Adding Kalkwasser

[devante]

I'm starting to drip Kalk, I don't have a whole lot of evaporation in my tank. When I add Kalk I us R/O water. The water level in the tank keeps raising. Do I have to take water out every time I add Kalk, or can I siphon water from the tank add use it? So I'll be using salt water to mix Kalk.

 

[kris walker]

You should be using kalk only to replace evaporated water. So over time, the average water level should never change.
EDIT: it sounds like you know this, but that you can't make the drip rate slow enough so that it is synchronized with evaporation rate. IMO, I thinking trying to find this synchronization is a waste of time. The simple solution is to just drip the kalk in over a period of say 10-30 minutes every night until the day's evaporated water is replaced.
kris

 

[devante]

The evaporation in my tank is little to none in a day. Maybe a gallon a week if that. It's a 75gal.

 

[kris walker]

Do you have the top sealed for some reason? If your evaporation is truely that low, I would be worried about adequate circulation in your tank. If outside air isn't getting to the surface of the water column in your tank, then circulation may be bad. Are you having any major algae problems?
kris

 

[devante]

No algae problems at all. I have a glass canopy with the back open. Then I have a pine canopy with a 440w vho set up.

 

[kris walker]

That being the case, I'm willing to bet your getting an evaporation rate of at least 0.3 gal per day. And this is nothing to shake a stick at, as replacing 0.3 gal of water a day with kalkwasser should keep your Ca and alk levels healthy unless you have a huge Ca uptake (lots of hard corals).
Also remember that you can vary your kalkwasser concentration. For tanks with little evaporation, make the concentration real strong. For tanks with lots, make it weak. Whatever you do, monitor the Ca, alk, and pH levels over time to find a happy solution for your particular tank.
kris

 

[pezlok]

You mentioned that you drip the Kalk in the evening. I would recommend that you do so in the morning so you don't over shoot your PH. I have found that by adding in the AM is better because your PH is naturally lower in the morning anyway.

 

[devante]

So I shouldn't use saltwater from the tank.

 

[cyn]

I would not use saltwater. I drip Kalk about every third night for the same reasons you describe. I have great circulation and the back of my 55 is open too. My problem is I live where the humidity is always high. I do not agree with dripping Kalk in the morning, everything I have read says to do it after the lights go off for the night. This is when the Ca drops, hence the low pH and Ca when you test in the AM. If you are really concerned that you need more evaporation, you can add a fan to your hood, aimed at the water. Just test your Ca every few days and adjust the level as needed. With some patience and experimenting, you will find a system that works for your particular tank. Oh, I would not drip concentrated soloutions over 30 minutes either. This could cause an abrupt change in the chemistry of your tank. Usually, I set my drip to take about 8 hours so that when I get up in the morning, the Kalk is all in. This way, the pH and CA change is gradual.
HTH,
cyn

 

[jimi]

I agree with Cyn. I drip at night about 1 1/2 to 2 gal a night in my 110. You really should have more evaporation with a 75. Maybe crack the cover a little more. You should mix the kalk with r/o water not saltwater.

 

[reefdude]

Using salt water as your primary make-up water is not a good thing. When your water evaporates, it leaves the salt behind. Adding salt water will only make your salinity go up over time.
I am actually dosing Kalk 24x7 using a perisaltic pump. I am having great success doing so. Coralline algae is alll over the place and dKH is maintained at 10ppm with Calcium at 412. Keep in mind I am not using a UV sterilizer. I woudl suggest that if you are using a UV to have it ona timer so that when the light goes off (4-6 hours at night) the Kalk is dosed at that time. This will eliminate the buildup of Calcium on the UV light which attracts the calcium carbonate. This will keep you from soaking the light in vinegar less often.

 

[broomer5]

I dose kalk at night as well. Everthing I've read states this is the better way to go.
Minor clarification though - the calcium does not drop at night.
The pH may drop due to fish, corals and plant/algae respiration.
Algaes use CO2 during the day and give off O2 as part of photosynthesis. At night when lights are off - they do not utilize the CO2 as much - more CO2 allows an increase in carbonic acid - which leads to drop in the pH when the lights are off.
Fish and corals - similar situation - at night most fish being at rest are not consuming as much O2 - but continue to give off a level of CO2.
The more fish, corals and algae - the more affect this will have on flucuating pH.
A tank of saltwater without any lifeforms will not vary it's pH much at all from day to night.
If anything - lower pH will allow more calcium in solution providing the alkalinity is a constant.
The biggest thing that most kalk users are already aware of, is that dosing kalk too fast can cause huge upswings in your pH and water chemistry as mentioned above.
Most just use it for evaporation make up water.
It's great stuff !

 

[devante]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to try to drip every 3-4 day. I'll test it and see how it goes.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Like CYN, I'm sure we're not the only guys that have low evaporation.

 

[jimi]

Hey Reeferdude, what is a perisaltic pump? Explain your kalk dosing system a little better.

 

[reefdude]

Sure Jimi-
My peristalic pump is basically the same type of pump you see in a ER when they have a needle in you. It's a Kangaroo 324.
I have a 5 gallon salt bucket that I use for the kalk mixture with a rio 180 PH to keep it from falling out of solution.
I am dosing 165ml per hour of kalk into my tank to make up for evaporated water. The water level,when doing this,never changes.
You can buy them from <a href="http://reef-aquarium.com/" target="_blank">http://reef-aquarium.com/</a>
I think I paid $89?? Alot better price than the $200+ for the Vario 3 dosing pump.

 

[royce]

I made a drip doser from a 1 gal water jug - poked a small hole in the side ~1" from the bottom, put tubing through the hole and sealed it with aquarium sealant. I put a 2-way stopcock valve on the end of the tubing and another short length of tubing on the other end of the stopcock which drips into the tank. I mix my kalk with my RO water, let it settle for a few hours and then set it to drip slowly after lights out. The sediment is below the level of the tubing so it never goes into the tank.

 

[starfishjackedme]

I have an auto-top off unit for dosing Kalk. It is a float valve with a mag7 to push it into the sump. This is on a 200 gal main with a 55 gal sump. It pushes kalk in every 30 minutes or so. It keeps the salinity perfect and constant.
I get about a gal of evap each day.