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Teach me how to dose (kalkwasser)

kevin

kevin

NJRC Member
I'm watching videos & I'm reading articles.

I'm looking to dose kalkwasser in its own container through hydros system. I do not want to put it through my ATO or have a separate reactor.

I'm confused with the ATO evaporation. I don't want to it to decrease the salinity.
I have 2 ato sensors, 1 is a backup.
Would it make sense to get a 3rd sensor & have the kalk shut off if it doses higher than the highest point off the first sensor ? Does that make any sense?

I dont know how much I will be dosing yet, im still testing everything & just learning.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Read these articles maybe will help.

kalk-to-your-auto-top-off?utm_term=&utm_campaign=EL+%7C+ACQ_Prospecting_PMax+%7C+ROAS+%7C+Open+Targets+%7C+High+Margin&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&hsa_acc=7373341438&hsa_cam=17740353356&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6PysrqjTjAMVuEdHAR3OwxppEAAYASAAEgJFovD_BwE


dosing-kalkwasser-via-ato-how-do-you-maintain-your-water-levels-reservoir
 
iTzJu

iTzJu

Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
I follow the ACI method and let my apex control the dose according to pH overnight, it handles most of my alk/cal needs and i occasionally need to supplement alk 2-3ml depending on the consumption that day.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I’m not sure I understand your concern and all these float switches, so I’ll simply state the simplest way to start using kalkwasser (Calcium hydroxide).

I don’t know your tank and the amount of hard corals you have, but if you have a bunch or they are large, saturated kalkwasser alone won’t be able to keep up with the demand. You’ll have to supplement with some other method of maintaining alk and calc levels. If you don’t have many hard corals or they are small, it’s a great way to get into dosing your tank. So, the easiest way to dose kalkwasser is to add using your ATO. The reason you ideally want to use your ATO is because you want a slow addition over a long period of time….just like what your ATO does. If you add in a bolus….one slug of solution all at once….you get a large pH swing….which you don’t want. The other option is to set up a drip system, but for me, that’s too unpredictable.

If you know your alk/calc demand, you can figure out how much powder to add to your ATO. If you don’t, I’d simply start by adding 1 tsp per gallon to your ATO water. Now sit back and enjoy and start measuring alk and calc over the next couple days to see if you’re at the levels you want. If not, adjust your kalkwasser power addition to your ATO. Note that totally saturated kalkwasser is at about 2 teaspoons per gallon. That is, you can’t dissolve any more than 2 tsp per gallon.
 
The Gooch

The Gooch

NJRC Member
So i use kalk as my primary means of dosing.
I prefer using an avast kalk stirrer (I hate making barrels of kalk). I like the ecotech versa pump (tried hydros sole). I have it dosing 24/7 (not more than evaporation). Using Hydros, my first fail safe in a high ph cutoff. As a secondary failsafe I have a high level sensor in my sump that will shut down the versa. That’s it, pretty simple
And totally safe. Every 2 weeks I put a new scoop of kalk in reactor. I’ll completely clean it out every 3 or 4 refills.
 
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R

Rueric

NJRC Member
Theres plenty of ways to skin this cat.. which are likely all fine.
Here is my method:
I have a 100g tank.
I've set up a 60g drum of saturated kalk.
I use a doser to dose throughout the day.
How much do I dose per day? I adjust it manually based on my alk consumption.
I use my Neptune Apex to test for alk 4 times a day.
To tune how much I dose, I watch for the spikes and dips of alk throughout the day.
I dose accordingly to keep it flatlined.
 
Ultimate Corals

Ultimate Corals

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If anyone wants to learn to dose Kalk feel free to stop by. We've been dosing it for years and that is all we dose. No alk or cal. I'm more than happy to walk people through how to do it. It's alot of typing LOL
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I had trouble years ago with the kalk powder clumping then clogging so switch to 2 part. I heard you can use pickling lime but never tried.
 
Joel T

Joel T

NJRC Member
The Gooch said:
So i use kalk as my primary means of dosing.
I prefer using an avast kalk stirrer (I hate making barrels of kalk). I like the ecotech versa pump (tried hydros sole). I have it dosing 24/7 (not more than evaporation). Using Hydros, my first fail safe in a high ph cutoff. As a secondary failsafe I have a high level sensor in my sump that will shut down the versa. That’s it, pretty simple
And totally safe. Every 2 weeks I put a new scoop of kalk in reactor. I’ll completely clean it out every 3 or 4 refills.
Click to expand...
Hey Gooch, do you have issues with the kalk stirrer malfunctioning? I’ve heard it can be a little bit of a pain to run. I’m currently dosing kalk with a five gallon jug and a versa on a 50 gallon tank. I’m planning on upgrading the tank to a 120 gallon and Im looking for an easier way to dose kalk.
 
