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Canadian Man
02/19/2002, 10:23 AM
I am starting to dose kalk as of this morning. last night i mixed up 3 g by placing about 1 ts in a milk jug half full and shaking it like crazy and placing it in my rubbermaid dripper device. i then did some research and found out you don't want the liquid to be cloudy. i could not see to the other side of the container after 5 hours of settling. so last night in dumped out what i first mixed, cleaned out the container. from there i placed my 3 gal of water(ro/di) into the 4 gal container and added 6 ts of kalk to the container and used a glass rod to slowly stir the powder till the sollution looked some what cloudy. it has been sitting all night and there is a crust on top, some leftover powder on the bottom and the sollution is still slightly cloudy. is this the correct way of doing this? i have read in all the other post's that you administer the clear sollution in the middle. so how clear is clear? is slightly cloudy ok? my container is a rubbermaid square storage box, 4 gal with a pop on lid. the container is a frosted clear color so i suppose it is making the sollution look a little more cloudy. please help!!:confused: :confused:

wickerj
02/19/2002, 10:30 AM
I use a 3 1/2 gal rubbermaid container with a hole drilled in it about 2" up from the bottom. I mix my kalk as needed in the container let it sit for several hours and drip away. All of my makeup water is replaced this way. I clean the container out once or twice a month. Seems to work well for me to maintain my calcium level at 450.

Canadian Man
02/19/2002, 11:08 AM
Wickerj
thanks for the reply
so is your sollution that drips slightly cloudy or completly clear?
once the sollution is finnished do you just add more water to the mix and more powder, let it settle and drip again? if so i suppose the crust on top does not matter if it mixes with the new water you put in?
Thanks

wickerj
02/19/2002, 11:19 AM
The water is slightly cloudy (I don't know how you would ever be able get it to completly clear). I just drip it until it gets below my airline tubing and then refill with water, add kalk let it settle out and do it all over again. I do clean the container out 1-2 times a month. I have a plastic airline valve on the end of the tubing and that's how I control the drip rate.
Hope that helps.

Canadian Man
02/19/2002, 11:22 AM
thanks very much. it does help:)

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/19/2002, 11:32 AM
The solution that I dose is always totally clear, but I make up 44 gallons at a time and use it over a several week period. I've never tried to see exactly how fast it settles. I can look down through several feet of limewater and easily see the bottom.

One thing: limewater that is sitting open to the air appears to stay cloudy longer than limewater that is sealed. IMO, this is because CaCO3 is forming throughout the solution, and causes cloudiness, even though the original lime has settled.

So for this and other reasons, keep it covered.

zenya
02/19/2002, 11:57 AM
Randy,
I'm mixing my kalk in a glass 2gal jar that has a snap lid with a rubber gasket.I usualy mix it the night before and sol. is clear when I drip it.You've said that you use your mix in several weeks
time so my question is how long the solution will be same potency?Reason is, if I could find a jar large enough I concievably could mix in advance?
Thanks,Gene.

Canadian Man
02/19/2002, 12:51 PM
RANDY
i do keep it covered but my container is not air tight. i am using the same container to mix and dose. so i would not be able to keep it air tight cause it would not drip if it was. correct?
but it is covered.

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/19/2002, 01:18 PM
Canadian:

Right. I meant covered as opposed to air tight.

Gene:

IME, the concerns about limewater loosing potency are a bit overblown. I expect few people passing the info along have ever measured it. If you have excess lime on the bottom, IME the solution does not loose much potency EVEN IF WIDE OPEN TO THE AIR. I simply have mine in a 44 gallon trash can with a normal plastic trash can lid. There is often excess lime on the bottom, but the limewater itself holds nearly all of its potency for a long time.

zenya
02/19/2002, 04:17 PM
Thank you Randy.It will be much easier to use trush can then to find air tight container that big.Solves one of my problems.I wish
all of them could be that easy.
Gene.:D

witness_creation
02/19/2002, 10:53 PM
Randy,
How do you keep the lime water from getting funky?
do you have any kinda pump or way to keep it from getting stagnetn?
Also where do i get the "quick lime" you use?

