Dosing Kalk With Top-Off ?

[nisom88]

I am totally new to the world of kalkwasser and i was hoping for a little guidance. I recently set up a 20 gallon rubbermaid trash can as a top-off resevoir. I fill it about 3/4 full with r/o water. The can is plumbed to a kent float valve in the sump...i'm pretty impressed with it so far, it keeps the sump level absolutely stable. I'm not sure how long one fill will last, as i just hooked this up a couple of days ago, but i'm guessing at around two weeks (i was losing about a gallon a day before).

My question is, could i mix kalk in the trash can and dose with the top-off, or would two weeks be too long to have the stuff sitting in the can? I've got a small powerhead circulating the water in the can right now...would this help?

Or, should i just set up a separate container for the kalk and just set a slow drip rate?

[Doug1]

Kalk will lose pH and effectiveness if it is exposed to CO2 in room air, thats why the IV bag type drippers

[nisom88]

There seems to be a little controversey surrounding this...some say absolutely only mix enough for a day. others say they mix enough for a week or more. like i said, i have absolutely no experience in the area, so i'm not sure which way is the way to go. either way, from what i've read it seems like there will be quite a bit of maintenance involved in keeping the float valve free of calcium deposits....

[grazhopr]

You can DIY a Nielsen reactor...
Many people I've seen rely on this type of calcium addition and seem to work for them.
That's what I plan to have in the early stage of my setup.

[mapster]

I read this and thought I would post for feedback.

Also offers some insight into the kalk world.

[Doug1]

Kalk Reactors seem to be the ticket for those that sont want to dose dailey, or whatever. Heres a link to Bill-e site and Nilsen Reactor
http://www.mv.com/users/besposito/reef.html