Do's Dont's Kalawasser

psusocr1

Active Member
ive searched... ive read ALOT..still dont exactly have a grip on the kalawasser thing..i have alot of kalawasser but im afraid to add it to my tank because ive read soo many different ways?
i know the mixing ratio but i need to know specifics on how many drips per second etc. etc.. how many times a week??
can someone help me out please?
 

rykna

Active Member
I usuall just dilute the amount needed in a small container with water from my tank. Course, I don't follow the rules. Most people add the stuff to their refuges or sumps to avoid undiluted amounts overwhelming the tank occupants. Which I have done......resulted in very unhappy buttons. I quickly swept the undiluted crumbs of with my hand, but certainly would follow the directions
if I was adding it to your tank.
 

ameno

Active Member
I use a teaspon per gal. and drip for top off water from evap. seems to work out ok for me. the rate for dripping would depend on the rate of evaperation you have.
 

rykna

Active Member
Originally Posted by Rykna
I usuall just dilute the amount needed in a small container with water from my tank. Course, I don't follow the rules. Most people add the stuff to their refuges or sumps to avoid undiluted amounts overwhelming the tank occupants. Which I have done......resulted in very unhappy buttons. I quickly swept the undiluted crumbs of with my hand, but certainly would follow the directions
if I was adding it to your tank.
THIS IS A VERY BAD IDEA! as I found out today I've had Timmy, my sea urchin, since I started my tank almost 2 years ago.......I hadn't seen him in a couple of days....as I was cleaning today i spotted him on a rock....with a HUGE BARE spot on his BACK!!!!!! Was he attacked.....is he sick?????????????? should I isolate him? I have 2 purple pin cushion urchins in my 90 gallon reef tank named Timmy and Prissy. Timmy is the larger of the 2. For some reason he LOVES the algae feeding clip. I've taken it off of him numerous times, even tossed it on the opposite side of the tank. Never fazed Timmy. With in a half an hour his had picked it up again. I finally gave up and let him have it. Timmy is so docile compared to Prissy. Timmy doesn't mind beng picked up at all. He's one of the few animals that I can take out for my friedns to hold. Prissy(hence the name) is completely different personality. If you try to pick her up she will hunker down and suction herself to a rock/tank wall like there is no tomorrow. I don't try to pick her up any more. The last time I did one of here spines broke off, I felt so bad.
so what cause Timmy's bald spot? WHAT HAPPENED?????
Timmy will be okay Sadly enough it only took me minutes to recall what probably happened. Urchins are very touchy to ph changes. A day ago I added a concentrated cup full of the kalwassere ph balancer stuff. I poured it in the back left corner....lots of high flow there. Problem is I neglected the fact that area is Timmy's Favorite feeding ground. The poor little guy got doused with the concetrated chalk Ph balance stuff. No wonder his buddy prissy showed no similar signs. Timmy and prissy are usually on the opposite sides of the tank, by the time the stuff reached the other side of the tank it had be dispersed into the tank. My poor poor little urchin. He should be okay, but it will take a while for his spines to grow back.....
I'm just glad he'll be okay
 

acrylic51

Active Member
Yeah think it's a bad idea to add directly to a tank.....Calcium does produce heat and will burn easily......Better is to mix and kalkwasser has a lifetime or span of roughly 24hrs, if kept in air tight container......after 24hrs you should discard the mix if not used......Most drip in their evaporation makeup water......
 
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