Thanks

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/20/2002, 08:46 AM
Lon:

I assume that by funky you mean having some CaCO3 in it? I don't worry about it. I always add more CaO than is necessary. It sits on the bottom and to some extent dissolves when needed. I don't stir it after the initial mixing. There is also some solid CaCO3 precipitate there. I just don't use the solids in the liquid going to the tank.

Some hobbyists got an LFS to order a large enough batch of Mississippi Quicklime that they would seel it (about 500 pounds, I think). Mississippi Lime has a nice web site, but I don't think they will sell to individuals.

witness_creation
02/20/2002, 05:29 PM
I assume that by funky you mean having some CaCO3 in it? I don't worry about it. I always add more CaO than is necessary.
No,
I mean funky like stagnent and grungy where stuff starts rotting and gets contaminated. Like water that does not get circulated verry much. Stuff in the air enters it and contaminates it doesent it? Or is this a non issue?

Some hobbyists got an LFS to order a large enough batch of Mississippi Quicklime that they would seel it (about 500 pounds, I think). Mississippi Lime has a nice web site, but I don't think they will sell to individuals.

What do they use this fore and what is the$$
what is there web site if that would not be a to much of a burden
Also what is the recommended dose ratio for the "quick lime" and the pickle Lime per gal??
Is the quick lime more potent?

Thanks

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/21/2002, 08:24 AM
I mean funky like stagnent and grungy where stuff starts rotting and gets contaminated. Like water that does not get circulated verry much. Stuff in the air enters it and contaminates it doesent it? Or is this a non issue?

I am using a plastic trash can with it's lid on, so nothing gets into it that could "rot". Most bacteria and other organisms cannot live in saturated limewater, and I would not be surprised if nothing could. So bacterial growth isn't an issue.

What do they use this fore and what is the$$

It is used for cement, and it is cheap. On the order of $0.50 per pound when I bought it.

Also what is the recommended dose ratio for the "quick lime" and the pickle Lime per gal??

The quicklime is calcium oxide (CaO). Lime is calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). So the quicklime is about 25% more potent.

Measuring powdered solids by teaspoon is not very accurate, but the amount of lime necessary to saturate fresh water is typically described as 2 teaspoons per gallon. I always add excess.

DJREEF
02/21/2002, 04:13 PM
Randy - I dose cloudy kalk. I'm assuming that the concern over doing such concerns pH spikes in the system, and possible builup of heavy metal concentrations. I monitor my tanks with a pinpoint monitor, and the systemic pH never rises above 8.33, in fact I do this specifically to keep my tanks around this level. Are there any other pitfalls that I may not be aware of? I really only need one more reason to get a reactor.

DJ
= 8-->{I>

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/21/2002, 04:30 PM
DJ:

I'm assuming that the concern over doing such concerns pH spikes in the system, and possible builup of heavy metal concentrations.

Yes, that's mostly it. The only other concern is if the milky limewater locally causes a pH spike that causes precipitation of CaCO3. Also, CaCO3 coming in from the limewater (if there's much there) might act to nucleate more CaCO3, and take a bit out of solution.

Both of these concerns are reflected in the calcium and alkalinity. If it is OK, then neither of these two is important enough to worry about.

DJREEF
02/21/2002, 04:41 PM
Cool. Thanx again Randy.

DJ
= 8-->{I>

ron101
02/22/2002, 12:05 AM
Yes thx from another neophyte Kalk user.

Another question. Evaporation from my 90g tank is limited by the fact that my fan ducted light fixture has vents on the side and is sealed by the lens on the bottom. Im losing less than 2L per day and can't keep the Ca/KH up with a saturated Kalk solution so I'd like to try the vinegar that Craig Bingman outlined in his articles. Does the use of this technique should warrant any difference in preparation methods or storing? TIA

Randy Holmes-Farley
02/22/2002, 10:53 AM
ron:

No special changes are necessary.:)