilize alk even if the dosing is not exactly the same every day.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Is the kalk fully saturated or is there a measurement to mix ?

For many years, it was less than saturated because I did not need or want it to be saturated (by alk testing and adjusting the mix if needed).

In later years I moved up to saturated kalkwasser, because I had more apparent demand.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

seems like a huge advantage on using Kalk over CaRX

 

[Nano sapiens]

Day 1, 38 years ago...and still counting

As Randy mentioned, way back in the day it was common practice to just top off with saturated Kalkwasser (most tanks had covers and hoods, so evaporation was substantially less than today's common open top systems and overdosing of this balanced Alk/Ca supplement was a lot less likely). Once testing became more available, one could then adjust the amount of Kalkwasser to RO ratio that was added via the ATO to ensure that Alk (especially) didn't climb too high.

As long as Alk is tested a few times a week, adding Kalk to the ATO works just fine for most folks as Kalk/RO ratio adjustments are typically minor and infrequent. The draw is that adding to the ATO is 'quick and easy' and requires just one piece of equipment vs. two (ATO and doser). But, for those that have large/frequent humidity swings in the house which effect evap, then steady dosing would likely be the better option.

 

[ScionFRSguy]

I personally don’t understand using kalk in a ato knowing it will increase Alk but not controlled as it would be with dosing .

how do I know the kalk will top off the same rate as my system consumes ?

I personally prefer dosing 2 part once water changes are not enough to keep up with what’s being used .

I would try using a little to see how your tank does. Take a 1/4 or maybe 1/3 of recommended concentration, mix together well, then use as top off water. It's used to add stability as in, not allowing your Alk, Cal, and PH drop rapidly. Your ATO should be going off anywhere between 10 to 20 times a day; in theory, the constant dose of kalkwasser water will add stability. If you don't feel comfortable using it as ATO then don't worry. Just use a small bottle of it at a time, allowing the water to slowly drip into to the sump. That's a big up side with little effort. It's better to use a little than none at all.

I use 2 part (Alk + Cal) dosing + Magnesium with kalkwasser ATO water + weekly water change to supplement my water.

 

[Semisonyx]

I’ve gone back to it after about a 10 year hiatus. I travel for work and am usually gone out of town for up to a week at a time, that’s why I wouldn’t dose it via topoff. I’ve come home to problems with the aqualifter being clogged or debris causing the float valve to stick on and dumping the topoff reservoir in my tank. Now I use a 5g “side car” container that I dose from pretty much 24/7 at 1mL/min. Doesn’t nearly keep up with alk/ca (I still dose two part), but it has made an improvement in pH to 8.3-8.0 from 7.9-7.7 when I used a carx alone.

 

[jason24365]

Started as soon as I added SPS and clams
added with a Kamoer and rarely tweak it based on dKH

What did you use to learn about setting it up?