Need help with Dosing Kalk

bubblepuffer · #1 09-02-2007, 10:39 PM

Hi Everyone,

Now I moved to a new huge tank now and I am interest in dosing Kalk. I bought a 1lbs of Food grade calcium hydroxide (kalk) from ChemMaster and I also bought a Kentmarine Aquadose. How I know how much I need to drip into my tank. How do you mix the Kalk and how do you use it? How do I calculate the dripping rate for the tank? How much Kalk powder should I mix with how much RO water? I am totally newbie in Kalk.

Display tank is around 220g and sump is around 100g. At this moment I just dosing Kent Marine Liquid Reactor but it cost too much for a huge tank to keep up with the PH level with it.

untamed · #2 09-02-2007, 11:40 PM

Here's the basic logic. Only testing of your Ca/Alk will allow you to determine how much Ca/Alk you need to add/replace every day.

You can control the how much Ca/Alk in two ways:

1) Control the concentration of the kalk. This is difficult to do. Most people just mix a saturated solution (2tsps per gallon).

2) Control the AMOUNT of solution you add. The amount you can add can't ever be more than the evaporation that you have, or you will be adding too much water. The amount you add each day is what you are going to control. If testing says you need more, add more...but you'll never be able to add more than evaporation lets you.

So...what you are controlling is the total AMOUNT of saturated Kalk. You can't just dump entire amount in all at once, so the dripper is designed to add that amount slowly. The rate of the drip isn't that important.

Say you determine that you'll start with 1 gallon of Kalk per day. Set up the dripper so that the 1 gallon goes in as slowly as possible, but all that gallon gets in within 24 hours. Test for Ca/Alk. Track the Ca/Alk over a week time. If the Ca/Alk is dropping, increase the amount you are adding.

Be as consistent as possible in your Kalk addition and the time of day that you measure the Ca/Alk.

That's it!

bubblepuffer · #3 09-02-2007, 11:48 PM

thanks for the quick respond. Do I just mix the Kalk into the water..then shake it .. how long should I wait before I can pour the clear water into the aquadose. With those left over milky mix, can I pour in more water to mix another batch or it's better to use a fresh kalk powder

surgeonfish · #4 09-03-2007, 03:40 AM

Mix the kalk in a separate bucket. Let it sit for 30-60 min to let the precipitate settle out. Then pour the liquid into your Kent aquadoser. Discard the precipitate. I don't think you can use the white precipitate again.

atcguy · #5 09-03-2007, 04:39 AM

Simple one from OA will do. set to a pump mix it twice a day and make an auto top off , so many ways you can do this. I fill my mixer once maybe every 2 -4 months depending. When the tank tops itself up, Kalk is being added. I cannot imagine doing the hard method each day. I run a Cal reactor and a kalk mixer and my levels stay perfect. Think about it!!!