Need some hlep with Kalk dosing

[tur4k]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing#post_3418027
LOL...now it is being hailed as a phosphate remover too.
In the January 2005 issue of Reefkeeping magazine, Randy Holmes-Farley has an article called "What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime". In it he talks about phosphates being lowered by dripping kalk. It's a pretty good read for anyone wanting to drip kalk. I'm not sure if linking to that site is allowed, but you can google "randy holmes farley kalkwasser".

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tur4k http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418031
In the January 2005 issue of Reefkeeping magazine, Randy Holmes-Farley has an article called "What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime". In it he talks about phosphates being lowered by dripping kalk. It's a pretty good read for anyone wanting to drip kalk. I'm not sure if linking to that site is allowed, but you can google "randy holmes farley kalkwasser".
I just found it amusing that dripping kalk would have so many benifits, I have the doser and I'm figuring out how to use it. I love this site, I learn so much.

 

[snakeblitz33]

kalk does precipitate phosphates out of the water column. Read the article - if you are going to drip kalk, you mise well try to learn everything about it that you can.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418054
kalk does precipitate phosphates out of the water column. Read the article - if you are going to drip kalk, you mise well try to learn everything about it that you can.
Well, that certainly is a 100% added plus. Now I'm going to ask the really stupid question....
What are the dangers of dripping Kalkwasser?

 

[snakeblitz33]

If you drip too fast, you run the risk of rapidly increasing your pH, which can harm your aquarium inhabitants. If you add too much kalk to your top off water and drip it in too fast you may run the risk of calcium precipitation in your display tank... (calcium snow) on top of having pH increasing too fast.
Start your dose really low at first, like 1tsp of kalk per gallon and then adjust it up as needed. In one of my tanks, I was using 8tsp of kalk per gallon of top off water per day just to keep up with calcium and alkalinity demands. It just depends on what your tank needs.

 

[bang guy]

A mistake (overdose) of limewater can quickly remove most of the CO2 dissolved in the water. This will have the effect of rapidly raising PH which causes a snowball of events.
With the increased PH Calcium and Carbonate will beging to precipitate out of solution. This will look like a snowstorm in the tank. Anything warmer than the water will develop a limestone crust on it. This includes heaters, powerhead spindles, rocks that are warmed by the light, etc.
The precipitation of Calcium carbonate anso consumes a lot of Magnesium. It could lower Magnesium to the point where Calcium can not longer remain supersaturated. This will cause another round of precipitation and leave Calcium below 300ppm and Alkalinity near zero.
Once Alkalinity drops to it's lowerest level CO2 will once again begin to build in the tank. With the low Alkalinity the PH can drop rapidly to well below 8.
The PH swing is very stressful for delicate animals.
The lack of CO2 causes a temporary shutdown of most photosynthesis which affects algae and photosynthetic corals.

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418062
In one of my tanks, I was using 8tsp of kalk per gallon of top off water per day just to keep up with calcium and alkalinity demands. It just depends on what your tank needs.
IIRC limewater is saturated at 2 tsp per gallon unless you add an acid to the solution. I would guess that 6 of your 8 tsps were simply collecting on the bottom of the container. Using vinegar to lower PH will allow an additional 1/2 tsp to be dissolved and will also supply a ready amount of CO2 once it's dripped into the tank.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418062
If you drip too fast, you run the risk of rapidly increasing your pH, which can harm your aquarium inhabitants. If you add too much kalk to your top off water and drip it in too fast you may run the risk of calcium precipitation in your display tank... (calcium snow) on top of having pH increasing too fast.
Start your dose really low at first, like 1tsp of kalk per gallon and then adjust it up as needed. In one of my tanks, I was using 8tsp of kalk per gallon of top off water per day just to keep up with calcium and alkalinity demands. It just depends on what your tank needs.
Yes, I've been doing some more reading...the whole tank clouds up with an overdose too, and watch PH because kalk is at a 12. I plan to follow the recommended amount of mix instructed on the container of Kalkwasser. The doser does 1ml an hour and on up. So that will be my thing to factor in, not how much Kalk in the container, but how much to drip for the desired results. I have at least a half gallon of evaporation on the 30g....I just added about 3 pints of RO to the 56g this morning....LOL... so how many ml is in 3 pints???? Then I have to figure the time frame I want to drip....24/7??? or only at night when PH drops???
I don't have the sump up yet on that tank so it's guess and something to think about. I mark the sumps with a piece of tape where the line should be, making it easier to bring the water line right back to that spot. As soon as I can get back down on my knees again, I can finish the sumps baffles and get ready to switch filtration systems with the 30g. I will be setting up the 56g with the kalk drip so there isn't much I can do for now but read up. .

 

[snakeblitz33]

You know what bang? Your right. It was just sinking to the bottom because the water was already saturated. Makes me feel dumb. I'll just keep my nose outta topics that I haven't researched or experimented with in awhile. Best of luck flower! Looks like I'll be needing some help dozing my tank in the on coming months. Lol.

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418074
You know what bang? Your right. It was just sinking to the bottom because the water was already saturated. Makes me feel dumb. I'll just keep my nose outta topics that I haven't researched or experimented with in awhile. Best of luck flower! Looks like I'll be needing some help dozing my tank in the on coming months. Lol.
Hey man, if either of us learn something then the entire day is a success! You should be proud that you mentioned that today. At least one, and probably a dozen or more people now know that adding 8 tsp of lime to a gallon of water is overkill.

 

[tur4k]

If it makes you feel any better, my tank survived a massive kalk overdose. Someone at my LFS talked me into buying a cheap kalk reactor and sold me some concentrated kalk slurry to go with it. Needless to say, the guy gave me some bad advice and it started "snowing" in my tank as soon as I plugged the thing in. Then the check valve failed when I unplugged it and it dumped all of the kalk into my top off reservoir. It was a giant mess.
I used vinegar to bring my ph back down and spent the next week doing daily water changes to restore the mag, calc and alk. There was no visible loss of life from the ordeal, but it scared the crap out of me.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I guess I got some bad advice from a fellow aquarist about the amount to use and have been repeating it ever since. It's good to know that it was overkill so I won't be making the same mistake again.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tur4k http:///t/387958/need-some-hlep-with-kalk-dosing/20#post_3418091
If it makes you feel any better, my tank survived a massive kalk overdose. Someone at my LFS talked me into buying a cheap kalk reactor and sold me some concentrated kalk slurry to go with it. Needless to say, the guy gave me some bad advice and it started "snowing" in my tank as soon as I plugged the thing in. Then the check valve failed when I unplugged it and it dumped all of the kalk into my top off reservoir. It was a giant mess.
I used vinegar to bring my ph back down and spent the next week doing daily water changes to restore the mag, calc and alk. There was no visible loss of life from the ordeal, but it scared the crap out of me.
OMG...I would be so upset. That's why I'm so afraid of new gadgets...LOL..You should have seen the PMs I bothered Meowzer with about the Phosban reactor I purchased. Preventing such things from ahppening are what this site is all about. Even if you get some not so great advice.....someone with better understanding chimes in...it sure saved folks from my halfwitted advice on a few occasions. I have learned so much here.