how do you add yr kalkwasser

[mwang]

hi, wonder what do you mix when you add yr kalk, can i mix with tab water, or salt water(water premix with salt), or .....?

how often do you add?

[Gouldian]

1. Mixed with dechlorinated water

2. Nightly after lights off drip into tank

3. About 1.5l with 1 teaspoon of Kalk, drip only the clear liquid, discard the remains

[Clownfish]

i add into dechlorinated tap water... mix mix... let it settle then drip drip... discard the sediments... done at night where pH in tank is supposed to drop a little bit than day....

it wld be best to use RO/DI water cos they can dissolve so much betta n more...

amt to add wld depend on wat coral u hav n ur tank size....

if most inhabitants r soft corals, ur normal water change shld be able to do the trick liao...

u shld use a Ca test kit to see whether u need to add Ca... adding too much is not gd too... cos it alters ur dhk

[nicken]

can use the water in the sump to mix ?

[lightningstrike]

IMHO, best solution to Kalk is to get a KR.

[mwang]

hi, thanks for all the inputs, just bought calcium test kit, will follow reefers kind instructions

thanks

[RockyBoy]

I mix 1 teaspoon of kalk and 30ml of white vinegar and then pour 2 liters of water in them and drip drip drip.....

[Nautical]

I mix 1 teaspoon of kalk and 30ml of white vinegar and then pour 2 liters of water in them and drip drip drip.....

what is the function of the vinegar?

appreciate your advice.

[houndster]

Hi,

Newbie here... just asking what is the kalk for?

[Gouldian]

what is the function of the vinegar?

appreciate your advice.

Vinegar is use to ensure that Kalk is dissolve more efficiently.

As usual there are also other literature that are against the use of Vinegar. Anthony Calfo claims that Kalk will dissolve efficiently in cold decholrinated water as such no need for Vinegar.

But I believe there are also bros here that swear by vinegar.

Thus, it is a matter of choice.

[Gouldian]

Hi,

Newbie here... just asking what is the kalk for?

Kalk or Kalkwasser is a solution of Calcium Hydroxide. It is used by alot of reefers to maintain Ca and KH in their tank.

It is sold in powered form whereby reefers have to dissolve it before dripping into their tank.

[RockyBoy]

what is the function of the vinegar?

appreciate your advice.

Article about using vinegar with kalk

[Marineman]

I use the lazy and easy way to add kalk. I use RO water for top up, everytime when I top up on alternate days with 2.75 liters of water, I add aquarter to a third teaspoon to the top up water, leave it for a few hours and pour the whole lot (save for the undisolved kalk) into the tank when lights are out. I have been doing this for over a year and I NEVER have to add any calcium supplement as the it is always within range of 400-450ppm. My tank is 100 gallons.

[terryansimon]

this is how I used to dose kalk before I got a KR.

firstly, get one of those mineral water bottles....must be the big 1.5l version one.

fill it up with dechlorinated water. fill it until its almost full, that is to have a bit of allowance from the top.

throw it into the fridge. not freezer, but fridge.

after a few hours, it'd be cold. take the bottle out, and throw in one teaspoon worth of kalk. what I did was I used the handle end of a plastic soup spoon. I inverted the spoon so that the hollowed out portion of the handle can be used to scoop the small amount of kalk and had the space allowance to go down a small bottle's mouth.

put in one or two portions of kalk, close bottle cap and shake it.

after that, I slowly add it into the overflow area by pouring, and monitoring my pH. make sure you add just a little bit of kalk powder and not too much, if not your pH swing will be....woohoo. high siah.

[Gouldian]

Personally, I used cool Di water and I find that almost all the kalk will fully dissolve unlike if I use dechlorinated water.

[yangster]

Vinegar is use to ensure that Kalk is dissolve more efficiently.

As usual there are also other literature that are against the use of Vinegar. Anthony Calfo claims that Kalk will dissolve efficiently in cold decholrinated water as such no need for Vinegar.

But I believe there are also bros here that swear by vinegar.

Will the use of Vinegar affect your PH? and other parameters?

[Gouldian]

Kalk with Vinegar

I think Rockyboy has attached the above link that discuss more on the used of vinegar, you might want to take a look.

I personally has not try cuz I support more of A. Calfo's methods.

[Glenn@home]

You shouldnt mix kalk in a tank or sump. Mix it outside then add via a drip method or use a kalk stirrer.

Vinegar is supposed to increase the amount of Ca dissolved in the kalkwater making it easier to maintain the Ca level in a high demand reef setup.

An alternative ways of increasing the amount of Ca added via kalk include the use of fans to increase evapouration.

I believe that adding kalk via top up will potentially raise your system to around 11 Dkh and 410ppm Ca (Source : Randy Holmes-Farley , Reef Central).

HTH

Glenn