Kalk users???

[Montiman]

Ok. Watched a few videos and think I have it figured out. My last question is how much kalk do should you have in the stirrer and how long does it usually last?

This totally depends on the stirrer size and how much you are dosing. In a big stirrer where you dose only a small amount of kalk it could last a long time, but in a small stirrer with lots of kalk going through it you will need to add kalk more often. For me I add a little over 2L of kalk a day and I need to add to the stirrer about twice a month. The stirrer is DIY but measures 4in in diameter by 2ft tall.

 

[ShepherdTech]

Ok. Watched a few videos and think I have it figured out. My last question is how much kalk do should you have in the stirrer and how long does it usually last?

I use mine 100% saturated (the point of a kalk stirrer), as only a certain amount of kalk can be absorbed by a certain amount of water, the rest stays at the bottom of the kalk stirrer and is continuously stirred. When you dose kalk from the stirrer, the proper amount of kalk from the bottom is automatically mixed into the water. You can use a calculator easily accessed on various sites, to determine how much to dose with a certain kalk saturation.

 

[Mickeyt1reef]

How much Kalk do you add to the stirrer? Secondly do you just run it until the Kalk at the bottom is almost gone?

 

[Miller535]

How much Kalk do you add to the stirrer? Secondly do you just run it until the Kalk at the bottom is almost gone?

I have never used one, but this thread is peaked my interest in one. I found this from Avast marine about their stirrer, which seems to be a very popular unit. I believe it answers your questions.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/brsAvastMarine/K1_manual.pdf

 

[TX_Punisher]

I tried kalk in my top off for 5 days. Just didn't like it. I run T5's so by the end of my lighting cycle, my temp is up and fans are going. Evap mostly happens at the end of the lighting cycle and several hours after. That means my top off was running mostly at the end of the day. So, thus, my alk and ph was rising.

I found a used PM Kalk reactor on the club forum for $90. Hooked up a head of one of my DOS and starting tweaking ml amount based on testing (trident helps) and dialed in dosing of kalk based on dips throughout the day with my CA reactor.

It is great for PH boosting and slight alk rise with my CA reactor. I just didn't like using it in the ATO as it's random and uncontrollable. For some, though, it does work. I prefer to control the amount going into my system.

 

[Mickeyt1reef]

Awe

I have never used one, but this thread is peaked my interest in one. I found this from Avast marine about their stirrer, which seems to be a very popular unit. I believe it answers your questions.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/brsAvastMarine/K1_manual.pdf

Awesome thank you!

 

[DangerDave]

I have the bigger avast marine unit. I add 2-3 cups at a time. You will get some precipitation in the unit, so letting it run until it’s gone is not an efficient way of knowing it’s exhausted. Use a ph probe to have an idea of when it’s starting to get low. The apex PH probe isn’t very accurate at those levels, but once you see it dropping you know it’s low, and can refill before your reefs PH starts dropping. (I have a 100 gallon hot water heater in the fish room, and 5 people living in my home. it can force the reef PH to 7.5-7.6 without kalk and a c02 scrubber)

I know many people don’t bother with PH, but my corals show the best growth at 8.1-8.4.

good luck!