The Gooch

The Gooch

NJRC Member
Joel T said:
Hey Gooch, do you have issues with the kalk stirrer malfunctioning? I’ve heard it can be a little bit of a pain to run. I’m currently dosing kalk with a five gallon jug and a versa on a 50 gallon tank. I’m planning on upgrading the tank to a 120 gallon and Im looking for an easier way to dose kalk.
Click to expand...

Been running this particular avast k2 for a year and haven’t had issues. I think you need to stir it 24/7 to prevent clumping. A lot of people run stirrers intermittently and think that’s where the issues stem from. Kalk turns to a paste if you let it settle. Probably burns the motor out like that.
 
Joel T

Joel T

NJRC Member
The Gooch said:
Been running this particular avast k2 for a year and haven’t had issues. I think you need to stir it 24/7 to prevent clumping. A lot of people run stirrers intermittently and think that’s where the issues stem from. Kalk turns to a paste if you let it settle. Probably burns the motor out like that.
Click to expand...
Ok. That makes sense. Definitely a piece of equipment I’d eventually want look into.
 
kevin

kevin

NJRC Member
The Gooch said:
Been running this particular avast k2 for a year and haven’t had issues. I think you need to stir it 24/7 to prevent clumping. A lot of people run stirrers intermittently and think that’s where the issues stem from. Kalk turns to a paste if you let it settle. Probably burns the motor out like that.
Click to expand...

I've been looking into the avast k2 stirrer with kamoer fx-stp2. However, I'm still a little confused. I have an AIO, so would i be able to use it since its a gravity feed? Theirs no way to put it higher than my display lol

Edit: so I ordered a fx-spt2 off aliexpress and won a avast k1 off ebay for cheap. I realized I have to have it higher than my display so maybe ill make a stand to sit it on. It will probably look ugly but maybe it'll do for now
 
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N

nvladik

NJRC Member
The Gooch said:
So i use kalk as my primary means of dosing.
I prefer using an avast kalk stirrer (I hate making barrels of kalk). I like the ecotech versa pump (tried hydros sole). I have it dosing 24/7 (not more than evaporation). Using Hydros, my first fail safe in a high ph cutoff. As a secondary failsafe I have a high level sensor in my sump that will shut down the versa. That’s it, pretty simple
And totally safe. Every 2 weeks I put a new scoop of kalk in reactor. I’ll completely clean it out every 3 or 4 refills.
Click to expand...
How big is your tank and how much are you adding?
 
N

nvladik

NJRC Member
kevin said:
I've been looking into the avast k2 stirrer with kamoer fx-stp2. However, I'm still a little confused. I have an AIO, so would i be able to use it since its a gravity feed? Theirs no way to put it higher than my display lol
Click to expand...
If you go with Avast, you have to put it higher than the display. Geo's Reef might be a better stirrer for you as it's fully sealed, pressure would drive the effluent up to the tank.
 
kevin

kevin

NJRC Member
nvladik said:
If you go with Avast, you have to put it higher than the display. Geo's Reef might be a better stirrer for you as it's fully sealed, pressure would drive the effluent up to the tank.
Click to expand...

I'll definetly look into the geo! I ordered a kamoer fxspt2 and literally just won a k1 off ebay for cheap. Didn't realize I needed it above the display. However, i could put it on the side of the display but might be an eyesore lol
 
N

nvladik

NJRC Member
kevin said:
I'll definetly look into the geo! I ordered a kamoer fxspt2 and literally just won a k1 off ebay for cheap. Didn't realize I needed it above the display. However, i could put it on the side of the display but might be an eyesore lol
Click to expand...
If you can make it work, you will love how easy it is. Mine is in the stand and it's a pain to add Kalk to.
 
N

nvladik

NJRC Member
kevin said:
I'll definetly look into the geo! I ordered a kamoer fxspt2 and literally just won a k1 off ebay for cheap. Didn't realize I needed it above the display. However, i could put it on the side of the display but might be an eyesore lol
Click to expand...
Just saw what you won, that's a killer deal indeed :)
 
kevin

kevin

NJRC Member
nvladik said:
Just saw what you won, that's a killer deal indeed :)
Click to expand...

Honestly, didn't expect to win it. I was the only bidder LOL. I'll make it work to dip my toes into kalk.
Someone suggested to use this
 

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