Brightwell Aquatics Kalk+2

[Centerline]

Any thoughts on this stuff? I'm adding a kalk reactor to a new tank and I like the idea of adding a little mag and strontium. I currently dose BRS 2 part alk /ca and adjust mag weekly. I do a 10% water change weekly with RSP and that just about keeps mag levels up (1400). However I have some really bad PH issues due to excess C02 in my house and am looking to cut down on the worst of it by selectively dosing kalk with topoff in the AM.

Thanks!

 

[Duberz]

If I remember correctly @Randy Holmes-Farley said it's a gimmick. Something about the mag and strontium not being able to come out in the kalk solution.

 

[Bacon505]

Just get pickling lime from mrs.wage. $3/lb. ive been using it for little over a year

 

[dulgee]

i just sent this comment to brightwell aquatics, thought i'd share here:

I have a problem with your Kalk+2 product. I had doubts that this product could work as advertised because magnesium precipitates in high alkalinity, and since a saturated kalk solution is a very high PH environment, logic dictates that the magnesium would just fall out of solution and rest on the bottom of the container... well, most kalk solutions have some sediment after it becomes fully saturated, so i originally thought that's what it was. However at such a high cost, i did further testing, and even at a 50% saturation there is quite a bit of precipitant on the bottom, which leads me to believe it is the magnesium. Which also tells me that when i dump out the slurry at the bottom its all magnesium, and my drip is only providing pure lime water, which i can buy at a fraction of the cost. Further evidence indicates that there is no significant increase in magnesium in my tank, in fact, i still see the typical consumption rate. Perhaps this product is more useful in a kalk stirrer which will release the slurry into the water column where the crystallized magnesium would dissolve into solution once in a more sea-like PH environment.

I suggest a recommended use within a kalk stirrer be advertised and a notice that magnesium will fall to the bottom unless kept in suspension in a stirrer.

 

[Centerline]

i just sent this comment to brightwell aquatics, thought i'd share here:

I have a problem with your Kalk+2 product. I had doubts that this product could work as advertised because magnesium precipitates in high alkalinity, and since a saturated kalk solution is a very high PH environment, logic dictates that the magnesium would just fall out of solution and rest on the bottom of the container... well, most kalk solutions have some sediment after it becomes fully saturated, so i originally thought that's what it was. However at such a high cost, i did further testing, and even at a 50% saturation there is quite a bit of precipitant on the bottom, which leads me to believe it is the magnesium. Which also tells me that when i dump out the slurry at the bottom its all magnesium, and my drip is only providing pure lime water, which i can buy at a fraction of the cost. Further evidence indicates that there is no significant increase in magnesium in my tank, in fact, i still see the typical consumption rate. Perhaps this product is more useful in a kalk stirrer which will release the slurry into the water column where the crystallized magnesium would dissolve into solution once in a more sea-like PH environment.

I suggest a recommended use within a kalk stirrer be advertised and a notice that magnesium will fall to the bottom unless kept in suspension in a stirrer.

So I *thought* I would have agreed across the board on this but I just tested Mag after reading this and its sitting at 1580 and 1600 over two tests. Up 200 from 4 weeks ago. I have been dosing the Brightwell product every day in a stirrer that only runs for an hour or so - so I really don't know the deal is at this point. Didn't like see 1600 much though I'm sure it wont harm anything.

 

[dulgee]

interesting... because the kalk+2 product only contains .15% mg compared to 53% Ca .15% is a minuscule amount that I would not expect to add much to total volume over that short a period of time, even if dosed in a stirrer like you have... are you dosing anything else besides this?

 

[Centerline]

interesting... because the kalk+2 product only contains .15% mg compared to 53% Ca .15% is a minuscule amount that I would not expect to add much to total volume over that short a period of time, even if dosed in a stirrer like you have... are you dosing anything else besides this?

No, just NoPox. And there is really very little going on in the tank. Its in my office at work and got totally creamed by hurricane Irma last year - plenty of flow via battery backups - heat was the issue. So for now I'm just maintaining the tank - growing a few frags and doing some testing with Gen4Pros and the new diffusers. So with respect to the mag levels via the Brightwell product and the crappy stirrer I have, it really comes as a bit of a surprise to me as well because the stirrer really doesn't do a very good job. Its too slow. I have a PM that uses a pump at home (fantastic hardware) so I know the difference though I should probably test with a PH probe before making statements like that. None the less, the Reef Octopus in use at my office just meanders its way through the kalk. The only other thing I could think of is maybe an overly settled can of salt (Red Sea Pro) as I did do a water change about 8 days ago. Maybe Ill do another water change and test again in 8 days to see if the mag levels are still in the 1600 range.