Let's talk about Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium in an SPS Tank

[rynon]

I just got one yesterday....now you have me worried. It said to add 2 coffee cup of kalk...that seemed insane to me so I added 12 teaspoons...should be enough for a week. Anyway I'll be paying attention to this to see what everyone does with their kalk reactor.

[Sk8r]

Basically, you just route your topoff through one hose and it comes out into your tank via the other. The stirrer is the only moving part, and it just keeps it kicked up a bit.

[rynon]

Yes I understand that. My problem is knowing how much to add to the reactor.....2 COFFEE CUPS!!!!! That just seems insane to me? Right now my reactor is stirring nothing...all the kalk is on the bottom but the alk is WAY over 16 dkh so it's working, my tap is 0 after RO/DI filter. I feel I've hijacked this......sorry. 2 CUPS of KALK....GEEZ.

[JetCat USA]

the effluent in the reactor will only hold so much lime in solution (saturation) and then the rest of the 2 cups you added will settle to the bottom of the reactor, as water is pushed through to the tank and the saturated water is diluted with the new water entering the reactor the mixer kicks in ever so often and keeps the effluent saturated and the process repeats till the Kalk is completely depleted.

[rynon]

Ahhhh, thank you so much that helps a ton. From now on I'll just "dump" the kalk in. Really thank you a LOT. The instructions did not help, plus they installed the check valve in backwards....haha, I had some water spraying for a bit.

[JetCat USA]

i don't know how your instructions are setup but put the check valve on the water inlet, not the outlet, the lime will clog it up.

[rynon]

yeah, um, no water in, no water out....it was fairly easy to figure out. I went with a cheaper brand.....I guess I paid for it....althought it was very simple to fix. It's a AquaMedic 1000, water inlet goes through a tube to the bottom of the reactor, water sprays out of the INLET...yeah, not right. I did the "blow" test on the valve....it was backwards. It seems to be working correctly. Super slow stirring, water clearish on top, water on bottom is milky? Anyway testing the topoff coming through the reactor helped a lot.....I KNOW it's got a lot of kalk in it. Thanks a LOT for your help...really appreciated....sorry for all the ..... bad habbit

[GSMguy]

so my osmolator in ATO resevoir pump pumps water into the kalk reactor causing kalk water to be forced up and out of the reactor and into the tank?

[JetCat USA]

Yeap.

be sure you use a check valve with the Osmolator, their pumps don't last to long with any Kalk backwashing into them.

[TwistedTiger]

Given that the questions discussed here and in the other threads, (lighting, alk/calc/mag and water quality) are asked over and over in numerous threads, wouldn't it benefit everyone to make these threads a sticky so they stay at the top of the page? Many many threads could be eliminated by putting these threads in a place where everyone would see them before they ask the same question for the millionth time. Thanks JB NY for starting them, they have really been some good reads and discussions.

[Sk8r]

I put in half a pound of kalk once a month. I use a Hanna stirrer, and have recalled something I knew when I worked in a lab: you might as well have the 'hood' liftable [screws taped to the cord, for safe storage] because as the stuff changes viscosity due to depletion, the stirrer-magnet can get cranky or even stall and bog the stirrer rod down in kalk sludge, so it is rather like glue and not being stirred as it ought. This is the stirrer's fault. If this happens to a Hanna, do not hesitate a heartbeat about taking the hood off and letting it run on your kitchen table until it has gotten its speed back up. Then you can usually put the hood back on, install it, and get it going again quite nicely. They're great stirrers and practically indestructible, but they do have that quirk.

For anybody keeping sps in a 54, I heartily recommend a kalk reactor: from daily fussing and rise and fall of alk/cal, I've gone to once to twice a month fussing. Life is good.

[GSMguy]

Sk8r im going with the GEO kalk reactor thanks for all the help

[Aquarist007]

I am at the stage where I need to add kalk to stablilize my pH.
Can this by added by hand or do you need to set up a drip. So far I have been able to keep alkalinity, calcium and magnesium stable by following Randy's article and dosing by mixing myself.

[JetCat USA]

I've used the Kalk Slurry on systems i don't have a reactor on for the past 4 yrs, beats the heck out of dripping and even on systems with a CaCO3/CO2 reactor i use the slurry once in a while to kick pH back up.

[alazo1]

Do you folks with a kalk reactor have the mixer running while dripping?. Mine turns on for a minute every hour (forgot the brand). I get a lot of fluctuation in ph depending on how much kalk I have in there. I'm thinking I should turn the timer off while dripping to prevent ph flucs, what do you think?.

