How Often Do You Clean Your KalK Wasser Container?

[Dennco2000]

So I know the best answer would be every time but my container is 7 gallons and my pump is suspended off the bottom. I personally do a clean out about every 6 refills. I'll add fresh water and Kalk when the water reaches a specific level and once the water clears it's back to business. I have a counter I leave on the bucket so I know how many times Iv'e refilled it. The left over slurry has never seemed to be a problem I just thought I would throw this question on the form.

Thanks
Dennis

 

[mattzang]

i'm curious as well as i just started dosing kalk via my ato

do you clean off the pump in the reservoir after you add kalk? is it safe to stick your hand in there? lol

 

[Dennco2000]

I never clean my pump, the say it very hard on them but yet my pump is 3 years old. I try and keep my hands out of it but it won't hurt you. Be careful if you put your kalk in a cup with water to pre-stir before adding,
it can emit dust that YOU DO NOT WANT TO INHALE. I put water in the cup first then add my kalk to reduce kalk dust. I then put that in the tank and add my water.

 

[Midrats]

Only when the sludge starts getting drawn in. Sometimes I just pull the tubing an inch higher which gives me another year or so.

 

[Butuz]

I used to dose Kalk through ATO and stopped a month ago, now dosing Aquaforest component 1,2,3 through eKoral doser. Do NOT miss ATO option at all. My ball valve and mini pump required thorough cleaning every month due to build up. Painful. Also, I couldnt top off the ATO midway, since you cant mix again a new batch on top of another one as it precipitates more and clogs the stuff even more. Now, I can top off ATO anytime.

 

[Dennco2000]

Only when the sludge starts getting drawn in. Sometimes I just pull the tubing an inch higher which gives me another year or so.

lol - Okay I'll bite... Are you for real?

 

[mattzang]

I never clean my pump, the say it very hard on them but yet my pump is 3 years old. I try and keep my hands out of it but it won't hurt you. Be careful if you put your kalk in a cup with water to pre-stir before adding,
it can emit dust that YOU DO NOT WANT TO INHALE. I put water in the cup first then add my kalk to reduce kalk dust. I then put that in the tank and add my water.

and when you add more water, you then add more kalk right? does the potency increase when you pour the water in and it stirs up the sludge on the bottom?

 

[klesel]

I never use the Same container I have a 5 gallon jug I mix the kalk in let it settle then pour slowly into my dosing container till I see a tiny bit if white then I stop refill the container and add a little more powder do this 4 times then discard it start fresh .

 

[Dennco2000]

and when you add more water, you then add more kalk right? does the potency increase when you pour the water in and it stirs up the sludge on the bottom?

So my answer is no it stays the for the most part the same. I'm not sure if its a matter of the max desolvable kalk solids the the water will support or I have the gift lol but no I always add the same amount of kalk to water ratio.
I will say this is why I don't use and ATO. I just have a switch I hit in the morning with feeding time ritual.

 

[jtl]

I never worried about the sludge in the bottom as long as it wasn't being drawn into the pump. I would add new kalk whenever I felt it was necessary. When I added it would stir up the old and mix it with the new. Never had a problem. Obtw I used pickling lime at the rate of 1 tsp per gallon of rodi.

 

[Raptor72]

Setting up to use Kalk in my ATO. Would it help to have a powerhead in there to come on a few times a day to mix up the stuff that settles?

 

[kapnkush608]

Setting up to use Kalk in my ATO. Would it help to have a powerhead in there to come on a few times a day to mix up the stuff that settles?

No, you want the stuff to settle out before use.

 

[Midrats]

lol - Okay I'll bite... Are you for real?

100%. There's no need to remove the sediment unless it's getting drawn into the intake tubing or pump or however you are dispensing it. Been doing it that way since the Eighties. Read RHF's limewater article if you haven't already.

 

[Dennco2000]

Thank I will, and thanks for all the info as well. I was obviously cleaning out way too often.

 

[Midrats]

I always wonder why people say its so messy and so much work when it couldn't be easier. Good luck to you!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I almost never cleaned mine. It collected mud for years at a time.

 

[Zuma]

Have not cleaned my 5 gallon reservoir or ato pump for the last 1.5 years

 

[BAUCE]

I almost never cleaned mine. It collected mud for years at a time.

I didnt want to start a brand new thread on this so I'll bump this one.

I started kalk 8 days ago and things have been pretty smooth so far but I've noticed that my PH raised by it has already started coming down pretty significantly. I started with 150 grams. Should I just add that much to it right now or should I do less? Thanks Randy!

 

[blasterman]

The slurry is calcium carbonate, which is the most important form of calcium in your tank. Not sure why some people treat it as poison. Why dump a highly soluble form of calcium that quickly gets absorbed in your water column?

I use pumps in my dosing containers which fire up when the doser does to keep everything stirred. I thought that was the common practice with kalk. When I do dose kalk, often as saturated as several tablespoons per gallon it's stirred up uniformly and I never have to bother cleaning anything.

 

[BlennyTime]

I didnt want to start a brand new thread on this so I'll bump this one.

I started kalk 8 days ago and things have been pretty smooth so far but I've noticed that my PH raised by it has already started coming down pretty significantly. I started with 150 grams. Should I just add that much to it right now or should I do less? Thanks Randy!

How exactly are you dosing?

If you are using a mixer and doser, the key is to keep the mixture saturated (add until no more dissolves). When this is dispensed into the tank, it has a consistent amount of dissolved kalk and should keep parameters stable.

No more kalk will dissolve into the mixture than the saturation point. That’s why slurry happens at the bottom.