Kalkwasser

[Christyef]

I’ve found pure calcium hydroxide to be way cheaper than paying for a name brand. Does anyone else use one that’s good quality with few impurities and cheaper than BRS?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sascha D.]

Here is what I used to use to make kalkwasser. 

The below links were taken from Reef Chemistry by Randy Holmes-Farley

Calcium carbonate/carbon dioxide reactors
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/index.htm

Limewater (kalkwasser) 
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Systems
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

As a very short summary guide, my recommendations are:

• Limewater in auto top-off systems, drippers or dosers for many reef aquaria, even those using other systems in addition to limewater, is not suitable as the only supplement for aquaria with a very high demand for calcium and alkalinity. I use limewater alone for my reef aquaria as part of an auto top-off system. Costs can depend on the nature of the setup and the lime (calcium hydroxide) or quicklime (calcium oxide) used.

• Two-part systems (including DIY) are recommended for very small aquaria, and any without auto top-off. Two-part additions can be manual (two to seven times per week or more) or automatic with dosers. This method is suitable for all levels of required calcium and alkalinity additions. Do-it-yourself solutions can be very inexpensive; commercial versions are more expensive.

• CaCO₃/CO₂ reactors have high initial setup costs, but can meet demand in any reef aquarium if sized appropriately. Once set, such reactors can often run with little day to day attention.

[Reefpuck]

3 minutes ago, Sascha D. said:

Here is what I used to use to make kalkwasser. I eventually gave it up because the process was too much trouble. 

I just started using this last week as well...to help supplement dosing as well as trying to raise my ph a bit. Obviously still trying to dial in how much I need to add to my top off water. If you're familiar with Randy Holmes-Farley over on R2R...this is all he has used over the last 17 years I believe for cal/alk supplements. And he knows a thing or two about water chemistry.

[Sascha D.]

9 minutes ago, Reefpuck said:

I just started using this last week as well...to help supplement dosing as well as trying to raise my ph a bit. Obviously still trying to dial in how much I need to add to my top off water. If you're familiar with Randy Holmes-Farley over on R2R...this is all he has used over the last 17 years I believe for cal/alk supplements. And he knows a thing or two about water chemistry.

I'm only a member of ARC, but I've read several of his articles and he's a genius. I used his articles to set up a kalkwasser supplementation system and kept it up for a few years, but later switched to a calcium reactor. Kalk is difficult to use and labor-intensive for larger aquariums or those with high uptake. At one point I was decanting 6 one gallon jugs at any given time and using two gallons every 24 hours. I also tried it in my ATO, but I never got the hang of it. Looking back I think the problem was that my container wasn't air tight. Kalkwasser reactors are available these days, but they're expensive and I don't have any experience with them. 

[Reefpuck]

4 minutes ago, Sascha D. said:

I'm only a member of ARC, but I've read several of his articles and he's a genius. I used his articles to set up a kalkwasser supplementation system and kept it up for a few years, but later switched to a calcium reactor. Kalk is difficult to use and labor-intensive for larger aquariums or those with high uptake. At one point I was decanting 6 one gallon jugs at any given time and using two gallons every 24 hours. I also tried it in my ATO, but never got the hang of it. 

Yeah I can only imagine on your size tank. I still have a relatively low coral load as most of my SPS are frags...so my uptake isn't bad right now.