Kalkwasser

[pisces]

Bro Tineng,

If you refer to the article above it says to use acetic acid(5%) or white distilled vinegar when dosing Kalk to maintain ur Ca and KH levels.

Maybe you wanna try that.

Here is the excerpt for your reference:

Try mixing and adding your Kalkwasser like this: pour 15ml of 5% Acetic Acid (or ordinary Distilled White Vinegar from the grocery store -- same thing) into a 1 liter (1 quart) container. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of lab-grade Ca(OH)2 (or commercial Kalkwasser mix) in the Acetic Acid, and then dilute to 1 liter (1 quart) volume with either RO/DI water, or even tank water.

15 ml is more Vinegar than some people are comfortable with, but I use it constantly with no problems. There should be no sediment in the mixture, or just a little bit at most. You can let the sediment settle out if you don't like the white flakes in your tank. I just drip the liquid and the sediment both into my tank.

[pisces]

With All due respect My fren. I think U R missing the point:

As per the links I have posted above:

Kalkwasser IS Calcium hydroxide - Ca(OH)2.

Calcium is Ca.

Please refer to the links above if wanna understand what I mean.

When I say I am dosing Ca(OH)2 I guess I am actually dosing KalkWasser.

Hey ReefBum, I dont mean to be rude or screaming here. Just wanted to highlight the point and there are limited options to change the font size. The next large size is that.

cheers,

[tineng]

Bro Tineng,

If you refer to the article above it says to use acetic acid(5%) or white distilled vinegar when dosing Kalk to maintain ur Ca and KH levels.

Maybe you wanna try that.

Here is the excerpt for your reference:

Try mixing and adding your Kalkwasser like this: pour 15ml of 5% Acetic Acid (or ordinary Distilled White Vinegar from the grocery store -- same thing) into a 1 liter (1 quart) container. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of lab-grade Ca(OH)2 (or commercial Kalkwasser mix) in the Acetic Acid, and then dilute to 1 liter (1 quart) volume with either RO/DI water, or even tank water.

15 ml is more Vinegar than some people are comfortable with, but I use it constantly with no problems. There should be no sediment in the mixture, or just a little bit at most. You can let the sediment settle out if you don't like the white flakes in your tank. I just drip the liquid and the sediment both into my tank.

it is acutally not neccessary to use vinegar to does kalk....you will just get more white stuff while using vinegar seems to dissolve the kalk better....

FYI, i am using vinegar in most of my dose.... just that sometime runs out and too lazy to go buy.....

another good use of vinegar is to soak your pumps, skimmer, tubes...etc for a few hours....all those coraline aglaes and some of the stubborn stain will just fall off....those who have gotten thier pumps from me sould know how clean they are....

[Reefbum]

No hard feelings bro pisces.Sorry if I sound loud.

[bawater]

easy bro....he is just saying that there are less CA in kalkwater....not no CA....

I not too sure about his statement thought because the funny thing that i notice is that my KH acutally deplete faster then CA despite dosing kalkwater regularly....i add more KH buffer then CA to bring every thing to balance. Don't think its ionic inbalance as the Mg seems to be correct and i do change water regularly....

kalk is calcium, it is a balance additive with a ratio of 1 calcium to 1 alk.

if you dose on an empty tank - both parameters will be maintained or increased.

but everybody has different calcification rates so you will find different results in loaded tanks.

Calcium chloride is pure calcium and should not be used as a long term additive if you do not know what your initial levels are(you should use it as a booster) -because it is not balanced it may cause ionic imbalance if you do not keep track of your levels or do water changes or balance dose with alk.

If you mix kalk with water(1 tsp to 1 gallon or 1tsp to 2ltr or whatever you wish)

and get a pH of 12.4 - the mixture will have a saturation of 800ppm calcium.

This only applies to the kalk mixture.(once diluted into the tank volume doesn't mean will raise your tank to 800ppm)

Using vinegar is at your own risk (just like dosing vodka), the vinegar allows more kalk to dissolve(but i do not know the saturation levels)

Food grade lime can be anywhere from 40%-60% purity (very rough as everybrand differs)

With hard corals like sps - calcification takes up 2 carbonate to 1 calcium (and some magnesium amount which i can't remember off hand).

