Limewater in Auto Top Off

ohioreef

ohioreef

Member
I have an auto-topoff system set up on my tank. It uses an air-pump with a float switch to top off the tank when it drops about 1/4 gallon. It runs approx every 8 hours or so. I evaporate a little over 1/2 gallon, give or take, each day.
I was thinking of using limewater in place of RO in my top off container. (after I get Alk and Ca balanced, of course)
Will this work or would I be better off with a constant drip? Will adding approx 1/4 gallon every few hours or so cause any stability problems in my tank?
Thanks!!
 
ohioreef

ohioreef

Member
I've read that post previously.
I'm just wondering if I HAVE to drip it constantly or if adding about 1/4 gallon every few hours would work also.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Tough question to answer....I evaporate 1 gal or so a day and drip kalk at a very slow rate 24/7...but thats what works for me. Lots of hobbyists top off with automated systems and use kalk in the top off....just be sure to closely monitor PH to prevent serious fluctuations. With no more than 1/2 gal a day I wouldn't think the changes would be too drastic unless your system is rather low volume(under 55 gal) to begin with. If you have say a 125 gal display then the shock to the system would be much less drastic...either way I'd definitely monitor the PH level on a regular basis.:thinking:
 
ohioreef

ohioreef

Member
I just reread the entire post. Apparently the first time I missed the part where he recommended against what I'm wanting to do.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Adding limewater too fast can cause some serious problems...especially in regard to sudden PH increases.:thinking:
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Pouring it in causes a temporary MASSIVE consumption of CO2. This causes two problems if you don't have an overabundance of CO2:
1 - PH will climb rapidly. This is stressful for delicate organisms and will cause Calcium to precipitate out of solution.
2 - The Hydroxide in the limewater will form Carbonate instead of Bicarbonate because of the lack of CO2. The Carbonate will combine with Calcium forming Calcium carbonate seed crystals. This will actually cause your Calcium level and Magnesium level to drop along with the PH.
So, pouring instead of dripping will cause a spike in PH followed by a rapid drop (dangerous) and your Calcium level will also drop.
Typically this is where the uninformed hobbiest says "Kalk didn't work for me".
 
zanemoseley

zanemoseley

Active Member
I have a 75 and drip 24/7, once when I cleaned my 5gal Kent Aquadoser I forgot to restrict the line after filling, what resulted was a steady small stream of kalk which by time I caught it had clouded the tank a bit and probably rose the PH, I caught it in time. I'd really reccomend against the 1/4 gallon large doses of kalk water.
 
doxboi

doxboi

Member
In the dripper I took a small piece of hose, air hose, took off the dripper from the canister and insertes the hose into whole. and reassembled. i now had a inch or so of hose inside sticking up just enought to not drip the kalk that was at the bootom of the canister.
 
small time

small time

Member
how strong do ya all mix your kalk?
i mix mine aprox at ph of 8 = to the tank
my kalk is added though a top off system to a 100 micron sock to make sure no clouding of the display. i also have a aprox 150g system
 
small time

small time

Member
when i first started mixing kalk my ph was at 14 becuase i did what the instuctions said. now i only put in one teaspoon per 3 gallons to buff water at ph of 8. i thought the purpose was to maintain not increase. i know everyone has differnt ways but bang why ph of 12?
 
ohioreef

ohioreef

Member
Just a little update:
I've been topping off with limewater using an auto top off system that uses an AquaLifter pump controlled by a floatswitch.
I have had absolutely no issues with pH fluctuations or precipitation. It has kept my Ca consistently around 400 and my alk around 3.5.
 
murph

murph

Active Member
Ohio we have similar systems other than the fact I have a 30 gal fuge also.
I have been fooling around with kalk drip for a little over a month. IN the end what worked best for me was to mix 40 ml of white distilled vintager with a heaping teaspoon of kalk in a one gallon jug and drip starting in the evening at just under a drip per second. Gallon is gone and drip stops before noon the next day.
Other drip methods or mixture densities usually raised my alk to high.
Before and after stats.
Before alk low PH 8.2 cal 360
After when finally arriving at needed drip rate and mixture
alk on high side of normal range. My test kit does not give a number reading just low normal high.
PH 8.4 and calcium 400.
I also had to supplement my calcium up to 400 but once there the kalk drip seem to maintain it with no additional dosing necessary.
I would start with a pretty weak mixture (maybe 28 ml WDV and a level teaspoon of kalk) and use the drip method. Testing for a week or so and adjusting mixture and or drip rate should get you to a point where you know what is required for your tank.
 
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