A few questions about Kalk.....

[Mooch18]

I have some questions.

1. I am using a air tight 2.5 gallon container to dose my kalk. At one end it has a small whole that can be plugged, and at the other end it has a input for a small tube to feed tank (drip). My question is, if i add water then directly after add Kalk, can i seal it air tight and shake the entire jug to mix Kalk?? I would ofcourse let it settle for a few hours then dose. The reason i ask this is because no air can enter the container when shaking since it is air tight.

2. Can i top-off my water with Kalk 3 days per week, and just regular R/O water the other 4 days. I ask because i have a large system with very little calcium needs. It's 110 gallons, but only two corals and live rock. Will my PH go out of whack if i do this??

3. When doing a water change, should i match my KH, PH, and Cal exactly to tank specs before changing water. I use seachem reef salt, but it is lacking in calcium (360 ppm), where as my tank is at 400 ppm. Also the alk is slightly lower in seachem salt at 2.5, compared to my tank at 3.0. I just recieved a bad batch.

Thanks a ton!!

[bertoni]

1. That method of stirring is fine. After the shaking is doned, it's not necessary to keep the limewater perfectly air-tight.

2. That'll be fine as along as your parameters (primarily pH and alkalinity) stay in the acceptable range.

3. For 20% changes, I just match the SG fairly carefully. The salt sets the pH relatively close to the main tank with aeration. KH and Ca aren't critical to match as long as the tank stays in the acceptable zone.

[Mooch18]

Ok, thanks a ton.

One other thing im wondering is, how long exactly is the minimum time which you can dose Kalk after mixing. Some say 1 hours, others say 24 hours. I figure 5-6 hours should be enough for the Kalk solution to settle in.

Any ideas??

[Rays]

There is no time frame, just wait 'til the solution is clear, and don't siphon the film on the top or the sediment on the bottom.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Overnight is adequate, whether it is clear by then or not. The idea is to let the larger impurities settle out.