kalk question

J. Montgomery · Mar 9, 2008

bamachamp92 said:
Hey Guys A Quick Question While We Are Talking About Top Off Water, I Have A 320 Gallon Reef, My Ro Water Ph Is About 9.6 Is This Normal, This Is The First Time That I Have Checked This And It Shocked Me A Little Thought You Guys Might Know.

rO wATER hAS nO tRUE pH sINCE tHE iONS hAVE bEEN sTRIPPED fROM sOLUTION. hOW aRE yOU cHECKING yOUR pH, wITH a pROBE, tEST sTRIP, oR tEST kIT? i sUSPECT yOUR kIT iS oFF.

bamachamp92 · Mar 9, 2008

I Am Checking With A Newly Calibrated Pinpoint Monitor, Maybe It Reads Wrong With Ro Water

Mochis · Mar 9, 2008

Agreed with above, I don't think you can test the PH of RO water. How is the PH in your tank?

bamachamp92 · Mar 9, 2008

My Tank Stays At 8.25 To 8.35 With Reverse Light Cycle On A 160 Gallon Sump

Mochis · Mar 9, 2008

Are you concerned about the quality of your RO?

bamachamp92 · Mar 9, 2008

I Have A Tds Meter Ordered, But It Is A Top Of The Line Air Water Ice Ro Unit 5 Stage

(4 Cartridges Plus Membrane) So I Am Not Too Concerned

surfn · Mar 9, 2008

bamachamp92 said:
Al, My Tap Water Right Now Is 8.35

no way thats right. gota be a prob with your pH meter.

J. Montgomery · Mar 9, 2008

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I found this on that there world wide web-thing:

The normal range for pH in surface water systems is 6.5 to 8.5 and for groundwater systems 6 to 8.5[/FONT]

surfn · Mar 9, 2008

wow, big range. isn't milk at a pH of 8 or something like that?

twon8 · Mar 9, 2008

JuniorMC8704 said:
Kalk will only dissolve to a certain point given the amount of freshwater available. This is how a kalk reactor works, and why in the reactor you just dump a bunch in, and it dissolves more as needed. Its a good practice to cover your kalk water container as much as possible to extend the life of it. I have been told also, that you do not want to mix more than 5 days worth of kalk water at a time, as it can go bad beyond that time line. I found shortly after deciding to top off with kalk water, that it was too much of pain will all the mixing, and stirring, and rinsing, and making new batches etc, that i got a kalk reactor. Even going with a GEO, it wasn't very expensive, comparing to that of a calcium reactor, or other high end equipment. It really makes things a lot simpler.

Also, its important to know that you need to draw water from your kalk reservoir from a couple inches off the bottom, and not allow it to pull from the very bottom. A slurry of undissolved kalk will collect there, and can cause major spikes if sucked up and added to your tank. You can simply build a small egg crate stand if need be.

kalk doesn't go bad, i have containers that hold two weeks or more of kalk water.

the crust that forms at the top essentially seals up the kalk and keeps it "fresh", a lid helps in this.

JuniorMC8704 · Mar 9, 2008

^^^noted...i was ALWAYS told never make up more than 5 days worth, after that it starts to lose its effectiveness. Fortunately i run a reactor so not an issue for me, but good to know.

twon8 · Mar 9, 2008

JuniorMC8704 said:
^^^noted...i was ALWAYS told never make up more than 5 days worth, after that it starts to lose its effectiveness. Fortunately i run a reactor so not an issue for me, but good to know.

ive been told the same thing in the past, but randy holmes farley and my own conductivity testing has confirmed that kalk does not degrade when kept covered.