sanangelosaltfish1
Member
I have a two gallon contaniner that i want to use as my limewater container. How much lime do i use to mix with it?
limewater????
- Thread starter sanangelosaltfish1
- Start date
nm reef
Active Member
One level tablespoon per gal is the ratio I use...I mix it and let it sit for 6-8 hours before I drip it in my system. Also I've found that limewater itself does little to raise levels of calcium/alkalinity...so you may want to insure your levels are where you want them....limewater(kalkwasser) does a good job of maintaining established levels.
jagermeister
Member
So is the recommended dose one TEASPOON (tsp) per gallon or one TABLESPOON (tbsp) per gallon?
jonthefb
Active Member
that i dont know. i just get an empty 2 litre soda bottle, fill it up with ro water, add a tsp of pickling lime, and shake the crap out of it, then i let it sit for 24 hrs, open the lid and pour it into my iv bag ad begin the drip. i guess it is in contact with o2 when i am filling the bag, but im not too worried about it!
good luck
jon
good luck
jon
quazi
Member
I mix 2 teaspoons of kalk up with a tablespoon of vinegar first (in a dixie cup!), then dump that into my 2.5 gallon water jug (the kind that grocery stores sell full of drinking water, with a spigot.) I start dripping immediately. Makes life a lot easier.
From this link:
Dissolving the Kalk powder in the Vinegar first will accomplish several very good things.
First, it will get more Calcium ions (Ca++) into the solution because you are dissolving the Ca(OH)2 in an acid instead of water, and forming Calcium Acetate, which exists as a dissociated equilibrium of free Calcium ions and Acetate ions.
Second, the Acetic Acid (Vinegar) provides an equivalent of all the CO2 you need to avoid precipitating the newly-added Calcium ions as useless white Calcium Carbonate powder.
Third, after all the cool Calcium ion chemistry is over, the leftover Acetate ions from the broken-down Vinegar leaves you with free organic Carbon in the water that feeds the bacteria in your tank so that it converts more poisonous Nitrates to NO2 gas (a very good thing).
and
The problem with allowing the CO2 reaction to occur as you mix your Kalk in a container without Vinegar is that you are mixing it in a comparatively small quantity of water that contains only a very limited amount of CO2. So, instead of having enough CO2 to go all the way to useful Bicarbonate ions (HCO3-, or Alkalinity) as you want it to, the chemical reaction stops at the undesirable Carbonate ion (CO3--). This is what sets the stage for the Calcium ions to precipitate out as useless solid Calcium Carbonate while still in the mixing container -- the Kalk mixes with SOME CO2, but not with ENOUGH CO2.
That's what I know
It works form me!
From this link:
Dissolving the Kalk powder in the Vinegar first will accomplish several very good things.
First, it will get more Calcium ions (Ca++) into the solution because you are dissolving the Ca(OH)2 in an acid instead of water, and forming Calcium Acetate, which exists as a dissociated equilibrium of free Calcium ions and Acetate ions.
Second, the Acetic Acid (Vinegar) provides an equivalent of all the CO2 you need to avoid precipitating the newly-added Calcium ions as useless white Calcium Carbonate powder.
Third, after all the cool Calcium ion chemistry is over, the leftover Acetate ions from the broken-down Vinegar leaves you with free organic Carbon in the water that feeds the bacteria in your tank so that it converts more poisonous Nitrates to NO2 gas (a very good thing).
and
The problem with allowing the CO2 reaction to occur as you mix your Kalk in a container without Vinegar is that you are mixing it in a comparatively small quantity of water that contains only a very limited amount of CO2. So, instead of having enough CO2 to go all the way to useful Bicarbonate ions (HCO3-, or Alkalinity) as you want it to, the chemical reaction stops at the undesirable Carbonate ion (CO3--). This is what sets the stage for the Calcium ions to precipitate out as useless solid Calcium Carbonate while still in the mixing container -- the Kalk mixes with SOME CO2, but not with ENOUGH CO2.
That's what I know
It works form me!
quazi
Member
BM,
Not sure what you mean by "nothing to do with top off"? I top off my evaporated water this way, and have been doing this for months. The vinegar allows the kalk to mix immediately and will not react with O2 and CO2.
Anyway, it works for me. I would love to have a Neilsen reactor, but my way works great, is eaasy and cheap. If I have a large tank, and was getting evap rates of 5 gallons a day, I would have to invest in the NR.
Anyway, this works, it is cheap and easy. Just like me
Not sure what you mean by "nothing to do with top off"? I top off my evaporated water this way, and have been doing this for months. The vinegar allows the kalk to mix immediately and will not react with O2 and CO2.
Anyway, it works for me. I would love to have a Neilsen reactor, but my way works great, is eaasy and cheap. If I have a large tank, and was getting evap rates of 5 gallons a day, I would have to invest in the NR.
Anyway, this works, it is cheap and easy. Just like me
richierich2000
Member
ok does your ro/di have a auto shutoff if it does then use a float in the kalk tank and in the sump that way your ro will shut off if not I will wast alot of water. if you just slow down the water coming out of the ro. the wast water is still comming out full blast. if you use a float in the sump that way you will not have to worry about it over flowing it sill stay at the same level. just trying to help
rook
Member
Why is it bad to allow it do mix with oxygen?
I have a topoff system that is powered by an air pump, that presurizes an airtight bucket and forces water to the tank and is run of a float switch. I considered dosing kalk with this system.
It sounds like that will not work though because the airpump will definately mix oxygen with the kalk water?
Or would that work?
I have a topoff system that is powered by an air pump, that presurizes an airtight bucket and forces water to the tank and is run of a float switch. I considered dosing kalk with this system.
It sounds like that will not work though because the airpump will definately mix oxygen with the kalk water?
Or would that work?
rook
Member
"O2 isn't a problem... it's CO2. As long as your pressure hose isn't underwater it should be fine."
No my pressure hose from the air pump does not touch the water.
"Provided it doesn't really pump in all that much air"
I don't quite understand what you mean, but I have an airtight 5 gallon jug filled almost to the top with water. One hose reaches to the bottom of the jug and water runs through it to the tank. The other hose from the air pump just barely enters the top.
So, if there is only 2gallons of water in the jug, there is 3gallons worth of air. Did you mean this when you said that much air?
I only evap about 5 gallons per week so the top off of water is slow. Also the hoses are those regular air pump hoses. They are quite small. I did this on purpose so that water does not enter the tank to quickly and disrupt the system. Also it is set up on a very sensitive float switch so the top off system runs for only about a minute at a time, or less.
If you think I will be alright using this system to add kalk, bonus for me. I would love to but my girlfriend will never let me hang a drip system on the wall above the tank.
Thanks
No my pressure hose from the air pump does not touch the water.
"Provided it doesn't really pump in all that much air"
I don't quite understand what you mean, but I have an airtight 5 gallon jug filled almost to the top with water. One hose reaches to the bottom of the jug and water runs through it to the tank. The other hose from the air pump just barely enters the top.
So, if there is only 2gallons of water in the jug, there is 3gallons worth of air. Did you mean this when you said that much air?
I only evap about 5 gallons per week so the top off of water is slow. Also the hoses are those regular air pump hoses. They are quite small. I did this on purpose so that water does not enter the tank to quickly and disrupt the system. Also it is set up on a very sensitive float switch so the top off system runs for only about a minute at a time, or less.
If you think I will be alright using this system to add kalk, bonus for me. I would love to but my girlfriend will never let me hang a drip system on the wall above the tank.
Thanks
