Kalkwasser powder

[bms270]

Hi,

A friend of mine advised me to feed my corals with Kalkwasser powder (calcium Hydroxide) only with no calcium or buffer. is that a good advice? also can somebody explain what exactly I need to add to my water for keeping corals? I have only a few zoans and an anemone but planning to add more corals in a near future. I have also noticed that my zoans are not happy under my new lights which are stronger than before. sorry, Im really new to corals. my tank is 120G.

Thanks,
Bijan

[plyle02]

I have recently switched to simply just kalkwasser. I use an ATO, and the pump is a Toms Aqualifter. The evaporated water is simply replaced with kalkwasser. I have seen no ill effects, run a 70 gallon cube with mostly sps. I started doing this to even out my ph, and also because 2 of my favortie LFS's use a very similair method, and their corals are amazing!

[plyle02]

BTW,
Noticed you are from Tampa, go to Coral Corral and speak to them about husbandry, very simple approach, also WWC in Orlando uses only Kalkwasser....

[bms270]

Originally posted by plyle02
BTW,
Noticed you are from Tampa, go to Coral Corral and speak to them about husbandry, very simple approach, also WWC in Orlando uses only Kalkwasser....

Hehe! Its interesting! Actually I bought my kalkwasser from CoralCorral ! but Tim forced me to buy (calcium+buffer) as well, but I wasnt sure if I need them beside Kalkwasser. they are nice people and I love their collection.

Thanks,
Bijan

[PrangeWay]

Kalk is good for maintinaing alk/calcium.

The other calciusm, alk is for getting your values where they are suppose to be if they are low... Ie if your calc is 300, use the calcium to get it to 400, and let kalk maintain it there.


PW

[xtm]

When I had my 60g cube, I dosed nothing but kalkwasser.. for years. And had excellent coloration and growth. For smaller systems, you can't go wrong with a kalk-only regimen, and in fact I might have to go back to this system again since I've had so much success with it in the past:



Bijan:, You don't "feed" your corals with kalkwasser. You have to supplement your water with it. I mix 2 tsp of kalk in one gallon jug and shake it, and run a drip doser at a rate of 1 drop per second. This is the method that worked for me in the past. I don't know why I stopped doing it for no reason but I'm definitely coming back to it again.

hope that helps

[seapug]

Just to add to what XTM says-- Kalkwasser is a balanced Calcium and Alkalinity supplement, but also has a very high pH so it has to be dosed carefully. If you have a topoff system that replaces small amounts of water at a time, you can use Kalkwasser as your topoff water. If you don't have a topoff system and manually add a gallon of water to your tank each day you'll need to set up a slow drip as XTM explains. Don't mix 2 teaspoons of Kalkwasser mix into a gallon of water and dump it in your tank.

[IslandCrow]

Since nothing in your tank has a calcium carbonate skeleton, it really isn't necessary to supplement with kalkwasser or any other caclium/alkalinity supplement. There are some other real as well as unsubstantiated benefits, but I won't go into that here (especially since I'm certainly no expert). If you do decide to dose, be sure to go over to the Reef Chemistry forum. Look in the stickies for an article called "What Your Grandmother Never Taught You about Lime" (or something along those lines). It's a must read for anyone who's thinking about dosing limewater. Done correctly, it's very useful for low calcium demand tanks. Done incorrectly, it can cause some rather serious problems, generally because it has a significant effect on your PH.

[seapug]

Actually, Kalwasser can benefit tanks without stony corals. Calcium is consumed by coralline algae and your alkaline reserv is nicked away by the normal acidification process of the nitrogen cycle. The high pH of Kalkwasser counters that natural dip and also binds phosphate molecules (algae fertilizer) and improves the efficiency of protein skimming, which reduces levels of dissolved organics even further.

Do it carefully/correctly and it's beneficial to any size/type of tank.

[IslandCrow]

All very valid points by Seapug. All I really meant to say is that kalkwasser (or other calcium/alkalinity supplementation) should not be necessary for a tank without stony corals, clams, etc. I agree that it still can be beneficial, so I'm certainly not trying to dissuade anyone from doing it.

[DLANDINO]

I wanted to chime in with my Kalk experience. I have been dosing Kalk for about 6 months as my top of water. I have no ATO and every other night I mix 2 tsp. of powder into a gallon of ro/di, stir and let settle for anywhere between 24-48 hours before evaporation calls for me to top the water off. I never shake or stir the kalk mix again but do pour it all at once slowly into the tank with the circulation on. I have never had an issue with this procedure nor seen anything over a 1 point increase in PH. All SPS and Clams are thriving. Just what works for me and was a suggestion by a fellow reefer and LFS owner. Anyone see any issues that can arise long term from this process?

