Going to start dosing Kaulk mixed with vinegar.

bobman · Jun 8, 2016

This is more a question on vinegar dosing rather than kaulk. I have always been a vodka doser and have been happy. However my tank has finally come to the point I can no longer keep alk and cal in check and large water changes all the time on my almost 200 gallon system is just not feasible right now. I picked up Brightwell Aquatics reef code a&b and it seems to be slowly doing its job as I am dosing well below there recommendations but it is starting to come up. My levels are not bad with mag was at 1350, cal was at 380and Alk 7 DKH but I would like the cal and alk a bit higher and more consistent. I am now thinking of going to kaulk since my evap is about 3 gallons a day. I hear mixing the kaulk in vinegar first will help a lot with precipitation. However my concern is with dosing vodka and vinegar and over dosing the tank or getting bad bacterial blooms. Should I stop the vodka and just go to vinegar only and if so how much vinegar is to much to mix with kaulk or is that not an issue? Any advise would be great. Would hate to see something go wrong trying to fix a problem that is not a big problem at this time but getting there quick with every coral getting bigger and new ones that surely will be added.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 8, 2016

I dosed both limewater and vinegar for many years, but never thought it desirable to mix them for a variety of reasons.

What precipitation are you trying to avoid?

bobman · Jun 8, 2016

Precipitation in the mixing container. My plan is to make a batch of kaulk then make some type of gravity fed ATO and fill the ATO with the kaulk batch. Based on some of the research I have done if mixed to fast in just rodi water you will get precipitation from the calcium ions and carbonate ions in the kaulk but I don't see how fast is to fast to mix kaulk. I may be missing something and probably am but I have read that by adding vinegar to the mix it will have enough c02 in the vinegar to completely mix the kaulk with little effects of precipitation. Not that it would matter to much but my goal was to make a brute trash can of kaulk that I use as my Ttop off water currently. That way I only have to fill the ATO before heading out to work and make a new batch of kaulk about once a week or so.

bobman · Jun 8, 2016

After reading your write up on kaulk I see my concerns are pretty much non existent (always read Randy's stuff before going to the web). What I don't see is how much kaulk to add. I have to do some more testing to see what my tanks use of cal and alk actually are but I know I add about 3 gallons a day of top off. Do you have any write ups on concentrations of kaulk? So once I get the rate of consumption down I can figure out the concentration of kaulk to make. Also I see you use a trash can like I Was planning on doing how do you keep the kaulk stirred

Waterjockey · Jun 8, 2016

bobman said:
After reading your write up on kaulk I see my concerns are pretty much non existent (always read Randy's stuff before going to the web). What I don't see is how much kaulk to add. I have to do some more testing to see what my tanks use of cal and alk actually are but I know I add about 3 gallons a day of top off. Do you have any write ups on concentrations of kaulk? So once I get the rate of consumption down I can figure out the concentration of kaulk to make. Also I see you use a trash can like I Was planning on doing how do you keep the kaulk stirred

You can always start with a weaker kalk solution...say 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon per gallon, see how it goes, and then increase the concentration till you get the alkalinity you are looking for.
For mixing, I drop a small powerhead in my kalk trashcan and let it run for an hour or so, then let it settle and clear for a couple of hours before turning my ato back on. I made a little suction standpipe for my dosing pump so it doesn't suck the crud off the bottom.

Cheers!

bobman · Jun 8, 2016

Sounds like a plan. My first time using kalk and guessing I am over complicating it me thinks

that Reef Guy · Jun 9, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I dosed both limewater and vinegar for many years, but never thought it desirable to mix them for a variety of reasons.

What precipitation are you trying to avoid?

Sorry to Crash the Thread but I was Wondering if you could Answer a Question I had Randy.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...wly-mixed-saltwater-is-it-safe-to-use.252382/

My Thread is the Link Above.

I Tried to Private Message you but I could not find a way to do that.

It works for everyone else but you it seems

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 9, 2016

that Reef Guy said:
Sorry to Crash the Thread but I was Wondering if you could Answer a Question I had Randy.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...wly-mixed-saltwater-is-it-safe-to-use.252382/

My Thread is the Link Above.

I Tried to Private Message you but I could not find a way to do that.

It works for everyone else but you it seems

Sure, I'll take a look.

I get too many questions by PM that are better suited to the forum, so I turned it off.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 9, 2016

bobman said:
Sounds like a plan. My first time using kalk and guessing I am over complicating it me thinks

Yes, starting slow and ramping up is a fine plan. Adding 1.25% of the total water volume of saturated limewater (2 tsp per gallon) will boost alk by about 1.4 dKH and calcium by 10 ppm.