Kalk mixing ?????

[wetone]

I mix my Kent Kalk powder with RO/DI water in a 5 gal bucket. I have a bulkhead with a piece of pipe that draws the kalk water from about 2" off the bottom (so no gunk form the bottom gets in), it then goes to a float switch and tops off the sump from evaporation. Every 3-4 days the kalk mix is gone and I need to mix more.
My question is...is it OK to remix the stuff on the bottom with new RO/DI and some additional Kalk powder or should I be cleaning this bucket out every time???

 

[scuba man]

I just clean out the bucket and start fresh

 

[bang guy]

If you're using a high grade Kalk powder then it's fine to mix the old stuff in. Most of it is just precipitated Calcium carbonate and can actually redissolve in RO/DI water (but slowly).
For the lesser grades I would occationally remove the sludge from the bottom. Especially if it's an off-white color.

 

[barracuda]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
If you're using a high grade Kalk powder then it's fine to mix the old stuff in. Most of it is just precipitated Calcium carbonate and can actually redissolve in RO/DI water (but slowly).
For the lesser grades I would occationally remove the sludge from the bottom. Especially if it's an off-white color.
Guy, what do you mean by high grade/low grade powder? Any specific brand names?

 

[bang guy]

Kent would be a high grade.
Mrs. Wages or Balls Pickling Lime I would consider to be medium grade.
Agricultural Hydrated Lime (like I use) would be a low grade.

 

[barracuda]

Thanks Guy!
I just heard the story of one LFS guy over here, who decided to sell some "stuff", he thought was pure pickling lime powder (he found it in some factory). So he started selling this stuff as Kalkwasser powder and after awhile people came to him with huge problems in their reefs. People lost their entire reef tanks.
After doing research on that stuff, he found high amount of chlorine in that powder. Sad story