[seapug]

Are you pouring a gallon of Kalkwasser in the 46 gallon tank listed in your sig?

If so, that's a lot of topoff at once in a tank that size, with or without Kalkwasser.

Also, a 1 point increase in pH is equal to a ten fold spike in pH (pH of 8 is ten times more alkaline than ph 7) which is pretty severe.

That said, if you've been doing this for months and suffered no ill effects I guess it's ok, but it's a pretty "harsh" way to do Kalkwasser additions. You'd be better off to set up a simple drip line to your gallon container slowly add it at a constant rate.

[DLANDINO]

Yes, it is the 46 gal tank listed but I only pour about 1/4 gal to 1/2 gal per night when the lights are off. I know that it is harsh and I want a better way to add it. I would love to drip from under my stand up to the tank so that I don't have anything showing above the tank. My wife would kill me if there were a jug visible ya know. Thanks for the info and I didn't mean to hijack the thread.

[b_s_c1]

Dlandino- I had the same problem with a ****ed off wife when I sat a jug next to the tank. I picked up a wicker box/container that I found at Sam's for $20. It is big enough to hold a 5 gal bucket, aqualifter pump, and still has room for a few other things. I just ran tubing throught the back and into my sump. It works great and looks good.

[b_s_c1]

Here is a link to a thread that I followed for the ATO.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1638882

[xtm]

Originally posted by DLANDINO
Yes, it is the 46 gal tank listed but I only pour about 1/4 gal to 1/2 gal per night when the lights are off. I know that it is harsh and I want a better way to add it. I would love to drip from under my stand up to the tank so that I don't have anything showing above the tank. My wife would kill me if there were a jug visible ya know. Thanks for the info and I didn't mean to hijack the thread.

You can go low tech or high tech... low tech method would be to drill a hole on the kalk container cap, slip an airline tubing and control it with a pinch valve. Start the siphon by gently squeezing the jug. The kalk solution will flow slowly into the sump. Fine tune the drip rate to about 1 drop every 2 seconds and you're set.

"High tech" method would be to use a slow peristaltic pump to draw kalk from the jug to your sump. Something really slow like a BRS doser would work. You can also use an Osmolator with the Tunze kalk dispenser but it's very pricey for what it is.. imo.

I personally would never use a timer and aqualifter to dose kalk.. that is a disaster waiting to happen. Timers DO fail...and usually in the ON position. That's just me being paranoid

[plyle02]

nice looking tank xtm...always amired your cube tank... I agree, I have switched to a toms aqualifter pump, an airline valve on a 2 drip per second rate, and have it tied into my ATO. This requires daily attention, but seems to be working just fine. Had the ATO for over 3 years now, never had an issue. I personally agree that kalkwasser alone is a great approach to running smaller systems... GL

[bms270]

Thanks everybody for your advice, points and experiences. this is a great place IMO. I am going to have my water tested by LFS for calcium. is there anything else I have to test before start dosing? and do you think I need to keep those two 2L Calcium and Buffer stuff that I bought?

[plyle02]

Originally posted by bms270
Thanks everybody for your advice, points and experiences. this is a great place IMO. I am going to have my water tested by LFS for calcium. is there anything else I have to test before start dosing? and do you think I need to keep those two 2L Calcium and Buffer stuff that I bought?

I would keep it just in case you come up lacking in calcium or alkalinity. Ideally the kalkwasser should maintain no increase or decrease, IME... Just may find that you need a boost from time to time, 2 part has helped me in the past with this...
GL

[seapug]

Originally posted by bms270
Thanks everybody for your advice, points and experiences. this is a great place IMO. I am going to have my water tested by LFS for calcium. is there anything else I have to test before start dosing? and do you think I need to keep those two 2L Calcium and Buffer stuff that I bought?

It would be a good idea to have them do a Magnesium test as well (and buy yourself a mag test kit).

I would keep the 2 part stuff. I've come to realize Kalkwasser alone isn't enough to keep up with the calcium and alkalinity demands of my tank so I use the 2 part stuff every day along with Kalkwasser in the topoff reservoir.

[DLANDINO]

Originally posted by b_s_c1
Dlandino- I had the same problem with a ****ed off wife when I sat a jug next to the tank. I picked up a wicker box/container that I found at Sam's for $20. It is big enough to hold a 5 gal bucket, aqualifter pump, and still has room for a few other things. I just ran tubing throught the back and into my sump. It works great and looks good.

Ingenious! Thanks for the tip I love it! Unfortunatley I am sumpless so all that I add goes directly into the tank. I am going to look for dosing pumps today.