Help with Gravity Kalkwasser build

[mossanimal]

I want to make a simple kalk dripper using a plastic bottle. I have a 90 gallon tank. I have two main questions: What concentration (i.e. teaspoons to gallons) do I make the kalkwasser solution? And... what kind of drip rate should I shoot for?

I've been adding kalk to my gravity ATO (with analog float switch) and I'm tired of dealing with clogging, etc.

I would welcome any other suggestions on how do this.... or any links to a good build.

 

[tzabor10]

A Kalk reactor would solve this issue

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Any idea how much alk you consume in a day? That determines how much to dose.

 

[exnisstech]

2 teaspoons kalk powder per gallon rodi for full saturation. As far as drip rate it depends on how much kalk you need to dose. There are calculators online. I dialed mine in by trial and error. I'm at 7200 ml daily to keep alk stable. That said I use a brs 50ml minute dosing pump on a cheap digital timer to dose kalk. Cheap and has worked flawlessly for well over a year. I'm not a fan of gravity dripping because it's too inconsistent. Drip rate slows as volume decreases and with no pump the hose plugs to often. JMO

 

[mossanimal]

Any idea how much alk you consume in a day? That determines how much to dose.

No, I do not unfortunately.

A Kalk reactor would solve this issue

I'm sure it would $$$$ This is a classroom reef tank and the budget is very slim.

 

[exnisstech]

No, I do not unfortunately

You'll have to figure that out before proceeding with any product. If you do not know your consumption rate your only guessing. You may even be able to get by with just water changes. Many people do on tanks with low alk consumption. Calculating your consumption rate is step one IMO

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What is the tank alk now?

 

[mossanimal]

What is the tank alk now?

It stays pretty consistent around 8.5. I just got a Crocea clam and some of my Cyphastrea and Montis are starting to grow pretty quickly so I'm trying to get a start on basic dosing.

I'm not sure if it's because my tank is in a classroom filled with kids (C02), but my pH has been a little on the low side at 8. I would like to get that up to over 8.2.

 

[Pntbll687]

This is what I advise everyone starting to dose kalkwasser to do

Kalkwasser

• Know your alkalinity consumption for 24hrs. I recommend testing 3 days in a row at the same time and average the consumption over those days. For my example we’ll use a 100g system with a consumption of .5dkh per day
• Go here https://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
• Enter system volume
• Use 8.0 as current alkalinity
• Use 8.0 + (alkalinity consumption for 24hrs) as desired alkalinity. So 8.5 for the example
• Note – The actual alkalinity of the tank doesn’t matter, just that the starting alk and desired are separated by the 24hr consumption. This is because it will take the same amount of kalkwasser to go from 8.0 to 8.5 as it does to go from 7.3 to 7.8
• Select “limewater saturated” as the product being used
• Hit calculate
• This will give you the dose needed for 24 hours. Spread it out how you like, but the more times you can dose the better.
• Don’t just blindly add kalkwasser without knowing you’re alkalinity consumption, it may raise ph but your alkalinity will go up too!

Now, as for a dripper. BRS sells a dripper kit. You'll need a container to dose from. These work pretty good as long as you can gravity feed it into the system, and you are commited to filling the container everyday or every couple days as needed.

BRS DIY Kalkwasser Dripper Kit

Build your own kalkwasser dripper with the DIY Kalk Dripper Kit from Bulk Reef Supply. Just choose the storage container with lid that works best for you. Kit Contains: 16” Long - 1/4” Clear Acrylic Tube 1/4” Mur-lok Inline Ball Valve 2 - 1/4” Mur-lok Push Connect Bulkhead Tank Adapter 2 -...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

As for concentration of kalk, normally people suggest 2tsp per gallon of water in the container. I would suggest slightly less, like 1.5tsp or 1.75tsp per gallon in the dosing container, simply so you won't have any (or very little precipitation at the bottom of the container).

 

[mossanimal]

This is what I advise everyone starting to dose kalkwasser to do

Kalkwasser

• Know your alkalinity consumption for 24hrs. I recommend testing 3 days in a row at the same time and average the consumption over those days. For my example we’ll use a 100g system with a consumption of .5dkh per day
• Go here https://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
• Enter system volume
• Use 8.0 as current alkalinity
• Use 8.0 + (alkalinity consumption for 24hrs) as desired alkalinity. So 8.5 for the example
• Note – The actual alkalinity of the tank doesn’t matter, just that the starting alk and desired are separated by the 24hr consumption. This is because it will take the same amount of kalkwasser to go from 8.0 to 8.5 as it does to go from 7.3 to 7.8
• Select “limewater saturated” as the product being used
• Hit calculate
• This will give you the dose needed for 24 hours. Spread it out how you like, but the more times you can dose the better.
• Don’t just blindly add kalkwasser without knowing you’re alkalinity consumption, it may raise ph but your alkalinity will go up too!

Now, as for a dripper. BRS sells a dripper kit. You'll need a container to dose from. These work pretty good as long as you can gravity feed it into the system, and you are commited to filling the container everyday or every couple days as needed.

BRS DIY Kalkwasser Dripper Kit

Build your own kalkwasser dripper with the DIY Kalk Dripper Kit from Bulk Reef Supply. Just choose the storage container with lid that works best for you. Kit Contains: 16” Long - 1/4” Clear Acrylic Tube 1/4” Mur-lok Inline Ball Valve 2 - 1/4” Mur-lok Push Connect Bulkhead Tank Adapter 2 -...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

As for concentration of kalk, normally people suggest 2tsp per gallon of water in the container. I would suggest slightly less, like 1.5tsp or 1.75tsp per gallon in the dosing container, simply so you won't have any (or very little precipitation at the bottom of the container).

This is great... Thanks a ton.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

It stays pretty consistent around 8.5. I just got a Crocea clam and some of my Cyphastrea and Montis are starting to grow pretty quickly so I'm trying to get a start on basic dosing.

I'm not sure if it's because my tank is in a classroom filled with kids (C02), but my pH has been a little on the low side at 8. I would like to get that up to over 8.2.

I would not start dosing it until alk began to decline. Dosing just to a pH goal may drive alk higher than you want.

 

[mossanimal]

I would not start dosing it until alk began to decline. Dosing just to a pH goal may drive alk higher than you want.

Okay... yeah that makes sense. Right now I'm just trying to get the 'tools' in my 'tool box' because it seems like dosing should be something I'm doing at some point with the creatures I have.

Do you have any other suggestions for raising my pH in the short term?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Okay... yeah that makes sense. Right now I'm just trying to get the 'tools' in my 'tool box' because it seems like dosing should be something I'm doing at some point with the creatures I have.

Do you have any other suggestions for raising my pH in the short term?

Fresher air to the room, outside air to a skimmer, a CO2 scrubber on the skimmer inlet, and more photosynthesis are all good options.