Kalk vs 2 part

ultimatemj · Aug 5, 2015

I travel regularly for work and am using an ATO approach.

Relying on someone to be able to know what to do when is a liability/burden.

What I have done to eliminate that is using Avast Barrel Tender(hooked up to my RODI) to refill the ATO container when it is low...and I 'overload' the container with kalk. It reaches maximum concentration and the additional solids wait to be 'stirred' by the container being refilled...dissolving more of the kalk. Since the container is smallish (3gal) it is refilled every couple of days.

I monitor everything with my Apex so It can shut off the ATO when/if PH goes above 8.7 and to know when/if I need to call in a helper.

Downbeach · Aug 5, 2015

I take a 2 week vacation every year, and program the tank to run on its own during that time. Along with my dosing two part I use fully saturated kalk in my ATO. I place four 5 gal. buckets with siphon tubes between them as my reservoir. Everything is set up on timers, and I run the system like that for a couple weeks to make sure everything is in working order before I go away.

luxauterna · Aug 5, 2015

good ideas

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 5, 2015

My ATO dispenses limewater from a 132 gallon reservoir (3 x 44 gallon Brute cans plumbed together with bulkheads) so it lasts for about a month.

Harold Green · Aug 5, 2015

Randy does your ph tend to drop over the month between mixings? I use one 30 gallon holding tank that's probably good for a week at a time but I tend to top it up every few days and add limewater at that time.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 5, 2015

No, it doesn't. The limewater stays at the approximate strength I made it at (which I have monitored by conductivity).

Harold Green · Aug 5, 2015

Just curious since I use basically the same system but I haven't checked the ph but several times to make sure it's above the tank ph. Thanks.

riche · Aug 5, 2015

so can you mix kalk and put in your ato tank and as your ato fills up your sump, it will be putting the kalk mix in? Thus not needing a kalk reactor/mixer?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 5, 2015

Harold Green said:
Just curious since I use basically the same system but I haven't checked the ph but several times to make sure it's above the tank ph. Thanks.

The pH of limewater is in the 12's. Even 1/2 saturated (1 tsp per gallon) will be above pH 12.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 5, 2015

riche said:
so can you mix kalk and put in your ato tank and as your ato fills up your sump, it will be putting the kalk mix in? Thus not needing a kalk reactor/mixer?

My 132 gallon reservoir is filled with water and the needed amount of calcium hydroxide. Stir to dissolve (a few minutess or a powerhead overnight). Then let it sit without adding anything or stirring anything while the ATO pump draws the water from it for the next 30 days.

A month later, repeat the process.

IMO, this is a better method than a stirrer since it is easier to control the concentration and undesirable solids are always left behind.

victornator333 · Aug 5, 2015

I put Kalk in my ATO all in a 5gallon bucket. Also have a pump in there for mixing/stirring. Everything is on a timer, so there is less of a risk IMO of pump failure leading to overdosing. The mixing pump turns on for a 5-10 min interval at night. Anyone see issues with this?

Harold Green · Aug 5, 2015

I pour the liquid limewater into the ato reservoir and then refill the kalk container with fresh ro water to dissolve more of the kalk. That way there is very little sediment in the ato tank. Has worked well for me for a year now.

luxauterna · Aug 5, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
My ATO dispenses limewater from a 132 gallon reservoir (3 x 44 gallon Brute cans plumbed together with bulkheads) so it lasts for about a month.

If my wife would let me have that, I would do the same thing! That sounds great

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 6, 2015

victornator333 said:
I put Kalk in my ATO all in a 5gallon bucket. Also have a pump in there for mixing/stirring. Everything is on a timer, so there is less of a risk IMO of pump failure leading to overdosing. The mixing pump turns on for a 5-10 min interval at night. Anyone see issues with this?

Why do you mix it every night?

victornator333 · Aug 12, 2015

I guess its my lack of understanding of kalk, but I guess I figure its a more potent liquid when it doesn't settle for too long.

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Why do you mix it every night?

mcarroll · Aug 12, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
The pH of limewater is in the 12's. Even 1/2 saturated (1 tsp per gallon) will be above pH 12.

Thought I'd read that you could gauge strength of kalkwasser from pH....obviously not with the resolution of a regular pH test kit. Didn't know the pH shift would be that tiny!

I guess a meter that reads in tenths would get it done though? Maybe a good excuse to finally get one. [emoji2]

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 12, 2015

victornator333 said:
I guess its my lack of understanding of kalk, but I guess I figure its a more potent liquid when it doesn't settle for too long.

That isn't true. I show it is stable (if closed and unstirred) in this article. Stirring it can actually degrade it faster, as will leaving it open at the top.

The Degradation of Limewater in Air - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rhf/feature/index.htm

from it:

Figure 2. The conductivity of the limewater in my dosing reservoir as a function of time.

mcarroll · Aug 12, 2015

Am I seeing that chart correctly? It looks to me like conductivity is unchanging at around 4 mS all the way from Day 0 down to an empty reservoir?

Huh. If pH kits are more or less out and I'm reading that chart from your meter correctly, is there a good way to actually test when it's time to recharge my kalk reactor?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 12, 2015

mcarroll said:
Thought I'd read that you could gauge strength of kalkwasser from pH....obviously not with the resolution of a regular pH test kit. Didn't know the pH shift would be that tiny!

I guess a meter that reads in tenths would get it done though? Maybe a good excuse to finally get one. [emoji2]

Because of the logarithmic scale, a full pH unit is a factor of 10 in concentration of OH-, so a factor of 2 is about 0.3 pH units. A pH meter in tenths or better can work, and a conductivity meter than can read up to about 10.3 mS/cm is ideal.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 12, 2015

mcarroll said:
Am I seeing that chart correctly? It looks to me like conductivity is unchanging at around 4 mS all the way from Day 0 down to an empty reservoir?

Huh. If pH kits are more or less out and I'm reading that chart from your meter correctly, is there a good way to actually test when it's time to recharge my kalk reactor?

Yes. I intentionally made it less than saturated for that test so there was no concern that undissolved solids were dissolving during the test and artificially boosting it. In an open container, and in a stirred container (driving in CO2), it drops over time. Those are in the article.

Full saturation depends on temp, but is about 10.3 mS/cm.