Kalkwasser proper dosage?

Sohal Tang Tim · 03/02/2020, 06:15 PM

Hi There..its been a kazillion years since I used Kalk...
I want to drip 1.5 Litres into my system each night.
Tank is 160 and there is about 130 gallons of water after displacement.

So how much Kalk should I put into the 1.5 litres per night?

What result may I expect from the amount you recommend?

Thanks
Tim

Note: I do not want to overshoot on PH I just want to raise it a bit...
It is at 7.9 in morning..I would rather it be 8.0 in morning and top off at 8.4 max....

Alk is currently 8.3 and I like the alk right where it is... thx, Tim

bertoni · 03/02/2020, 11:10 PM

Kalk will act as an alkalinity supplement, so you might need to cut back on other dosing, or not, depending on how the tank reacts. The higher pH might encourage enough consumption to keep the alkalinity stable. Personally, I probably wouldn't bother with the drip, but ½ tsp (2.5 ml) might be safe enough. I am not sure that such a small drip will manage to raise the pH, but it might. Often, aeration brings the pH back down quite rapidly.

Sohal Tang Tim · 03/03/2020, 10:45 AM

Thx Bertoni...I want to use Kalk for more reasons then PH...cheers, Tim

ThRoewer · 03/03/2020, 12:21 PM

I just dump it straight in from the canister. pH spikes a little but comes back down quickly. But a drip would probably be better. But the issue there is that the end of the hose might encrust with calcium over time. This may not be a serious issue with a straight drip line, but it really messed up my swimmer top-off valve.
My corals are actually doing better now with kalkwasser than they did when I was dosing 2 part, though other factors may play a role as well.
The only issue with kalkwasser is that you are limited to the amount of water that evaporates each day. This might become an issue once coral growth reaches a level where more calcium is consumed than replenished by the kalkwasser.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

hkgar · 03/09/2020, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

The only issue with kalkwasser is that you are limited to the amount of water that evaporates each day. This might become an issue once coral growth reaches a level where more calcium is consumed than replenished by the kalkwasser.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

That's were I am. I have reduced my Kalk saturation to about 25% in my top off water (3.5 gallon per day evaporation). I do this only for the small effect on PH.
I use a calcium reactor as my main source and periodicall adjust wit two part supplemental dosing.

coralcruze2020 · 03/12/2020, 08:25 PM

I never thought about having to measure kalk usage... I use a kalk mixer and get about 2 gallins a day if evap and my replenishment kalkwater has never been an issue...

cc2005pd · 03/13/2020, 07:32 PM

same here...kalk mixer made my life easier two years ago

spsfreak1977 · 03/15/2020, 06:15 PM

In kalk reactor and feed by a apex dos
1800 ml a day

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Kevin Guthrie · 03/18/2020, 06:59 AM

For my similar sized system I add 4 scoops (tblspns?) to my mixer every 4 days, replacing about 2.5 gallons of evap per night. It disappears; more than that and there is still some left after 4 days. I also have a CO2 reactor running 24/7. Haven't measured alk or pH in years.

03/02/2020, 06:15 PM	#1
Sohal Tang Tim Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Collingwood , ON, Canada Posts: 928	Kalkwasser proper dosage? Hi There..its been a kazillion years since I used Kalk... I want to drip 1.5 Litres into my system each night. Tank is 160 and there is about 130 gallons of water after displacement. So how much Kalk should I put into the 1.5 litres per night? What result may I expect from the amount you recommend? Thanks Tim Note: I do not want to overshoot on PH I just want to raise it a bit... It is at 7.9 in morning..I would rather it be 8.0 in morning and top off at 8.4 max.... Alk is currently 8.3 and I like the alk right where it is... thx, Tim __________________ "My God Reefs are Gorgeous!" Current Tank Info: 25 gallon reef

03/02/2020, 11:10 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Kalk will act as an alkalinity supplement, so you might need to cut back on other dosing, or not, depending on how the tank reacts. The higher pH might encourage enough consumption to keep the alkalinity stable. Personally, I probably wouldn't bother with the drip, but ½ tsp (2.5 ml) might be safe enough. I am not sure that such a small drip will manage to raise the pH, but it might. Often, aeration brings the pH back down quite rapidly. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

03/03/2020, 10:45 AM	#3
Sohal Tang Tim Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Collingwood , ON, Canada Posts: 928	Thx Bertoni...I want to use Kalk for more reasons then PH...cheers, Tim __________________ "My God Reefs are Gorgeous!" Current Tank Info: 25 gallon reef

03/03/2020, 12:21 PM	#4
ThRoewer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 9,555	I just dump it straight in from the canister. pH spikes a little but comes back down quickly. But a drip would probably be better. But the issue there is that the end of the hose might encrust with calcium over time. This may not be a serious issue with a straight drip line, but it really messed up my swimmer top-off valve. My corals are actually doing better now with kalkwasser than they did when I was dosing 2 part, though other factors may play a role as well. The only issue with kalkwasser is that you are limited to the amount of water that evaporates each day. This might become an issue once coral growth reaches a level where more calcium is consumed than replenished by the kalkwasser. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk __________________ Pairs: 4 percula, 3 P. kauderni, 3 D. excisus, 1 ea of P. diacanthus, S. splendidus, C. altivelis O. rosenblatti, D. janssi, S. yasha & a Gramma loreto trio 3 P. diacanthus. 2 C. starcki Current Tank Info: 200 gal 4 tank system (40x28x24 + 40B + 40B sump tank + 20g refugium) + 30x18x18 mixed reef + 20g East Pacific biotop + 20g FW +...

03/12/2020, 08:25 PM	#6
coralcruze2020 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: NY Posts: 115	I never thought about having to measure kalk usage... I use a kalk mixer and get about 2 gallins a day if evap and my replenishment kalkwater has never been an issue...

03/13/2020, 07:32 PM	#7
cc2005pd Registered Member Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 7	same here...kalk mixer made my life easier two years ago

03/15/2020, 06:15 PM	#8
spsfreak1977 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 345	In kalk reactor and feed by a apex dos 1800 ml a day Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03/18/2020, 06:59 AM	#9
Kevin Guthrie Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 506	For my similar sized system I add 4 scoops (tblspns?) to my mixer every 4 days, replacing about 2.5 gallons of evap per night. It disappears; more than that and there is still some left after 4 days. I also have a CO2 reactor running 24/7. Haven't measured alk or pH in years.