kalk questions

[tkjeffrey]

I got the el' cheapo kent marine drip system and some kalk mix. Got some questions.

1. How do you mix your kalkwasser, since they form crust on bottom and top of bucket how do you get to the middle stuff without getting the crust?

2. What type of container you store it in? Is there an easy way to get the kalk from bucket to your drip system?

3. Lost the instructions and dont know the drip rate I should be using?

4. Do you use the kalk mix to replace all water evap?

[Reefdude5]

Hey Travis,
I'm a big fan of using kalkwasser! It helps in tons of ways. Also I like Seachem's kalk, it seems to dissolve the best in my opinion. But anyways, I mix 1tsp kalk with 1 gal. The directions say to mix it in a seperate container. I don't, I just dump the water from last batch, add kalk, then dump RO water into the container. Then I start the drip, slowly, so that it empties over a period of 6 or so hours. If done too quickly, the water will become to cloudy, this is a good indication the drip rate is too high. Yes, use Kalk to replace all water evaporated. It raises ph and addes Ca. Oh, and do not store the kalk water for several days, it goes bad, I think Spanky has better info on this. Hope it all goes well. Nice to meet you Travis!

[Doug1]

Mixing it by the gallon, a glass jar works well, the trick is to stir it without a lot of surface agitation. The CO2 in air starts in reacting with it and propping pH, producing Calcium Carbonate(?) thats part of the stuff that settles out, siphon the clear liquid after it settles awhile .
Try to match your drip rate with evap rate, if you evap more than the dripper holds then you need to either add more water top off daily or use a bigger dripper or refill it.
At any rate, its usually dripped at night to offset the normal pH drop, try to introduce it into a turbulent area so that it minimizes hot spots(pH is around 12) A pH meter is a sound investment, i don't trust test kits, esp when dripping kalk. Keep in mind that you want your calcium already at near optimum levels(400) and alk around 9-12 DKH, then drip kalk to maintain, if one param is off kilter it will throw it farther off

[Pirate]

I drip kalk 3 nights weekly, I made my own drip system with a 2.5 rubbermaid container made for holding drinking water in the fridge. Luckily the spicket is about 2in from the bottom. So that allows me to get only the clean top water without the sediment at the bottom. I mix it about 6 - 8 hours before I use it and let it settle. I get IV tubing from the hospital (or your nursing friends) and the whole thing cost me about 7 dollars. The kent system I believe takes the mixture directly from the bottom, which I have heard from many can be detrimental to your system. I maintain my cal at 450, and like I said I never use the sediment.

[JPerkins]

I want to say exactly what Pirate said but he already said it so....

[tdwyatt]

might consider buioding a DYI kalk reactor, let it do yur top off as well as your Ca and Alk.