Moving to Kalk from 2 part

BigTimeIssues · Jan 25, 2023

I started my system on kalk.. I was only dosing brs 2 part as needed. As time was progressing I needed to dose more 2 part. I decided kalk was my choice because of the ph benefit. My evaporation was 1.2 gallons per day, (give or take). I got a kaomer doser and put the kalk in a bucket pre mixed with a lid. Made a float so the pickup tube would never pull from the bottom. Set it up to dose every hour of the day except for peak photo period. Divided 1.2 gallons over the number of doses and monitored it closely. It worked! Ph would swing a little but it finally leveled out. 8.2 to 8.3 all day. Alk went up at first to 9.9. But came down everyday. Calc never spiked up.. it seems to still be going down daily, but not as bad as before.

I just added a fan to increase the amount of kalk I could dose. Worked like a dream. I'm now at 1.5 gallons of kalkwasser a day. Ph is 8.3 to 8.4.. alk is still steady between 8.3 to 8.7. Calcium seems to run around 415.

I have alot of sps frags that exploded with growth. I believe I can see them growing everyday! I keep checking alk, calc, and mag every couple days to make sure it's keeping up.

YOYOYOReefer · Jan 25, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Not sure who you are addressing this to, but why do you think that?

ive never needed any 2 part and run calcium reactor +kalk for 30+ years both methods work, but you gotta stick to one method.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 25, 2023

YOYOYOReefer said:
ive never needed any 2 part and run calcium reactor +kalk for 30+ years both methods work, but you gotta stick to one method.

I never needed anything except kalkwasser for 20 years. Whether it alone is suitable depends entirely on the alk needs of the tank and the daily evaporation rate.

YOYOYOReefer · Jan 25, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I never needed anything except kalkwasser for 20 years. Whether it alone is suitable depends entirely on the alk needs of the tank and the daily evaporation rate.

true that randy..its going depend on each system. Ive never been so lucky to just need kalk.
the whole idea of dosing is strange to me, ijust learned how to reef with calcium reactor and kalk so thats what i know.

penguinexdeus · Jan 25, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Because you measured it to verify?

A sad truth about many kalk stirrers that manufacturers gloss over is that they may not saturate the water.

Yes. I don't measure constantly but I spot check it periodically by taking a sample an inch or two from the top. pH over 12. I need to buy a conductivity tester at some point...

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 25, 2023

penguinexdeus said:
Yes. I don't measure constantly but I spot check it periodically by taking a sample an inch or two from the top. pH over 12. I need to buy a conductivity tester at some point...

It may or may not be saturated, depending on the accuracy of that measurement.

Kalkwasser at a true pH 12.1 is only about 36% potency. At 25 deg C, saturated limewater has a pH of 12.54, and pH is a logarithmic scale, so 12.54 is much more potent than 12.1

Conductivity is a much better way to gauge potency, but if you want to use pH, take a reading in true saturated kalkwasser (say, 2 teaspoons calcium hydroxide mixed into a cup of RO/DI). Whatever that pH is, note it. Then measure the pH of the effluent. A drop of 0.3 ph units is an ~ 50% drop in potency.

BigTimeIssues · Jan 25, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I never needed anything except kalkwasser for 20 years. Whether it alone is suitable depends entirely on the alk needs of the tank and the daily evaporation rate.

Do you do anything to increase evaporation? I added a small fan to my tank and now I could add another liter or more per day of kalkwasser. My ph is hover 8.3 to 8.4 on most days.. about every 3rd day it seems ph won't go over 8.3. (8.2 to 8.3)

Huskereef · Jan 25, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Because you measured it to verify?

A sad truth about many kalk stirrers that manufacturers gloss over is that they may not saturate the water.

Before i purchase a stirrer, I am intrigued to hear what you believe is this best way to add kalk to a system.

Potatohead · Jan 26, 2023

Husker_Reefer said:
Before i purchase a stirrer, I am intrigued to hear what you believe is this best way to add kalk to a system.

As long as you have room for it, a pretty tightly sealed reservoir with a dosing pump is the way to go. Just not so tightly sealed it creates a vacuum inside.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 26, 2023

BigTimeIssues said:
Do you do anything to increase evaporation? I added a small fan to my tank and now I could add another liter or more per day of kalkwasser. My ph is hover 8.3 to 8.4 on most days.. about every 3rd day it seems ph won't go over 8.3. (8.2 to 8.3)

In the early days of my reef I used a fan for cooling when needed, but in general I had no reason to increase evaporation since kalkwasser met the demand and my pH was always above 8.3.