How long can kalkwasser water be stored?

[William Mumford]

Hello reefers

I was wondering I just mixed my kalkwasser into my ato water. I have a 5 gallon bucket that I use to fill my ATO and my container is 2.5 gallons. Is it okay if I leave the remaining 2.5 gallons with the kalkwasser in the bucket for my next ATO fill up?

How long can it be stored after mixing? Very new to kalkwasser and dont want do something dumb.

 

[Blitheran]

I believe they can stored for awhile as long as they are in a sealed container

 

[FlowGod]

just make sure to keep it sealed. Evaporation is no good when it comes to kalk.

 

[keystoneckp]

I mix 10 gallons at a time, last me about 3 weeks. I leave the rest of mix in a sealable barrel and fill my 4g top off container from it.

 

[William Mumford]

Awsome thanks so much. I have it stored in a nice tight sealed barrel. Cant wait to see the results of the added kalk.

 

[FlowGod]

Awsome thanks so much. I have it stored in a nice tight sealed barrel. Cant wait to see the results of the added kalk.

it's really nice not to have to worry about manually dosing. Just be careful about the PH of the tank, and the concentration of the kalk. I have used kalk for probs 4 months and love it, my sps loves it too.

 

[William Mumford]

it's really nice not to have to worry about manually dosing. Just be careful about the PH of the tank, and the concentration of the kalk. I have used kalk for probs 4 months and love it, my sps loves it too.

Yeah I have steady low numbers and it was bothering me. When should I test to check effectiveness after 24 hours? I have a baseline right after my water change and right before. I guess the real question is how fast does it work?

 

[FlowGod]

Yeah I have steady low numbers and it was bothering me. When should I test to check effectiveness after 24 hours? I have a baseline right after my water change and right before. I guess the real question is how fast does it work?

So what you should do is get your parameters up to what you want them at (after a water change, or doising), and then start with kalk. Monitor your parameters ever 24 hours for the first few days just to make sure everything is where you want it (I test weekly now). When i started I did 1 tablespoon (even a little less) of kalk per gallon of RODI water and I now usually add 9 tablespoons for my 7 gallon RODI reservoir. I use the BRS kalk mix. If you have a different kalk mix look and follow the instructions on the packaging. It's hard to say how fast it will kick in, like everything in the hobby it comes with time. I started to see amazing growth in my sps after about a month and a half but that is just my experience.

 

[William Mumford]

So what you should do is get your parameters up to what you want them at (after a water change, or doising), and then start with kalk. Monitor your parameters ever 24 hours for the first few days just to make sure everything is where you want it (I test weekly now). When i started I did 1 tablespoon (even a little less) of kalk per gallon of RODI water and I now usually add 9 tablespoons for my 7 gallon RODI reservoir. I use the BRS kalk mix. If you have a different kalk mix look and follow the instructions on the packaging. It's hard to say how fast it will kick in, like everything in the hobby it comes with time. I started to see amazing growth in my sps after about a month and a half but that is just my experience.

Thanks alot I appreciate your help. Will do as recommended. Already added it to my resivor so I'm a little late but I will do it next water change.

 

[SigmaVX]

I came across this old post and realized I had a jug of sealed Kalk from about a year ago (BRS blend) that I never used. It’s in a recycled plastic white vinegar jug.

The ph in the old kalk reads 12.1 vs 12.4 you would see on new kalk. Can’t speak for the rest of the properties.

 

[Reaper_Six_Four]

Is evaporation the main concern here? I’ve been contemplating mixing in a 5 gallon container that has a seal but wouldn’t be hermetically sealed. My guess is it would take about 4 weeks to go through that amount.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Is evaporation the main concern here? I’ve been contemplating mixing in a 5 gallon container that has a seal but wouldn’t be hermetically sealed. My guess is it would take about 4 weeks to go through that amount.

The concern is CO2 entering, not evaporation of water. A closed and unstirred trash can is adequate protection for a month.

 

[bbpros2b]

So what you should do is get your parameters up to what you want them at (after a water change, or doising), and then start with kalk. Monitor your parameters ever 24 hours for the first few days just to make sure everything is where you want it (I test weekly now). When i started I did 1 tablespoon (even a little less) of kalk per gallon of RODI water and I now usually add 9 tablespoons for my 7 gallon RODI reservoir. I use the BRS kalk mix. If you have a different kalk mix look and follow the instructions on the packaging. It's hard to say how fast it will kick in, like everything in the hobby it comes with time. I started to see amazing growth in my sps after about a month and a half but that is just my experience.

Did u mean teaspoon or tablespoon?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Did u mean teaspoon or tablespoon?

I don't know which he meant, but if you are aiming for saturated kalkwasser, anything above 2 teaspoons per gallon will work. There's nothing wrong with having excess solids settle to the bottom that can be reused next batch.

 

[bbpros2b]

I don't know which he meant, but if you are aiming for saturated kalkwasser, anything above 2 teaspoons per gallon will work. There's nothing wrong with having excess solids settle to the bottom that can be reused next batch.

Thank You again Randy. You’re always there to answer questions while I’m trying to figure out this carbon dosing stuff, means a lot to me and my fish

 

[ajremington68]

I don't know which he meant, but if you are aiming for saturated kalkwasser, anything above 2 teaspoons per gallon will work. There's nothing wrong with having excess solids settle to the bottom that can be reused next batch.

Dont know if you'll see this but I am thinking about something you may have some insight into. From my understands kalkwasser undisturbed by outside air stays potent due to no CO2 to cause whatever scientific reaction and lower the PH. So, if you mix say a single gallon in an old cleaned milk jug and keep the cap on create a dosing line hole barely big enough for the tube, is that technically sealed to hold its effectiveness? Also, let's say you cannot do something to this effect for whatever reason and it's open to the air in its surroundings. How long would it hold the high PH, I am thinking it would immediately start dropping, but at what rate? 1PH an hour, 0.5PH an hour, 0.25PH a hour? I know there is some fall due to the reaction and the reason kalk reactors or stirrers are a thing which effectively continually boosts the PH to keep its effectiveness, from my understanding.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Dont know if you'll see this but I am thinking about something you may have some insight into. From my understands kalkwasser undisturbed by outside air stays potent due to no CO2 to cause whatever scientific reaction and lower the PH. So, if you mix say a single gallon in an old cleaned milk jug and keep the cap on create a dosing line hole barely big enough for the tube, is that technically sealed to hold its effectiveness? Also, let's say you cannot do something to this effect for whatever reason and it's open to the air in its surroundings. How long would it hold the high PH, I am thinking it would immediately start dropping, but at what rate? 1PH an hour, 0.5PH an hour, 0.25PH a hour? I know there is some fall due to the reaction and the reason kalk reactors or stirrers are a thing which effectively continually boosts the PH to keep its effectiveness, from my understanding.

pH is not the best way to gauge whether it is still potent or not, but I do show how fast some cotnainers will deplete in potency here:

The Degradation of Limewater in Air - Reefkeeping.com

I show that an open but unstirred container with excess calcium hydroxide on the bottom held potency for at least 10 days, while that same container without excess calcium hydroxide and stirred lost potency in hours. Breaking the crust on an unstirred container seems to speed the process of degradation. See figures 1-6.