Albert

[JetCat USA]

the mixer turns on at set times for a set length of time each day, when the system evaporates to the point that the top off system kicks it on is a game of chance so sometimes you get clear saturated additions, sometimes not so clear.

[GSMguy]

well my aditions are never clear with my current system because in the ATO container it stirs constantly

i willing to take the chance with the reactor but i might not waste my time hooking it to my aquacontroller i might just use a round light timer on for 4 or 5 15 minute periods during the day.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by JetCat USA
I've used the Kalk Slurry on systems i don't have a reactor on for the past 4 yrs, beats the heck out of dripping and even on systems with a CaCO3/CO2 reactor i use the slurry once in a while to kick pH back up.

is Kalk Slurry a brand name?

[JetCat USA]

No it's the way you add the Kalk to the system. you determine your tanks daily demands and the amount of Kalk that will meet those demands (takes some testing to get both those), then you add that amount of Kalk to about 16oz of RO/DI water, slurry it around till it's all mixed up and dump it directly into the tank in a high flow are. some people dump it down an overflow, some in the sump, i have the highest flow inside the tank its self so that is where i pour it.

allot of people used to second guess it claiming any impurities from the Kalk made it to the tank, but Anthony Calfo was the one who introduced the slurry to me and i talked with him in great detail about the whole thing, he's used it forever and a day and never had a problem out of it. tried it for a while on one of my systems with beyond my expectation results so it's what i use on systems now that don't have such a demand to make it impractical. the limit is you can't add such an amount in a single dose to raise the tanks overall pH more then 0.2 points. you don't go by the initial spike either, let it circulate an hour or so and settle in, I've had initial spikes on my 180 that used to be onward of a full point in pH but it quickly settled down.

you can do multiple doses, but i keep it down to a single dose, dumped in a few hours after lights out as pH is starting to naturally decline. if I've got such a high demand that the single dose doesn't work, i put a CaCO3/CO2 reactor on and use the slurry for the occasional pH kick in the pants

if you don't want to deal with nightly 30 seconds and you're done dosing then the Kalk reactor will automate it.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by JetCat USA
No it's the way you add the Kalk to the system. you determine your tanks daily demands and the amount of Kalk that will meet those demands (takes some testing to get both those), then you add that amount of Kalk to about 16oz of RO/DI water, slurry it around till it's all mixed up and dump it directly into the tank in a high flow are. some people dump it down an overflow, some in the sump, i have the highest flow inside the tank its self so that is where i pour it.

allot of people used to second guess it claiming any impurities from the Kalk made it to the tank, but Anthony Calfo was the one who introduced the slurry to me and i talked with him in great detail about the whole thing, he's used it forever and a day and never had a problem out of it. tried it for a while on one of my systems with beyond my expectation results so it's what i use on systems now that don't have such a demand to make it impractical. the limit is you can't add such an amount in a single dose to raise the tanks overall pH more then 0.2 points. you don't go by the initial spike either, let it circulate an hour or so and settle in, I've had initial spikes on my 180 that used to be onward of a full point in pH but it quickly settled down.

you can do multiple doses, but i keep it down to a single dose, dumped in a few hours after lights out as pH is starting to naturally decline. if I've got such a high demand that the single dose doesn't work, i put a CaCO3/CO2 reactor on and use the slurry for the occasional pH kick in the pants

if you don't want to deal with nightly 30 seconds and you're done dosing then the Kalk reactor will automate it.

thanks Jetcat---I'm used to mixing my own so this method is just what I am looking for.

[gary faulkner]

The method I use:
Empty 5 gal bucket, add 1 TBL Mrs. Wages, add 3 Gal RODI, let sit overnight, dose 1 gal per day of the clear liquid into sump for top off. I use this with a Cal. reator also.

Works for me.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by gary faulkner
The method I use:
Empty 5 gal bucket, add 1 TBL Mrs. Wages, add 3 Gal RODI, let sit overnight, dose 1 gal per day of the clear liquid into sump for top off. I use this with a Cal. reator also.

Works for me.

what is Mrs. Wages --is it something I have to go over the river for and sneak back to Canada

[GSMguy]

mrs wages is kalk you can buy at the grocery store aka pickling lime

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by GSMguy
mrs wages is kalk you can buy at the grocery store aka pickling lime

thanks appreciated---oh I guess you eat the pickles first

sorry I'm been serious all day--maybe I should take a trip to the lounge.

[GSMguy]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
thanks appreciated---oh I guess you eat the pickles first

sorry I'm been serious all day--maybe I should take a trip to the lounge.

about to send you a PM...