Does anyone use kalk water in the ATO

[Backreefing]

Does anyone use kalk mix as ato water for there ato system. I ask because I’m worried if it’s to much kalk pumped in at a time.
It is my goal to make or buy a ATO system then mix kalk water in it so it doses alkalinity and calcium automatically. Now I’m dripping it in every night. Thx Ted

 

[Billldg]

I did a while back until my demand was beyond what the Kalk could provide. Its a solid way to supply Alk and Cal. I would mix Kalk and dump it in my ATO.

 

[Slawman]

I do and it is an excellent way to keep PH where I want and add a balanced calcium and alk solution.

I use a deltec reactor, which has been going strong for about 10 years now.

 

[Rybren]

I did it for 12 years. It works great, the only down side is that your dosing will swing somewhat as the evaporation rate changes.

 

[Backreefing]

I had one more question,could I mix say 7-8 gallons of kalk water in a large ato reservoir and let it run while I’m on vacation? In short will kalk last a week or more ?

 

[Rybren]

I had one more question,could I mix say 7-8 gallons of kalk water in a large ato reservoir and let it run while I’m on vacation? In short will kalk last a week or more ?

Yes. No problem. Will work best if the container is fairly air tight.

 

[MarineMalecki]

I used to mix 5 gallons at a time for my ATO and it worked well. You'll want to regularly check your ATO line into the tank to ensure the kalk isn't solidifying in there. About every 2-3 months I'd need to soak the line in vinegar to clean it out. Never was a problem, but just another maintenance item to be aware of.

 

[RudyvandenBerg]

Question, how do you guys determine how much you need to dose?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Question, how do you guys determine how much you need to dose?

Based on alkalinity need.

If you know the alk you want to deliver, a calculator like the one below works well. If you need less than replacing all evaporated water with saturated limewater, you can just add less solids to the water.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I’ve done it on past tanks up until the consumption has exceeded what I could maintain with just Kalk.
It’s a super easy way to Keep alk and ca in check. Go for it.

 

[2000se]

Did it for a while (4 years-ish).. It does work. I would mix 10G at a time in my ATO container and let it go. About every 14 days I'd have to mix new water. Fairly well air tight sealed. It would form the crust on top and have the mix under. IDK.. I'm still on fence with it to this day.

Now - Why I stopped? As mentioned above,
The lines were always crusting up,
Powder it seems would be everywhere when I'd make new water. Lay the tablespoon down that I used to measure, powder falls off of it - lay the stick down that I stirred the solution with, residue and crap there too
The ATO container was always getting (over time) precipitation in the bottom that would sometimes clog the line, I'd have to clean that out. I just felt I was always working around something stupid.
At some point it was just not keeping up. I had some really good growth going and it was just sucking the alk/Ca out. Died cause the alk was just crashing ATO was not pumping enough in.

I guess I could have supplemented with a doser but thought the Kalk would be enough. After dealing with above, I bought a doser and now run clean RO water as top off. Just cleaner IMO. IDK., YMMV..My 2 cents.

 

[NS Mike D]

I did it for 2 years and stopped for the same reason. The stuff cakes up in the line, walls of the sump and worse the float switches. I could never get the timing of soaking the equipment in vinegar right - often too late. And removing stuff from the sumo was a maintenance task that I prefer to minimize.

Otherwise, it worked like a charm.

I now dose two part every morning while waiting for my coffee to brew. I don't view that as a chore at all.

 

[2000se]

^.. yes I forgot about the caking up in the sump..
This is from when I did this for about 6months. Since then I have stopped.

 

[pseudorand]

What if you mix it, let it settle and then put all but the bottom inch of kalk if your ato? Would you still get buildup and line cloggage and have to clean the ATO tank?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What if you mix it, let it settle and then put all but the bottom inch of kalk if your ato? Would you still get buildup and line cloggage and have to clean the ATO tank?

Probably yes. Diffusion of CO2 into it can slowly cause ongoing precipitation of calcium carbonate.

That said, I never cleaned the bottom of my ATO. I just let the solids accumulate for years.