This is why with most reefs, alk drops faster and needs to be tested and maintained. (& why most brands will have a stand alone alkalinity supplement)

from my previous readings that i logged, a single sps(staghorn open hand size colony) can suck up to 12-14ppm calcium per 24hrs & more as it grows and gets bigger. I also take my tank's 24hr calcification rate so i know how much to dose daily/weekly and how long i can not dose(when i go away).

with up to 4-5 sps colonies and lps i could still manage to keep calcium levels at 450ppm just with kalk and dosing alk as extra.

beyond that......it becomes a chore to maintain calcium & you would be better off with a calc reactor.

(readings were done by home test kits on my tank and are my opinion and i only use it as rough guidelines)

[tineng]

With hard corals like sps - calcification takes up 2 carbonate to 1 calcium (and some magnesium amount which i can't remember off hand).

This is why with most reefs, alk drops faster and needs to be tested and maintained. (& why most brands will have a stand alone alkalinity supplement)

from my previous readings that i logged, a single sps(staghorn open hand size colony) can suck up to 12-14ppm calcium per 24hrs & more as it grows and gets bigger. I also take my tank's 24hr calcification rate so i know how much to dose daily/weekly and how long i can not dose(when i go away).

with up to 4-5 sps colonies and lps i could still manage to keep calcium levels at 450ppm just with kalk and dosing alk as extra.

beyond that......it becomes a chore to maintain calcium & you would be better off with a calc reactor.

now i know why.....maybe thats why my ALK is not dropping fast anymore....my SPS colonies are dying off 1 by 1....

you'll the master......

[pisces]

So when we ALK drops ...What do we dose ?. I have something called Kent Marine Superbuffer dKH. Will this stabilise the alk or do I need to get something else ?

[bawater]

now i know why.....maybe thats why my ALK is not dropping fast anymore....my SPS colonies are dying off 1 by 1....

you'll the master......

No no no master no expert

just making sense

[bawater]

So when we ALK drops ...What do we dose ?. I have something called Kent Marine Superbuffer dKH. Will this stabilise the alk or do I need to get something else ?

yup,superbuffer will do. Its a alkalinity supplement

[madmac]

bawater,

how about using sodium bicarbonate(also called baking soda) as an alkalinity booster... does it work? ... any side effects? I know it can be used to increase pH, isn't that indirectly increasing the Alk as well. thks

[ozy]

On a side note, can I just port the clear portion of the liquid of Kalk, or do I need to drip it as well?

[bawater]

bawater,

how about using sodium bicarbonate(also called baking soda) as an alkalinity booster... does it work? ... any side effects? I know it can be used to increase pH, isn't that indirectly increasing the Alk as well. thks

Roughly 1 teaspoon will raise the alkalinity in 150ltrs 1 dKH, if you use supermarket food grade - the purity will be less, and there may be some additional stuff inside that ends up in the tank but yes it works.

[bawater]

On a side note, can I just port the clear portion of the liquid of Kalk, or do I need to drip it as well?

kalk drips lower the risks of raising pH levels too high too fast. It will gradually raise pH so not to affect the tank inhabitants too much. A drip can run throughout the day or night- your preference.

Just pouring in works - try to do it in the morning when pH is at the lowest and in small amounts. Not all at one go.

oh! you are suppose to use the clear solution.

[AlfaRomeo]

Bawater, When we are using a CR, does it maintain the CA and ALK level in a 1:2 ratio to match the uptake of SPS?

[ozy]

However, I believe the KR works in a similar fashion rite?

[bawater]

Bawater, When we are using a CR, does it maintain the CA and ALK level in a 1:2 ratio to match the uptake of SPS?

This depends entirely on the composition of the media you use - not the reactor.

You may just want to have a tub of alk supplement as standby - its easier to tweak alk levels without fussing with the reactor once you have set it. Alkalinity additives are not expensive anyway.(Go for powder/dry versions since you have such a high uptake)

Always use the calcium and alkalinity of your aquarium water as your guide.

If the levels drop over time, turn up your CO2. If the levels go too high, turn down your CO2. If you make big changes in the CO2 input rate, you may have to adjust the water input rate to keep the output pH in the 6.5-7.0 range.

ozy - yup.(that's how a KR works)