Originally Posted by Myka (Post 820548)

You need more stuff in your frag tank!!! Let me know if you want a donation. ;)

Originally Posted by Myka (Post 822581)

Hey Mark, saturated limewater is 2 teaspoons per gallon. Anything more will just sit on the bottom. You can add up to 3 tsp per gallon if you add vinegar (up to 45 mL per gallon), but don't forget the implications there. :lol:

I will bring you frags in July! :D

Originally Posted by mseepman (Post 822600)

Oops...that would explain the little bit of sediment. will it dissolve if I add in some more RODI water?

Originally Posted by Randy Holmes-Farley

More sophisticated systems can involve a large holding reservoir for limewater (up to 55 gallons or more) coupled to a delivery pump and a float switch in the aquarium or sump that controls the delivery to match the evaporation rate. This is the type of system that I use. I make up limewater in a 44-gallon Rubbermaid Brute trashcan by putting the CaO in the bottom, and pouring in water by 5-gallon buckets. That process takes about 5 minutes once every 2-3 weeks. The trashcan is closed by simply putting on its lid. The pump that sends the water to the sump is a Reef-Filler pump (maximum pumping rate 3 gallons per day), which is controlled to match the evaporation rate using a float switch in my sump. The entire limewater system is located remotely from my aquarium (in my basement), so the size of the reservoir is of no consequence. In my case, I often do not use saturated limewater because my aquarium does not need that much supplementation of calcium and alkalinity. Consequently, I add less CaO than would be required to produce saturated limewater. If an aquarist wants saturated limewater, there is no real reason to try to add a specific amount. Any extra solids just sit on the bottom and wait for the next water refill (these solids also absorb impurities like copper out of the water, but that's the subject of a different article).


This type of limewater system is the type that most often comes under fire for being prone to degradation problems by reaction with atmospheric carbon dioxide. In this type of system, limewater is made up once, and then allowed to sit unstirred for as long as it takes the delivery system to send it to the aquarium. Since this type of reservoir can deliver limewater to the aquarium for several weeks, many aquarists have incorrectly concluded that substantial potency is lost as the limewater degrades, and that such a system will fail. Moreover, this assertion is why many aquarists claim that Nilsen reactors are simpler: because the simple delivery from a large reservoir won't work and that only daily mixing of limewater can be successful. In truth, it takes me five minutes to make up limewater every 2-3 weeks, so the idea that some other system is easier to use is simply unfounded. Later in this article I will show that such simple systems do not lose substantial potency, and hence should be considered by aquarists who have the space for large reservoirs.

Originally Posted by H2o2 (Post 823511)

I am so looking forward to seeing this tank in person