Is my kalkwasser bad or not working?

roper512 · 08/07/2006, 08:59 PM

Hey all, I have a 45 gallon tank that I recently tried setting up a kalkwasser drip to.. I use a litermeter III to dose the topoff kalkwasser to keep up with evaporation. I am currently at 1/2 gallon of evaporation a day so that's what's being put into the tank over the course of 24 hours..

Problem is, being my second bucket I'm still not seeing any raise in my pH. My pH is low and I figured kalk would help boost this. My pH ranges from 7.6 to 7.9 from morning to evening.

After my first bucket of kalk top off i decided to just top off with straight RO/DI and did not notice much difference at all in my pH than when I was dosing the kalk topoff..

I mixed the solution saturated at 2TSP per gallon.. I let the solution dissolve and settle for more than 24 hours..

The type of kalkwasser I use is seachem.. Could it be 'bad' or does that not happen with kalkwasser powder?

I also keep a lid on the bucket at all times. The tubing that goes into the bucket is through a tight hole I made at the top of the lid for the tube to fit into.. The tube cannot be easily moved up or down as the hole is fairly tight.

My current inhabitants are just a cleanup crew.. Snails, shrimp, porcelain crab, serpent sea stars and a tiger tail cucumber... No fish or corals yet.

Thanks,
Adam

Am I just not evaporating enough to have the kalk do much of a difference to my pH?

Blindmelonbob · 08/07/2006, 09:25 PM

No, you should see a difference. Maybe measure the pH of the solution you're dosing to see if it's bad or not?

outy · 08/07/2006, 09:27 PM

first id know what my alk and ca levels are. once they were rite wich will help with ph i would drip kalk to maintain those levels.

dripping kalk a little faster will raise ph but without the rest rite it wont stay were you need it

Blindmelonbob · 08/07/2006, 09:41 PM

True. How long has the tank been set up? Done a water change lately?

massman · 08/07/2006, 09:50 PM

Check you pH test kit.
Maybe try another one.

King-Kong · 08/07/2006, 09:57 PM

I would try to get another opinion from the pH test kit.

To be honest, with dosing kalk, I'd really suggest splurging on a pH monitor or controller.. that stuff can swing pH fast

roper512 · 08/08/2006, 11:03 AM

I use an aquacontroller Jr. with a calibrated pH probe (lab grade).. It was calibrated properly from day one and has been in the tank since.. I see the pH change in real time so it is odd it's not making much of an impact in my pH...

It doses very slowly (1/2 gallon over the course of 24 hours.. dosed every 10 minutes) so I don't know if what's being dosed is just being used up before it can make an impact? Or if it will take time before the amount of kalk dosed into the tank makes a difference...

roper512 · 08/08/2006, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Blindmelonbob
True. How long has the tank been set up? Done a water change lately?

Rock was cooked for about 6 months.. tank has been up for about 2 months now.. Been feeding the cleanup crew.. Haven't done a water change in about 2 weeks need to do one this week. (I want to do them weekly).. 5gallons per week is my goal.

08/07/2006, 08:59 PM	#1
roper512 Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Detroit suburbs Posts: 393	Is my kalkwasser bad or not working? Hey all, I have a 45 gallon tank that I recently tried setting up a kalkwasser drip to.. I use a litermeter III to dose the topoff kalkwasser to keep up with evaporation. I am currently at 1/2 gallon of evaporation a day so that's what's being put into the tank over the course of 24 hours.. Problem is, being my second bucket I'm still not seeing any raise in my pH. My pH is low and I figured kalk would help boost this. My pH ranges from 7.6 to 7.9 from morning to evening. After my first bucket of kalk top off i decided to just top off with straight RO/DI and did not notice much difference at all in my pH than when I was dosing the kalk topoff.. I mixed the solution saturated at 2TSP per gallon.. I let the solution dissolve and settle for more than 24 hours.. The type of kalkwasser I use is seachem.. Could it be 'bad' or does that not happen with kalkwasser powder? I also keep a lid on the bucket at all times. The tubing that goes into the bucket is through a tight hole I made at the top of the lid for the tube to fit into.. The tube cannot be easily moved up or down as the hole is fairly tight. My current inhabitants are just a cleanup crew.. Snails, shrimp, porcelain crab, serpent sea stars and a tiger tail cucumber... No fish or corals yet. Thanks, Adam Am I just not evaporating enough to have the kalk do much of a difference to my pH?

08/07/2006, 09:25 PM	#2
Blindmelonbob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 662	No, you should see a difference. Maybe measure the pH of the solution you're dosing to see if it's bad or not?

08/07/2006, 09:27 PM	#3
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	first id know what my alk and ca levels are. once they were rite wich will help with ph i would drip kalk to maintain those levels. dripping kalk a little faster will raise ph but without the rest rite it wont stay were you need it

08/07/2006, 09:41 PM	#4
Blindmelonbob Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 662	True. How long has the tank been set up? Done a water change lately?

08/07/2006, 09:50 PM	#5
massman Marine Fish Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Australia mate! Posts: 591	Check you pH test kit. Maybe try another one.

08/07/2006, 09:57 PM	#6
King-Kong Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 2,346	I would try to get another opinion from the pH test kit. To be honest, with dosing kalk, I'd really suggest splurging on a pH monitor or controller.. that stuff can swing pH fast

08/08/2006, 11:03 AM	#7
roper512 Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Detroit suburbs Posts: 393	I use an aquacontroller Jr. with a calibrated pH probe (lab grade).. It was calibrated properly from day one and has been in the tank since.. I see the pH change in real time so it is odd it's not making much of an impact in my pH... It doses very slowly (1/2 gallon over the course of 24 hours.. dosed every 10 minutes) so I don't know if what's being dosed is just being used up before it can make an impact? Or if it will take time before the amount of kalk dosed into the tank makes a difference...