calling all kalkers

[kingjames]

ok so bought some kalkwasser the other day to replace my two part since i didnt like the fluctuations i was getting by hand dosing the two part and dont have the funds at the moment to invest in dosers and kalk seems like a more stable constant dosing that i can put in my gravity fed ATO, first off i know that testing is the key to tuning it in on how much kalk to use, so i will definitly be testing frequently. So my question is how much kalk did you recemmend when first starting off acclimating your tank to kalk? And just general expierinces with it? Pros and Cons? At what point was kalk not enough to keep levels from dropping? Do you keep using the left over powder that settles after mixing? Is their any one who lives north that would be willing to check my alk a few times with a hanna since my son broke mine and will be about a week till i can purchase another.

thanks

James N.

[Bpb]

Started with one teaspoon per gallon of RODI topoff water. Mixed it in a separate container, let it settle for one day, then siphon off the clear water within an inch or so from the bottom. Leftover sediment won't dissolve typically and kalk is cheap enough you don't wanna risk getting any extra contaminants in the tank. I just dump off the stuff at the bottom after each mixing. You will notice a film/crust at the kalk water surface. That's just it reacting with co2 in the air naturally. It's harmless and can be ignored

One teaspoon per gallon was perfect for me and I tested daily to monitor fluctuations. After a few weeks doing that I reduced it to weekly testings. As temperature, humidity, and stony coral load vary, so will the effectiveness of your mixture. I'm now at full strength and have a moderate stony coral load.

Pros

Dirt cheap

Super easy to use

With a slow adding ATO, it'll keep parameters rock solid and super stable

Adds calcium and alk at the perfect ratio

Requires very little time, maintenance, and attention

Cons

Dosing strength in ATO will vary in effectiveness due to evaporation changes

It's messy!!! Lines that run kalk need to be cleaned with vinegar monthly to prevent them from caking up with calcium. I already broke one aqualifter by not cleaning it frequently enough.

Tends to deplete magnesium faster than other dosing methods.

Limited in effectiveness. Eventually fully saturated kalk at a maximum safe drip rate will not be adequate to keep up with heavy sps loads and other methods will need to be added.

In my 55 gallon I fully expect to have to add a 2-part dosing system once my acro colonies reach grapefruit size (they're all goofball sized now). I'm at full saturation kalk and its just barely keeping up. Once every month or so I have to manually dose some alk to bring it up to 8.

[esacjack]

1/2 tsp per gallon of ATO water to start, after a few days, test your levels, calcium/mag/alk/ph, adjust as necessary. Also, carbon dioxide has negative effects on PH and the effectiveness/longevity of kalkwasser.

[esacjack]

[Bpb]

[kingjames]

thanks guys for all the info, super helpful

[Richard L]

I really think testing is the key when your dosing since it is nearly impossible to get into a predictable routine once your hard corals start to take off. Think about it this way - when you've got a couple of SPS frags in a big tank the consumption is low but once they turn into colonies with a bunch of branches, each growing and splitting into even more branches, the demand grows exponentially. Once I switched over to a heavy sps tank about a year ago my tank's demand changed weekly. In just one year I switched from Kalk to 2-part to 2-part/Kalk combo to a Ca reactor just to keep up. A couple of weeks ago I had to make another change - adding 1/2 tsp/gallon in my ATO to counteract the slightly acidic solution coming from the Ca reactor. Without frequent testing I wouldn't have a clue how much of the various supplements my tank would need.