dosing kalkwasser??

[mujtba]

my calcium and alk are low.. i dont have a sump. what is the simplest way to dose kalk? i did some research, and there are so many things involved.. how do i go about doing it without damaging my tank??

[dirtyreefer]

You can drip it directly into your tank, but at a slow rate (say 1 drop/second). I would mix 1 teaspoon in a 1 gallon jug, then run and airline tube into the jug and start a siphon. Tie a loose knot at the end of the tube which will restrict the drip rate.

[mujtba]

any pics? whats a siphon and where do i get an airline tube? do they make any HOB dosing things?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

This article has lots of details on limewater, including suggested ways to dose:

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

The dosing methods are discussed here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm#5

[barlav]

I made one of these:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/nftt/

Works like a charm and the price is right, Thie link will give you all the info you'll need to aquire the parts and assemble it,

Good luck!

[infrared69]

if you have an extra 30 bucks just buy a kent agua doser, its just a 2.5g jug with an IV tube that it gravity fed. its nice for mixing the kalk and its very easy to set the drip. almost every LFS has them.

[dirtyreefer]

airline tubing you should be able to get at your LFS really cheap. You can also use airline tubing from wine kits as well.

[mujtba]

if i bought a kent aqua doser, how would I hide it? my tanks in living room.. i dont have a sump. am i assed out?

[mujtba]

also, how often do you drip kalk? 24hrs like a drop per second? i got a 75G tank...

[dirtyreefer]

1 drop/second is a good start. Some people drip 24/7, some drip only at night because it can raise pH.

I think you are SOL when it comes to the cosmetics of it because these are gravity fed methods of dosing. Unless you had a really big canopy that can cover up whatever container you use.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

if i bought a kent aqua doser, how would I hide it? my tanks in living room.. i dont have a sump. am i assed out?

Some folks in that situation use a Nilsen reactor under the tank. IMO, that is the one place where a Nilsen reactor makes the most sense.

You might also dose from a remote location with a thin tubing snaked up through the floor, if the structure allows it. I did that for years before moving my sump to the basement.

[infrared69]

be creative, i dose kalk as top off water. so its pretty much 3x a week. you could put the container on the back of the couch or something. i originally used a small kent aqua doser and built a shelf for it.

[mujtba]

ok but the thing is, you guys said the dosing is done by gravity.. SO this means the bottle has to be HIGHER than the tank? if not, i can just use kent aqua doser and hide it inside my stand, but the tubing will be going upward to the tank.. would this fail or work?

[mujtba]

do u mix kalk in your top off water 3x a week and they SLOWLY put it in the tank, or all at once?

[GGGREGGG]

you have to drip dose the kalk because it is very basic; if you were to add it all at once your ph would skyrocket. if you don't mind seeing the jug you can make a drip doser for about 5 bucks. all you need is a 1 to 5 gallon jug of some sort with a lid, some airline and a small gate valve. you can get the airline and gate valves from your lfs for 3 or 4 bucks. 2 teaspoons per gallon is the saturation point, just add it to the water, shake or stir and give it some time to settle, (few hours), then drip it into your water in an area with decent flow.

[srmbr]

1st. get your magnesium level to 1350 to 1500
2nd. use cal chloride to get your Ca to 400 to 450
3nd. buy a ph meter
4th. add kalk to your top-off water and pure in.
This takes alittle testing. Start out with alittle kal and check the ph impact. Add accordingly.
Mine goes (usually I add in the morning) from 8.0 to 8.3 ~ 8.4 after the kalk is added. This works well for me and the tank looks great.
Also, I had trouble getting my Ca / dkh to the correct level and maintaining, but once I got the Mg to the correct level, everything stablized and my tank is growing coralline algae at a good rate.
Ca 450
dkh 9.2
mg 1355
Good Luck

[mujtba]

I thought kalk was to raise my calcium, so why use cal chloride? i dont even know what that is..

also the thing is, you guys said the dosing is done by gravity.. SO this means the bottle has to be HIGHER than the tank? if not, i can just use kent aqua doser and hide it inside my stand, but the tubing will be going upward to the tank.. would this fail or work?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Limewater is not suitable for a big calcium rise, as it also adds alkalinity, and to raise calcium by 100 ppm, you'll raise alkalinity by 5 meq/l (14 dKH). Calcium chloride raises calcium with no alkalinity rise.

[GGGREGGG]

the kent aquadoser is gravity fed.

[mujtba]

ya so by gravity fed, u mean it has to be above the tank?

[GGGREGGG]

yes, as in there is nothing included such as a pump to push it up to your tank if it were underneath. it is meant to drip down by means of gravity.

[SanFranTodd]

I had the Kent Aquadoser and it was a pain-in-the-@$$. I used this little Aqua Lift pump to dose my kalk and it's a much better system.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=KTALP


I can ship it to you cheap if interested...

[onefin]

Originally posted by barlav
I made one of these:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/nftt/

Works like a charm and the price is right, Thie link will give you all the info you'll need to aquire the parts and assemble it,

Good luck!

barlav, i followed your directions it works like a charm, thanks.

[infrared69]

it all depends how technical you want to go, if u dont gravity feed kalk you buy a dosing pump. but if your going to start spending hundrends of dollars you might as well just buy a ca+ reactor and a Kalk reactor.

[mujtba]

wait, so if I do these, I will be fine?

STEP1: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/nftt/


STEP2: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...TALP&ast=&key=

The STEP 2 is so I can put it underneath the tank.

Will this work?