Dosing Kalk; Please clarify something...

[Elementalj]

Depends on how you dose. I use a still water reservoir aka a clear plastic tote with a lid.

The crust on top protects what's underneith from more CO2. The clear limewater is dosed by having the tube a few inches off the bottom. The lower settled slurry is reused the next time the tote is filled.

That's my method. Seems to work pretty well.

 

[Dom]

One thing I find where mixing Kalk is concerned; it takes longer than it needs to because you have to wait for it to separate so that you can extract the lime water below the crust but above the slurry. Isn't there a way to immediately filter out the lime water... say by pouring it through a coffee filter (Sorry; I realize this is more of a mechanical question than a chemistry one)?

 

[Elementalj]

One thing I find where mixing Kalk is concerned; it takes longer than it needs to because you have to wait for it to separate so that you can extract the lime water below the crust but above the slurry. Isn't there a way to immediately filter out the lime water... say by pouring it through a coffee filter (Sorry; I realize this is more of a mechanical question than a chemistry one)?

I use an ato container to mix, then I set a timer for 2 hours then I turn the ato back on. I rinse the container out once a month because my consumption is so small.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

My frags are a year old and have not grown since I placed them in the tank.

What corals. Stony or sps I assume. I learned just recently how its also flow that directly effects the alk take up of the coral. Part of the corals metabolism. That in conjunction with the correct amount of light = growth.

You don't happen to have a lux or par meter do you?
Or what tubes are you running, and how high is the fixture.

 

[Heather w]

I have a friend who has all of his

Depends on how you dose. I use a still water reservoir aka a clear plastic tote with a lid.

The crust on top protects what's underneith from more CO2. The clear limewater is dosed by having the tube a few inches off the bottom. The lower settled slurry is reused the next time the tote is filled.

 

[Heather w]

Depends on how you dose. I use a still water reservoir aka a clear plastic tote with a lid.

The crust on top protects what's underneith from more CO2. The clear limewater is dosed by having the tube a few inches off the bottom. The lower settled slurry is reused the next time the tote is filled.

I have a friend who has all his sump, skimmer, doser....all the "support" equipment in his basement and a gorgeous tank on his main floor. I wish I could do that but I have my 75 gallon and custom built stand (I made it!! ME) under it. I can support the 2 doses so I have to skim and load the dosing chambers. My tank didn't start as a coral tank, in fact I didn't want to go anywhere near them. I was intimidated. My friend gave me some live rock with a pulsating xenia on it and my whole endeavor took a life of its own. I still have and will always have fish. And another tank will be seahorses, but I'm learning all of this and getting it right before I have them. I will continue to get corals. I've decided I want the whole dream.

 

[jason2459]

I used a 5 gallon bucket with kalk in it for top off under my 55 gallon. Some people will make or use something right next to the tank to hide the ato/kalk container.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

One thing I find where mixing Kalk is concerned; it takes longer than it needs to because you have to wait for it to separate so that you can extract the lime water below the crust but above the slurry. Isn't there a way to immediately filter out the lime water... say by pouring it through a coffee filter (Sorry; I realize this is more of a mechanical question than a chemistry one)?

You could do that, but it seems a lot more trouble than it is worth, IMO. If you undersaturate the limewater (so there is little to no calcium hydroxide solids present in the limewater, only dissolved chemicals plus a little calcium carbonate, you could use that right away if you need to. The solid CaCO3 doesn't hurt anything.

 

[Dom]

What corals. Stony or sps I assume. I learned just recently how its also flow that directly effects the alk take up of the coral. Part of the corals metabolism. That in conjunction with the correct amount of light = growth.

You don't happen to have a lux or par meter do you?
Or what tubes are you running, and how high is the fixture.

I've experimented with location to see if flow effected growth. Also, I switched back to T5 (10k, 2 white and 2 blue) lighting from LED but still no growth. What DOES seem to be helping is that I'm about 5 days into dosing Kalk. Already, I can see a healthier appearance in the frags so perhaps, growth will follow.

Tell me; how would I use a LUX meter?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

keeping in mind its the balance of light flow and food, dosing will make the minerals available to the coral. Not sure the age of the tank, but the wise men(and women) do say mature tanks for the acros and sticks.