Kalkwasser kills coralline?

[SBGRAD24]

I used some kalk paste to kill a few aiptasia and several hydroids the otehr day and now the coralline has turned white around those areas. Is this a coincidence or does the kalk paste kill just about anything it touches?

[skattabrain]

well, it's gotta carzy PH, that's why you inject into into an organism.

should grow back quickly though

[skattabrain]

where did you get needles?

[SBGRAD24]

I didn't use a needle, just a syringe with a plastic tip. I didn't inject the kalk into the anemones, I dribbled it on top of them. It worked pretty well, but I'm sure a needle would work better.

[skattabrain]

if you get a needle, it will be localized and you won't have the issue you just had again... at least not as badly

[plasma800]

Can Kalk kill Coraline?

I have noticed that since I started to add kalk to my system over the last week and a half that my corraline is turning white too.

I have to be the first to admit that I am probably adding the kalk wrong by keeping it in a milk jug and pouring in a little each day....

a local guy suggested that to me, but I wondered if it was a good idea or not.

Anyone have any opinions, cause I was considering looking into a kalk drip, maybe that would be better huh?

[Eric Boerner]

Originally posted by plasma800
Can Kalk kill Coraline?

I have noticed that since I started to add kalk to my system over the last week and a half that my corraline is turning white too.

I have to be the first to admit that I am probably adding the kalk wrong by keeping it in a milk jug and pouring in a little each day....

a local guy suggested that to me, but I wondered if it was a good idea or not.

Anyone have any opinions, cause I was considering looking into a kalk drip, maybe that would be better huh?

Wow.. ahh yeah. The pH and Alk swing in your tank must be massive by doing that. When you pour it in, your pH is going to skyrocket, along with your Alk. Then it'll swing down to nothing by the time you're ready to put more in. Surprised your corals aren't bleaching like the coralline.

You should use a drip system to deliver it slowly over 24 hours.

[Carribean Reef Man]

I have never dripped it into my tank I just added 4 gallon add a time. I do have a 1000+ gallon tank and I have never seen a difference in alk or PH.

:bum:

[HuBu]

you are suppose to drip it. plus alk expires after awhile since it reacts with CO2 in the air. if the solution is murky, throw it away. it has to be crystal clear.

[plasma800]

Well fortunately for me, I dont have any corals yet, but I'm about to...which is what lead me to this research.

You can't trust any of the local stores around here to tell you the truth, that's for sure.

Im going to try to get some sort of drip system in place prior to me buying some zoo's and soft corals. I seem to lose a LOT of water to evap. I have an open top and a 4x96 PC right on top. I'm thinking that Im losing almost a gallon a day, maybe 3/4 a gallon, so I'm trying to figure some drip system that will replace that much water. I Just don't know much about it.

thanks for the insite..
consequently, I have only been doing that for about a week...but will quit until I can get some dosing system in place...

Thanks a bunch!!!!!!!!!11

[MPA]

My Q...

I try to keep my ca+ around 420-440 ppm. When I need to add I just figure out how many ml will bring it up to the right level. Then I just measure it out and shoot into the sump. It's only about 1-3 ml each dose. Should I put it in differently?

Also since I started to add it my coraline has turned whiteish in spots, my mushroom & star polyps won't open up as much as they were and my grouper frantically swims around the tank. Ph and sp gravity are good. Any ideas? Also what is a good way (kit)to test the alkalinity?

[danieljames]

skattabrain...you can get needles at any pharmacy. You can tell them you are diabetic.

[dnjan]

Originally posted by plasma800
Im going to try to get some sort of drip system in place prior to me buying some zoo's and soft corals. I seem to lose a LOT of water to evap. I have an open top and a 4x96 PC right on top. I'm thinking that Im losing almost a gallon a day, maybe 3/4 a gallon, so I'm trying to figure some drip system that will replace that much water. I Just don't know much about it.
I evaporate about a gallon a day, and use a nurce-type auto-topoff with kalkwasser (the clear stuff after the excess has settled after mixing). Plenty of corraline, no problems.

The maximum added at any one time is less than a half percent of my tank volume, so I have not noticed any pH spike problems.

[plasma800]

What is a nurce type?

[dnjan]

The nurce was a comercially-made automatic topoff system that operated on the siphon principal. Basically a stiff, air-tight reservoir tank with a drain tube, a vent tube, and a refill tube.
Normally the refill tube is closed. The drain tube extends from close to the bottom of the reservoir tank into your sump (below the waterline). The vent tube extends from close to the top of the reservoir tank to the waterline in the sump. When the sump level drops due to evaporation, air can enter the vent tube and go into the reservoir. This allows water from the reservoir to flow out, and into the sump. When enough water has enterred the sump to get the water level back up to the vent tube, it stops air from enterring the vent tube. Which stops water from flowing out of the reservoir.

Fairly easy to make with some fittings and a rigid container. I have a valve on my drain tube so I can close it while refilling the reservoir.

It is important to have a rigid container, because a vaccuum forms in the reservoir when the vent tube gets blocked by the rising water level in the sump. It is this vaccuum that stops the flow out of the drain tube. If the walls of your container flex too much, your home-made nurce-device won't maintain the water level very precisely.