Easy kalk dripping?

[bingo]

I have a FOWLR 30 gallon and I've been manually and slowly adding my kalk water with a cup. I've heard that there is an easy way to drip the kalk into the tank just by using a simple valve? Could somebody please enlighten me? Thanks...

[Doug]

Hi Bingo and Welcome to Reef Central!

Here is a link to the DIY kalk dripper that I made.

Kalk Dripper (http://38.222.244.200/dougw/kalkdrip.htm)

HTH

Doug

[ATJ]

bingo,
Here is what I do:
I use either a 1.25L, 2L or 3L PET soda bottle (depending on the amount of evaporation from each of my 6 tanks). I fill the bottle with freshwater to within 2cm of the top. I add 1/4 to 1/2 a teaspoon of calcium hydroxide and top up so the bottle is completely full with no air. I put the lid on the bottle and shake and shake and shake and leave to settle for at least one hour. It is important not to get any air in as CO2 from the air will react with the calcium and precipitate calcium carbonate.

To drip the "Kalk", I have 2 short pieces of airline with a simple tap in the middle. I put one end of the airline in the sump and suck the water up the tube. (I do it this way as I prefer the taste of seawater to "Kalkwasser".) I place the other end of the tube in the soda bottle to 1-2cm from the bottom of the bottle. This is to ensure I don't suck up any sediment. If necessary adjust the tap so that I get about 1 drop per second.

I find I need to check the dripping a couple of times in the first hour to ensure it is still dripping.

This is one way to do it but not the only way.