ciao Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Since pickling limewater is supposed to be the same as Kalk, do you just go to the store and pick up some limewater and drip it directly into the sump or do you need to dilute/mix it with regular RO water first? For those people that mix Kalk with your RO water to top off their tanks, doesn't the different pH difference between your tank water and the RO water with Kalk cause too drastic a shock to the inhabitants of the tank? I was also wondering, for those that add Kalk to their top off water, how much Kalk do you put into the water when mixing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I'm not sure about the limewater. You can pick up some kalk powder from one of our fine sponsers and mix it in with your top-off water. I run my topoff thru a PM Kalk reactor - it is on a timer 3x per 24 hour period to stir the kalk up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I just buy Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime from Walmart -- it's 1/4 the cost of "aquarium" lime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I used Mrs. Wages until i went in on a bulk amount of calcium hydroxide. But i dose kalk via my auto topoff. I mix 2 teaspoons kalk per gallon of RO. The auto topoff dumps into my sump, so there is sufficient time for it to mix with my tank water. My house is an energy star house, so its well insulated. This actually causes problems with low pH in my tank due to the increased CO2 in the house. The kalk helps keep my pH up and steady, along with my skimmer drawing air from outside to drive off excess CO2 in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I used to use Kalk. Now, thanks to 2-part, I have been kalk free for about a year. Next step is to upgrade to a calcium reactor. Dosing 2-part is less of a pain than kalk, but it is still a chore that I would like to decrease. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Don't overlook peristaltic dosing pumps for 2-part, Dennis... Ca reactors aren't necessarily the be-all end-all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Especially if you make your own 2 part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Don't overlook peristaltic dosing pumps for 2-part' date=' Dennis... Ca reactors aren't necessarily the be-all end-all.[/quote'] one word... BUDGET!!!! Or lack thereof. :( I am stuck in the dosing two part by hand for now. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefer Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I used to use Ca reactor and drip kalk at night....with MY tank, the Ca reactor drove the Ph down below 8 pushing 7.7 sometimes...I would aggressively supplement kalk to bring it back--no consistent Ca levels...swinging ALK...I unplugged Ca reactor and went to dripping kalk with dosing pump 24/7...my corals have responded nicely with the higher pH (8.1-8.2) AND alk and Ca stability... Mrs. Wages is pickling lime...it is the same as kalk...I mix up a 5 gallon bucket of kalk in the garage and pump it under the house to drip in sump...I then mix up a second bucket awaiting the first bucket to empty...the I can switch "drip lids" with tube attachments... DrMerle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 one word... BUDGET!!!! Or lack thereof. :( I am stuck in the dosing two part by hand for now. dsoz Amen to that, I know the feeling -- fortunately, kalk is keeping up with my relatively low dosing requirements. When it doesn't, I'll go with 2-part... hopefully auto-dosed, but manual if that's the way it has to be. Either way, no Ca Reactor for me; they're too cranky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I just buy Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime from Walmart -- it's 1/4 the cost of "aquarium" lime. Yep....me also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I set up a Ca reactor and kalk reactor a few weeks ago and my parameters have never been so stable. Miss a day dosing and things go downhill quickly. Sure, the reactors take a bit of tweaking but things are becoming quite stable at this point and require very few (if any) adjustments. I'm about in need of more kalk powder so I'm going to have to make it to wal-mart, dangit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskerduck Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I set up a Ca reactor and kalk reactor a few weeks ago and my parameters have never been so stable. Miss a day dosing and things go downhill quickly. Sure, the reactors take a bit of tweaking but things are becoming quite stable at this point and require very few (if any) adjustments. I'm about in need of more kalk powder so I'm going to have to make it to wal-mart, dangit! Just curious, If you have a Kalk reactor and only set it up a few weeks ago shouldnt it be good for a year-ish. I thought that was the "selling point" of a kalk reactor was dump in a cup or two and forget them since theres no oxygen the stuff lasts untill completely gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Let us know if you're able to get some Wal-Mart lime. Typically they only sell it seasonally. Last time I tried to get it, I must have been a week or two early. They had a space for it on the shelves with the canning goods, but they did not have any in stock and did not have a record of when it would be coming in. I think this was in August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Just curious, If you have a Kalk reactor and only set it up a few weeks ago shouldnt it be good for a year-ish. I thought that was the "selling point" of a kalk reactor was dump in a cup or two and forget them since theres no oxygen the stuff lasts untill completely gone? I think I go about 3 months on a pound of lime... I've never really kept track, but that seems about right. It's not a year, but it's a lot better than adding to ATO water a couple of times a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskerduck Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I think I go about 3 months on a pound of lime... I've never really kept track' date=' but that seems about right. It's not a year, but it's a lot better than adding to ATO water a couple of times a week.[/quote']You have high evaporation? I filled my reactor about 2 months ago and cant see where any has been lost, maybe a 1/4 cup out of 1-1/2 cups. Maybe I dont stir enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Re: Kalk Questions Between one and two gallons a day I guess... Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 I just had to add more -- I'm going 2 months on a pound of lime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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