Kalk Drip Query:

[StinkyNappy]

Just a quick question...

I mix my kalk in a 2gal container ( i add about 2 teaspoons) then i have a little pump inside that mixes the kalk around in there for about 20 mins or so. I then let the kalk stand and settle for a bit, Then i start dripping. I use the kalk up in the container to the point where there is all this undissolved kalk at the bottom. Can i add Ro water again to that undissolved stuff and remix or should i throw it out and start fresh?? Thanks man... Chris.

[Reefmedic79]

Yes, the undissolved kalk at the bottom of the mixing container can be reused.

FYI, IMO, your limewater should be left to settle for at least 12 hours before using it.

[StinkyNappy]

12 Hours!! geepers bud, ok, ill just have to go and by a bigger Kalk container aswell then.... What size Kalk reactor/container u got??

[Cearbhaill]

I use a modified 5 gallon salt mix bucket.

[StinkyNappy]

have u got a small pump in there?? or are u using some kind of stirrir??

[der_wille_zur_macht]

You DON'T want to stir it for long periods of time unless it's a totally sealed container. Otherwise, the stirring action will dissolve CO2 from the atmosphere and considerably weaken the kalkwasser.

The mixing/dripping procedure doesn't need to be long or complicated as long as you're not getting any solids (the fine milky stuff at the bottom of the container) into the tank. If you give the stuff a good mixing (by hand even) for a minute or so, that's sufficient. I start my drip about 5 minutes after it's mixed and I've never had a problem - if you watch, you can see that it's all settled out by that point. I even left a jug of it to sit overnight and compared it to a 5 minute-old batch the next day - they looked identical as far as clarity or amount that had settled.

The white stuff that settles at the bottom of the container is mostly undissolved kalk powder, so you can just add pure water to it and reuse. Eventually, you'll want to throw it out and start over though, as there's likely to be some precipitate in there that's not soluble.

[StinkyNappy]

thanks for that info again der_wille_zur_macht, u seem to know ur stuff. i bought some medical grade magnesium from the pharmacy the other day, so im gonna dose some of that aswell to try get my corraline kickstarted..

[Putawaywet]

Yeah.... what Wille said !

Has worked for me for years.

Brett

[Cearbhaill]

have u got a small pump in there?? or are u using some kind of stirrir??

I only stir it the morning that I mix it up. Even though I have made it airtight I don't think it needs stirring once it is mixed. It is a very simple affair with a piece of rigid airline tubing through the lid stopping about 2½ inches off the bottom of the bucket. I have airline tubing running from the top of this rigid tubing down to my sump- controlled by a simple valve. I turn on the valve every evening at lights out, and turn it off in the morning.

It took a bit of fine tuning to get the kalk mix right- high enough to keep my pH stable overnight but diluted enough to be able to supply all my topoff water withoput sending the pH too far up.
I have a lot of evaporation from fans so YMMV.

[nepuck]

Check w/ Randy Holmes Farley (Reef Chem. Forum). I believe he recommends not trying to reuse the undisoved stuff.