I've been wanting o know the exact same thing, and I did some google mining to find it. Why has nobody responded here...I know some people use it! Oh well, nevermind. This was posted from another forum by a gent named Ninong. He deserves the credit for the following:
Quote:
Originally Posted by j_man
what the dose per gallon of this?
Two teaspoons of pickling lime (pure calcium hydroxide) is the most that will dissolve in one gallon of freshwater. You don't have to use that much if you don't want to. You could use just one teaspoon per gallon of water if you don't have high calcium demand in your tank.
You stir the powder into the freshwater for 15 or 20 seconds or until it is all dissolved. Then you cover the container and let it rest for at least five or six hours so that the solution will clear up. After it has cleared, you carefully pour off the clear liquid into a dosing container being careful not to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the mixing container.
The limewater (aka Kalkwasser) is now ready to be slowly dripped into your system. If you have a sump, it should be slowly dripped into the sump, preferably at night after the aquarium's lights are off. If you don't have a sump, it should be slowly dripped into an area of fast moving current. Ideally you would want to use limewater as your replacement for all evaporation. If you have a 100-gal tank, this could amount to approximately a gallon to a gallon and a half per day. It all depends on your rate of evaporation. In any case, you want to drip the limewater as slowly as possible so that it takes a few hours for it all to drip. In my 120-gal tank, I usually drip about 1-1/2 gallons per night (more or less) and it usually takes about five hours.
Good luck!
P.S. -- As has been pointed out earlier, be sure that you read the ingredients on the label of the package very carefully. Whether you purchase Mrs. Wages or Ball's, you want to be sure it is pure pickling lime (100% pure calcium hydroxide). They do offer very similar looking products that contain salts and spices.
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Ninong
