Putting Kalk in the ATO?
 

I'd like to put kalk into my ATO help help keep my parameters more stable and just use 2-part to tweak each accordingly. The reason for this is that I can get very busy at work and am sometimes not home to dose or simply don't have time. I'd like to make life a bit easier. Second reason is my pH is consistently low despite all efforts to raise it. I'd like to have kalk help keep the pH up. I am currently using a Tunze ATO to top up. I evaporate a retarded amount of water; like a gallon a day on a 50 gallon tank.

I would like to mix up kalk at <0.5 tsp/gallon for the first while and see how the system does and then adjust it from there.

Problem, Kalk scares the crap out of me. Anyone have any advice to share that can help me here? Who uses kalk in their top off?

Kalk will plug up your pump. I picked this unit up and never been happier.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s..._ID=tz-kalkdis

Just add kalk to the container and you are good to go. My squamosa clam has grown more in the last 2 months compared to the whole last year since adding this.

Eventually that's the route it'll likely go. I want to start with it in the ATO and if that's working for me I'll build a kalk reactor for myself over Christmas. I just can justify spending over $100 on something I can build better for less than $40. But, I want to try this whole shebang out for a month or two before throwing down the cash for a reactor.

What were you dosing before adding the kalk reactor?

If you are handy, I imagine you could build one of these pretty easy for cheap. I just didn't want to fool around with it though. I'm not sure you would want to add the kalk directly to the top off water though as you may damage/clog up the pump and then you'll need to buy a new pump.

Before adding this, I was just trying to manual dose daily.

I did try this in the past but the issue is the same as me just dosing two part. If I'm home at weird hours and only dose once a day it causes a big pH change, so that's why I stopped doing it almost as soon as I started it. Now that I have an ATO I trust I want to try it in the reservoir for the time being. I'm OK with the pump being in there with it, at least for the short term. My experimental reactor at work pumps concentrated kalk at 60C for 400 hours at a time and doesn't clog. And it's a crappier pump than what tunze gives me :razz:

I've been running kalk/vinegar diluted in RODI water for about 3 weeks thru my Tunze ATO.. levels are good as long as I dont run a cooling fan (levels shot up), however, my pump doesn't sound normal...noisy now when it tops up. I think there is calcium buildup in it. Was thinking of running straight vinegar thru it to clean it out.
The Kalk/vinegar method can be found online.

Debating going to 2 part dosing or just getting a Calcium reactor as I already have the CO2 tank, solenoid and ph monitor from a planted freshwater setup I used to have

If you want you can come by and take a look at the way I'm doing it. I run both a calcium reactor and kalk reactor. Never mind. Sorry I was looking at wrong screen name. iPhone screen too small

I've been adding kalk to my ato for about a year now and I think it's one of the best things I could have done for my tank. I've been adding 1 tspn per gal with good success. I also run a calcium reactor but it's not always consistent on it's own. With the kalk I don't have to worry about the reactor slowing down now and again. No special technique here, I just toss the kalk in every time I fill the ato reservoir. No pump clogging here either.

Be cautious when/if using a float valve to release Kalk via ATO. A friend was using one model valve where the Kalk(Top off)) actually went through the float valve itself. Over time the Kalk built up on the float valve, it stayed open and pumped 30g of Kalk into the system; lost $20K worth of live stock :sad:

I use a gravity fed system i.e. drip, for Kalk only and a Tunze Osmolator for ATO.

When you guys add Kalk to the top off water don't you find that the addition of Kalk varies as the evaporation changes? I know my tank is hardly going through any top off water right now, and in the summer it was about 3 gallons per day. That could wreck havoc...?