Noob Kalkwasser Query

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Is my room so full of CO2 that dripping kalk hardly raises the ph? Probe was recalibrated and I'm dripping into the return chamber where the water flows over the glass partition into the return. It's not dripping on the glass but onto the water flowing over the glass. It seems if I drip into the display I'm seeing a tiny increase in pH but that just may be coincidence?

I'm mixing BRS kalk in 5 liters of RODI water at 2.5ish tsb's and stirring it till no solids on the bottom of the container. The pick up line in the container is high enough as to not suck up and fine dust. My dkh has been holding at 8.5 for 3 days and the pH is hanging around as of today 8.03.

The other night I observed the pH dropping so I raised the drip rate to compensate the drop.

Any suggestions on how much I should drip through out the 24hr period? I was around 800ml for 24 hrs. I'm now trying to set the dose to start 1 hr before lights out and turn off at 1:30pm as the lights would've been on to full ramp. This is what the program looks like now and started last night. The pH screen shot is ending the time from calibration so it's showing a 10 or so after calibration. pH of the mixed kalk if I recall was 12.73ish.

The size of the pH rise (as opposed to the starting pH point) is controlled by aeration (makes it smaller) and the amount dosed (more gives more rise), not the CO2 level. Enough aeration will eliminate any pH effect of any alk additive.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

The size of the pH rise (as opposed to the starting pH point) is controlled by aeration (makes it smaller) and the amount dosed (more gives more rise), not the CO2 level. Enough aeration will eliminate any pH effect of any alk additive.

Thing is I was able to hold 8.5dkh and I was playing around with the add dose option of the versa dose pump. I was adding like 30ml in 1min to see how the pH would change. Anyways after tinkering I tested the dkh the following day and it was 9.1dkh. I'd sooner keep it at 8.5 tbh. I've mixed up a new batch of kalk at your recommendation of 2.6tsb for 5000ml of RODI water and turned the dose off to let the alkalinity drop.

Another thing is I cut a large part of my red plating Monti as it was huge and growing into the side and front of the glass so I'm assuming it was the biggest alkalinity consumer in the tank.

If I want to keep the alkalinity at 8.5 is there a formula on how much kalk to add? Guy on BRS FB said I'd need to dose 490ml a day for 30 gallons.

Thoughts?

And thank you for the info

 

[KStatefan]

If I want to keep the alkalinity at 8.5 is there a formula on how much kalk to add? Guy on BRS FB said I'd need to dose 490ml a day for 30 gallons.

Thoughts?

And thank you for the info

How much you dose is based of of your consumption, every tank is going to be different.

If your consumption of alk is 0.82 dkH per then that is the correct amount.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Anyways after tinkering I tested the dkh the following day and it was 9.1dkh. I'd sooner keep it at 8.5 tbh.

There cannot be a formula relating how much alk to add (of any type) to any reef tank to attain a specific alk since it depends on the alk consumption by that tank (as noted above).

FWIW, saturation of kalkwasser is ~2 teaspoons per gallon of fresh water, not tablespoons. Your amount mixed it mostly won't dissolve, and if you dose the slurry of solids, will be extra potent.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

There cannot be a formula relating how much alk to add (of any type) to any reef tank to attain a specific alk since it depends on the alk consumption by that tank (as noted above).

FWIW, saturation of kalkwasser is ~2 teaspoons per gallon of fresh water, not tablespoons. Your amount mixed it mostly won't dissolve, and if you dose the slurry of solids, will be extra potent.

Yes you were correct on how much kalkwasser to add to 5000ml of water. 2.6 teaspoons to be exact. I've followed that instruction from you and I do thank you. So here's an example, my dkh is 8.0 and I'm looking to hold it at 8.5dkh and the reef calculator shows that fully saturated lime water would take 490ml.

When I complained about buying seachem kalkwasser and how clumped up it was and how it wouldn't settle even sitting all night it looked like milk. I did dose it by gravity fed before my Versa dose showed up. That milky seachem stuff being dripped really brought the pH up and why I ordered the Versa dose pump. Now I'm using BRS Pharma kalk and it settles within the hour and is nowhere as potent for raising the pH. Being over 20 years since not using kalk alot has changed. We just mix kalk to water, shake and wait. There would be a skim on the top and a slurry on the bottom and we'd just add the clear liquid. So what do you recommend for adding ph potency with the clean BRS stuff vs the milky seachem kalk? To me dripping the milky kalk freaks me out as I don't want to wake up and see my tank all murky and such. Would a mag stirrer benefit in keeping the BRS kalk mixing to create a non settled product to dose?

Currently I've turnetthe dose off trying to get the alkalinity back down to 8.5 before starting the dose again.

Here is the screen shot I took where I got my amount to dose.

Oh a side note, while testing the seachem kalk I mixed 1000ml to 1/2 tsp and that's where I seen the ph rise nicely but that also put a foggy tint haze into the tank and why I stopped using that seachem product.

Another thing I noticed, no increase in alk or calcium doing the seachem test drip.

The photo is the BRS kalkwasser waiting to be dripped once alkalinity drops to the 8.5 range. pH has suffered the past few days especially today. It just hit 8.0 and the lights have been ramping down for the evening.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don't know why the Seachem product was clumpy and not settling well, but if there are calcium hydroxide particles in the water dosed, on top of the amount that dissolved to saturation, the potency in terms of alk, calcium, and pH is higher. Some folks dose such slurries to get extra potency, but IMO it is very hard to control doses of such materials.

 

[deutchriffer]

Seems my tank before using lights and dosing anything is sitting aroun 7.8-7.9 wondering if co2 scrubbing would be sufficient for my set up, reluctant to go to kalk especially while I’m still cycling I figure I need a solution that can assist outside of kalk or soda ash

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Seems my tank before using lights and dosing anything is sitting aroun 7.8-7.9 wondering if co2 scrubbing would be sufficient for my set up, reluctant to go to kalk especially while I’m still cycling I figure I need a solution that can assist outside of kalk or soda ash

I would not worry about pH until you turn on lights.