How do you use Kalkwasser ??

W

Water World

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Jul 30, 2001
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Galrand, TX
Need help using Kalkwasser (Pickling Lime). Someone explained to me that Kalkwasser or (pickling lime) will help keep the pH up and help keep you calcium at higher levels. I have tried using this and my tank does seem better off. ONLY I have no clue on how much to add and how to add it.
Don't cringe but here is what I'm currently doing. :eek:

I get 5 gallons of RO water from the LFS and add two tea spoons of pickling lime. Shake the container for 2 minutes let it set for 5 and then top off my water level which is 2 to 3 gallons (which clouds my tanks for a few hours). Over the next few day I keep adding till the mixture is water is gone and then I start the process all over next week.

Is there some method for figuring how much lime to add and how to add the mixture to my tank?? Is there a shelf life for the made up water? How do other folks do this??
 
ok here we go...

YOu want to stop doing what you are doing, as you are cauing ph spikes in your tank ( if using Kalwaser mix) ..

What you need to do.. is figure out.. How much water your tank is down in 24 hours.. and how much your Cal levels go down ( how much CAL is being used up in the tank )

Then what you want to do is mix 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.. mix it well... and let it sit for 24 hours.. or untill the water in the mix is complelely Clear.. crystal clear.. you will have some settlement on the bottom..

THen what you want to do is syphone out the water only the Clear Crystal looking water..

then you wnat to Drip it into your tank.. depending on how much your evap is.. but somewhere around 1-4 drips per second..
Myself i use a 72 gallon tank.. and im down 2 gallons aday.. so i drip 1 teaspoon per gallon..

and i drip 2 drips per second 24/7..

You cant add it all at once as it will cause a ph spike.. and could kill things in your tank..

the idea of KALK mix is to maintain the levels you want in your tank.. you do need to use Buffers to get the tank to the levels you want.. then your drip the kalk mix to maintian.. your water levels, ALK leves and your CAL levels.
 
Kent makes an inexpensive drip system to do this pretty easily and accurately... It's called the AquaDose.. Good luck!
 
For a DIY drip setup I use the following setup.

I have 3 1 gal milkjugs (cleaned well beforehand). I put 1 tsp of pickling lime to 1 gal RO water in the jugs and shake up well. I leave the cap on. After 8 or more hours I take the cap off and I start to drip. I drip 1 jug at a time. Usually i start 1 drip when I get up in the AM and then I start another drip when I get home from work.

I have 3 jugs so I can drip 1 and have 1 ready and then have 1 I just mixed.

I use a bit of airline tubing with a loose knot tied in the middle to control the drip. Its not 100% accurate when you count the drips per sec but its good enough.

If its dripping to fast just pull the knot a little tigher. If its dripping to slow just loosen the knot up some.

To get the syphon doing on the arline tube I give the one end a few good drags in my mouth then i put on the sump. I have discovered 4 or 5 drags works for me to get the syphon going and not get a mouth full of kalk water.
 
I apreciate DIY for many things, but when they are going to be VERY visable, I opt for the professional route =)

However, if you wanna DIY and DIR (do it right) then jsut go get an IV bag at a drug store, cut the hose off and attach it to the gallon jug lid... I like the thumb controller better than the double knot method...
 
Who said this was gonna be in plain sight? My sump is in its own room behind the tank. The only person that sees it is ME or an invited guest to see the interworkings of the tank.

If your sump is under the tank then unless your tank stand has no doors on the front its out of view.

I was just giving info on how to save $30 or so in how I got around having to buy a drip bag.
 
I don't run a sump, but I probably will be soon when I get rid of my massive halide ballast that has devoured half of my stand... My doser sits on top of my hood, in plain sight, so I didn't want to make it any uglier than I had to... My intention, when I get the halides switched over to the Powerquads is to mount the doser inside of the hood... That should improve things =)
 
From the water surface to the top of the hood is abooooooooout 14"... Had I gone with PCs to start with, it would be lower, but alas, I chose the halide route.. Live and learn =)
 
Thanks all: That now gives me a better idea of hat I need to do. Another Question:

Why only make 1 or two gallons. Why not mix up 5 or 10 gallons and let that drip? Other than not having space being a issue, if you mixed 5 gallons you would not have to mix up a "batch" as often.
 
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