kalkwasser vs calcium reactor

[jrbills12]

Hey guys just wondering if any of you could give me some information on which would be better for my tank. I have a 75 gallon im looking to turn into mainly an sps reef. I am getting good growth from all my sps right now with just normal water changes but I was wondering if it would be better to dose kalk or spend the money and get a calcium reactor? Would my money be better spent toward something else like a reef controller or something else?

[pmrossetti]

i think kalk can handle a 75. get your Apex.

[Chris27]

How are you planning on delivering the kalk?

[jrbills12]

The kalk would be dosed through the ato

[NatureNerd]

I have good luck dosing Kalk using my ATO. It meets the needs of my 75g very nicely and it is the easiest solution to maintaining Ca and Alk that I have ever used. My controller turns on a BRS peristaltic pump for 1 minute every half hour which drips Kalk into my sump. This keep the water level constant but, if it falls behind the evaporation rate, then the pump is run a bit more.

[stingythingy45]

I meet the needs of a 90 gallon mixed reef tank with kalk top-off.
Dose it into my 70 basement stock tank sump.

[jrbills12]

I am kind of confused as to how it works though do I just put it in the ato system and let it fly or what

[disc1]

When you first put it in, stir the heck out of it. Then let it settle for a few hours before you use it. Don't let it go in your tank right after you stir it. It won't all dissolve, there will be quite a bit of residue left. The clear water is saturated with kalk. You need to keep the pump up off the bottom of the reservoir a little so it doesn't suck in the residue. You can continue to add more water and kalk on top of the residue that is left. The residue actually helps to purify the kalk by precipitating any contaminants, so you should not only not worry about the residue, it's actually a good thing. Two or three times a year you can give the bucket a scrub and remove most of it so it doesn't build up too much.

That's really all there is to it. It's kinda hard to mess up. The only way you can really goof is to dump too much at once. Once the kalk is made up, it's pH is really really high. It can burn your skin. Most of the time the ATO only pumps in a little bit of water at once, so the effect on the tank is minimal. If you ever leave the ATO off or whatever and the level drops and you have to add more than a few mL all at once, don't use the kalk, use straight RODI for that. Topping up too much at once with kalk can shoot your pH through the roof. Most people running kalk try to have the ATO doing many many small bumps throughout the day, or even a steady drip rate that gets corrected with pure RODI.

[nemokeeper]

I also have mine hooked up to my ato with pretty good results... cheaper than buying a calcium reactor and i am using the TLF Reactor...

[jimmy n]

This depends on your calcium demands and where you live. In Texas, my ATO with a PM kalk reactor kept up with my 240 with sps heads the size of a head. I had some massive clams in there as well. I'd say I was evaporating close to 5 gallons a day though.

That same tank would likely require dosing or a calcium reactor in MO. I like Kalk because it's easy. If you are detail oriented, get a calcium reactor.

[dancewithethan]

Jr

The best practice for a long run would be running both. Cal reactor is wonderful because it provide a very consistent Cal and Alk. also, you don't have to mass with it, once it's dialed in. Cal reactor tense to dip your ph level. For this reason, dripping Kalk help balancing the Ph.
Although, many reefers would prefer dosing 2 parts. I am currently running BRS 2 parts, so far so good. I also added a teaspoon of Kalk into my 5 Gs ATO water. Hope this info help.

Best

Ethan M