Kalkwasser advice

[Jessezm]

Hey folks, got a question for ya:

I'm having trouble keeping my alk, pH, and CA up in my 10 gallon nano, and have just hooked up a kalk drip to see if that makes things easier. Question is, on such a small tank, how many drops per second should I set it at? I just hooked it up and it's running at ONE DROP per 8 seconds.

Also, how concentrated should I make it (i.e., 1 tbsp/gallon?)

I want to drip 24/7, and I loose about a cup to a pint to evap per day. Thanks in advance!

[Nyles]

slow down!!!! I would start a drip on that at about 1 drop per 5 seconds! mix sounds right, you can do 2 tsp later if it needs but unlikely.

You need to be watching your PH like a hawk, with a tank that small you could easily kill everything if you let your ph go to high. Watch it closely.

[Jessezm]

Hah, I meant to say one drop per 8 seconds! I'll edit above...

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Jessezm

Hey folks, got a question for ya:

I'm having trouble keeping my alk, pH, and CA up in my 10 gallon nano, and have just hooked up a kalk drip to see if that makes things easier. Question is, on such a small tank, how many drops per second should I set it at? I just hooked it up and it's running at 8 drops/sec.

Also, how concentrated should I make it (i.e., 1 tbsp/gallon?)

I want to drip 24/7, and I loose about a cup to a pint to evap per day. Thanks in advance!

For such a small tank, you should probably go with a AquaNedic dose pump that is connected to a float switch in either your tank or in your sump if you have one. Drip it so it goes into your intake for the skimmer (if you have one), I don't think I would drip kalk at any speed unless you are adding a set amount to replace your evaporation or without some backup to keep from exceeding your evaporation rate (hence the float switch to cut off the aquadoser when the tank fills up.)

Plan on 20 drops being approximately 1 ml, and calculate how much to top off your tank in 24 hrs in ml, then adjust your drip rate over a 24 hr period to match. For example, suppose the tank is evaporating 1/2 gallon in 24 hours. That is approximately 2000 ml.

• 2000ml divided by 24 hours = ~80 ml/hr
• 80 ml/hr x 20 drops per ml = 1600 drops per hour
• 1600 drops/hr divided by 60 min/hr = ~27 drops per minute, or about a drop every 2 seconds if your delivery is relatively constant and the line does not clog.

If you don't have a skimmer set up to run in your drip solution, then drip directly into any high flow water you have in the tank (powerhead, for example) to quickly disperse the kalk in the tank water.


HTH

[Jessezm]

Oh, and just to give you an idea of what I've been doing up until now:

I've been adding about 1/4 teaspoon of seachem reef avantage calcium and about the same amount of seachem reef builder at opposite ends of each day. My levels have been around:
Alk: 2.5
CA: 325
pH: 8.0-8.2 (hard to tell with the seachem test...)

Also, as soon as I get the right light I'll put the cheato in the HOB refugium on a reverse lght cycle

[Jessezm]

Great info, Tom! So by your calculations, I should be dripping about one drop per 10 seconds to replace one pint each day. You're right, that will be pretty tough to keep it that consistant without the line clogging or anything... But I'm going to give it a shot and watch it closely, since I have no sump and no room for a float switch in the main tank--It's just a simple 10 gallon AGA with a hang-on aquaclear 110 filter modded to be a fuge... Thanks for the feedback!

[GLXTRIX]

honestly you can use any light for the fuge, I bought a simple desklamp from staples and that works just fine. Why cant you fit a float switch in a 10? I have one on mine, and I have the same setup, AC110 fuge with a surface skimmer and the flatswith is in the corner of the tank.

[Jessezm]

Yeah--I'm just looking for a light that will fit in the space--one of those flat 9 or 18watt fixtures would be perfect. I've looked at a few desk lamps and so far all have been a bit too big. I think HD has a clip on that people have mentioned before, so I'll check them out, too. As for the float switch, I do have one of those JBJ ATO set ups I could try out, I'm just trying to keep it simple, and have gotten seriously burned with float switches in my minibow when I had that going a while back (snails or algae would sometimes get it stuck on...). But I may look into that, thanks.

[GLXTRIX]

very simple solution, http://www.aquahub.com/store/product15.html I have that setup with the pill bottle, and I have had no issues. Dont have the ATO deal tho, just a res with a PH in it attached to the FS. Hope this helps ya out.

[GeorgeW]

You'll also want to start dosing Magnesium, if you aren't, since Kalk, unlike many calcium suplements (like Reef Advantage), doesn't have Mg in it.

[tdwyatt]

as far as a cheapo alternative for the lighting, Lights of America makes a 65 watt PC bulb and ballast reflector in anoutdoor spotlight that you can pick up at Home Despot back in the outdoor lighting section for around $35 USD that provides 6500K light in a size that will work for you.

Cheap and easy.

[GLXTRIX]

Tom Is The Man!!