Dosing kalawaser

[gkimble]

Ok I have a 40 gallon tank right now and just whanted to do around 1 gallon a day of kalawaser water.
I want to get this pump.
http://www.twopartsolution.com/index...roducts_id=236
I will have a timmer that turns this pump on for five minuted and off for 15 minutes whicgh will equal out to 3600 ml a day and there is about 3785 ml in a gallon. The pump pumps out 10 ml a minute. So do you guys think this sounds allright? Or should I get something else to add kalawaser. My tank is about 380 without anything add so I have no idea how much kalawaser to add.

[Billybeau1]

The trick to adding limewater is to not let your tanks pH raise more than .2 units at a time.

I don't know about your pump but if it raises pH too much at one time, you have the option of mixing it leaner. Say 1 tsp per gallon or 1/2 tsp per gallon. Then when it doses, it won't affect your tanks pH so much.

It's a balance you will have to strike and dial in.

[sjm817]

I prefer a (good) float switch setup to a timer. The evaporation amount and replacement limewater amount match perfectly. A good switch is redundant (2 switches) and is sensitive so as to only add a small amount at a time.

[gkimble]

What kind of ATO would you prefer?

[sjm817]

I use the Reef Fanatic dual level controller and an Aqualifter pump. It works very well. No guess work. If my tank evaporates 3.27G/day, it adds 3.27G/day in very small increments.

[tmz]

I use a litermeter III and a timer. I run it at night for 8hours set for 41 liters per 24 hours. this gives me 3.5 gallons in an 8 hour period for a 400gal system. Alternatively ,. I used a 5 gallon salt buckett with airline tubing inserted about an inch and a half from the bottom and controlled the drip with an airline valve for over a year without any problems.
There are caculations in"The Reef Aquarium Vol III" by Sprung and Delbeek, which indicate how much fully saturated (2tspns per gal) you can dose within a one hour period without precipitously spiking ph. With a margin of safety it works out to about 1% of tank volume or l gallon per 100gallons in an hour.

[gkimble]

Ok thank you that means I would be fine with an auto top off becasue I am ok with .42 gallon per hour

[StrategicReef]

I use a litermeter 3 too it is great, but I think that dosing pump would also work..

Use this calculator..

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

[mlehman]

I have a 40g and I slowly drip in a gallon a day, I mixed it 2 tsp a gallon..I just used a piece of rubber airline tubing and tied a knot in it to control the flow LOL..seems to work for me

I keep my ph right around 8.2ish

[gkimble]

Thnaks for your help guys and a merry xmas

[ACBlinky]

mlehman - I do the same, but use a piece of small-diameter airline tubing (from the LFS) and a thumb-wheel from a hospital IV setup - much easier to regulate, thought I'd mention it since you're using a knot - I tried that for a bit, but adjusting it can get old fast

[RONCGIZMO]

I use an IV drip with a bubble counter on it as well as the thumb adj.
works good for me on my 37

[gkimble]

I think I am going to get a kalk stirer to prevent alk problems.

[Jorgens]

I just pre-mix mine in a 10g aquarium and let it siphon in via float valve. replaces top off water and I refill my 10g about once a week. set it and forget it.

[gkimble]

Do you think a kalk stirer is worth it. Or do you think if I replace the water once every 3 to 5 days in a 10 gallon container I should be fine. I am just trying to see if it is worth it for me to get a kalk stirer.

[sjm817]

I dont think so. Mixing it up is so easy. The kalk stirrer just makes things more complex with another piece of equipment IME.

[tmz]

Originally posted by sjm817
I dont think so. Mixing it up is so easy. The kalk stirrer just makes things more complex with another piece of equipment IME.

I agree. It doesn't need to be stirred with any frequency. I mix up a 5 days worth and stir it once. If you keep it covered to prevent heavy air interaction (CO2 absorbtion) it will loose very little strength in a week as long as there is a little extra mix on the bottom. This link should be helpful.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-0...ture/index.htm

There are also several other articles by Randy Holmes Farely at the beggining of the reef chemistry forum. Look for the articles on limewater.

[sjm817]

It depends on your setup, and the size of your topoff container too. I use a 44G Brute which lasts me ~ 3 weeks in the Summer, 2 weeks in the Winter. It takes me very little time to maintain my kalk topoff setup. If I had a small reservoir that I had to fill every couple of days, I might use a reactor.

[gkimble]

Thanks guys well it looks like I will be getting an auto top off and a 10 gallon container for my kalk water

[tmz]

Just a thought. I think it's best to use a still resevoir at full stauration. It's certainly easier to put in more than 2tsps pergallon and know the excess will sit on the bottom waitng to be absorbed than it is is to calculate and maintain a precise measure,(eg. 1 and one fifth tsps per gallon). So if you find you need less limewater than 100% of your top off at full saturation,you just reduce the amount of limewater you dose(eg 5 liters to 3 liters) and make up the difference with ro/di.

This can be done with a drip application or a dosing pump but obviously not with an auto top off doser.

[StrategicReef]

You can just use a bucket, put in some extra that sits on the bottom and make sure the siphon does not suck up the powder at the bottom..

[ctripi]

Don't mean to hijack the tread but I have a question for those who use an ATO supplying kalkwaser. My set-up is a peristaltic pump and float valve pulling kalk from a 33g garbage pale. My question is how often do you guys supplement alkalinity and what do you typically use. I have mostly SPS and over time my Ca and KH dwindle such that I boost the Ca with CaCl periodically and boost the Alk with baking soda. Does anyone have a better idea or should this be sufficient.

[bertoni]

I just use the DIY two-part for my tank that can't get enough calcium and alkalinity from topoff. A CO₂-driven calcium reactor is a common approach for larger tanks, though.

[tmz]

That's what I do. The limewater dose for top off and the calcium reactor balance each other off nicely in terms of ph and provide very good levels of calcium and alkalinity continuously. I have not had to tweak with two part in at least 4 months.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by ctripi
Don't mean to hijack the tread but I have a question for those who use an ATO supplying kalkwaser. My set-up is a peristaltic pump and float valve pulling kalk from a 33g garbage pale. My question is how often do you guys supplement alkalinity and what do you typically use. I have mostly SPS and over time my Ca and KH dwindle such that I boost the Ca with CaCl periodically and boost the Alk with baking soda. Does anyone have a better idea or should this be sufficient.

The amount of alkalinity added with saturated limewater will of course depend on the amount of evaporation you get.
The higher the volume evaporated the more saturated lime water you can add and the more the alkalinity.
You can "over-saturate" the Kalk by using some vinegar in the RO/DI but that may creaste a bacterial bloom as vinegar is feed for it.
This chart can tell you the maximum amount of alkalinity per day you can add based on the volume of water evaporated as a % of total tank water.
For example, if you evaporation to total volume is 2.5% (1 gallon per day out of 40 gallon system or 3-1/4 gals on a 130 gal system) the maximum alkalinity you can add is 2.85 dKh per day. (About 1 meq/lt per day)