Kalk saponification & skimmer overflow?

[rmurken]

My skimmer has overflowed three times recently. I caught it before the skimmate washed back into the tank the latter two times. In the same period, I have added modest amounts of saturated kalk here and there. Rather than drip, I’ve added a cup or so in one shot to the sump (50 gallon system water volume, so nothing drastic).

Thinking maybe the bolus of kalk is saponifying stuff and making the skimmer go nuts. Just a working theory. Curious if others have had similar experiences.

N.b., Part of a larger process to see what method of Ca/Alk supplementation will work best. Levels are steady even if the methodology is kalk one day and DIY two-part the next, and a few g of baking soda here and there as I let the tank draw down Ca into balance with target Alk.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Kalk shouldn’t effect your skimmer but IMO it’s best to drip, add it to ATO or ideally use a parasitic pump to dose.. I dose Kalkwasser continually and use 2 part to make up whatever deficiencies I have in Cal or Alk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My skimmer has overflowed three times recently. I caught it before the skimmate washed back into the tank the latter two times. In the same period, I have added modest amounts of saturated kalk here and there. Rather than drip, I’ve added a cup or so in one shot to the sump (50 gallon system water volume, so nothing drastic).

Thinking maybe the bolus of kalk is saponifying stuff and making the skimmer go nuts. Just a working theory. Curious if others have had similar experiences.

N.b., Part of a larger process to see what method of Ca/Alk supplementation will work best. Levels are steady even if the methodology is kalk one day and DIY two-part the next, and a few g of baking soda here and there as I let the tank draw down Ca into balance with target Alk.

I don’t know if saponification of fats (triglycerides) to fatty acids is likely to happen to a degree that would impact a skimmer. I’ve not heard of small bus dosing of limewater causing skimmer overflows. Equally likely explanations may relate to organism secretions when responding to a pH jump.

IMO, coincidence is the most likely explanation if you mixed in the limewater rapidly.

 

[rmurken]

Kalk shouldn’t effect your skimmer but IMO it’s best to drip, add it to ATO or ideally use a parasitic pump to dose.. I dose Kalkwasser continually and use 2 part to make up whatever deficiencies I have in Cal or Alk.

If I eventually commit to using kalk, I’ll drip it. But I don’t need more than .2 or .3 dKh/day, so at that level I don’t think it’s a big deal to do it in two shots. I like kalk because It’s such a conservative measure—just Ca and Alk. I also like the pH effect and apparent precipitation of phosphate and metals. But I will inevitably have some sort of failure that dumps a bunch in at once, and would rather not. Discretion may be the better part of valor, and I should probably face the fact that 2-part is the better approach for me.

 

[rmurken]

I don’t know if saponification of fats (triglycerides) to fatty acids is likely to happen to a degree that would impact a skimmer. I’ve not heard of small bus dosing of limewater causing skimmer overflows. Equally likely explanations may relate to organism secretions when responding to a pH jump.

IMO, coincidence is the most likely explanation if you mixed in the limewater rapidly.

The limewater was well-settled and clear—pH-driven secretions is an interesting idea. Whether or not that’s actually what’s happening, it at least militates against my cavalier approach to dumping in a cup of it at once.