Kalkwasser - any cons?

[TX_REEF]

Hello friends! I'm mustering up the motivation to finally set up my dosing pump that is collecting dust, and planning to dose Kalk (also have a bag from BRS collecting dust). My corals are doing kinda ok, but some randomly get sad and die. I figure it can't hurt to dose kalk to maintain alk and calcium.

That being said, assuming dosing is done slowly and methodically, are there any pitfalls to look out for, and have you ever had your system react negatively to kalk dose appropriately?

 

[RichReef]

I switched to Kalk because it was getting expensive to keep up with demand.

I'm never going back. The coral response was immediate. I think it was the increase in PH because I kept my parms in check. It added some stability because I was manually dosing once a day.

The only risk I see is an overdose.

The only drawback is increased pump maintenance. I have staggered my pump maintenance so I'm not cleaning everything all at once. I clean each pump once a month. If you slack on this you will regret it.

 

[DCR]

Agree with the above. The biggest con is the risk of an overdose which can quickly wipe out a tank. It is also very hard on dosing pumps if you are feeding the kalk through the doser. You are dependent on evaporation so you may have to supplement.

 

[Starbuxxx]

I use a Kalk reactor that pushes RO water using a DOS, which eliminates the pump maintenance. If you're dosing for Calcium and Alkalinity, you should be good. My issue was that I was chasing PH and ended up with elevated Alk and Calcium. Ended up cutting back on Kalk and using a Co2 reactor.

 

[TX_REEF]

I use a Kalk reactor that pushes RO water using a DOS, which eliminates the pump maintenance. If you're dosing for Calcium and Alkalinity, you should be good. My issue was that I was chasing PH and ended up with elevated Alk and Calcium. Ended up cutting back on Kalk and using a Co2 reactor.

That’s actually good to hear - somehow my Ph stays stable at 8.1-8.3 even as alk drops. I bought a Hanna calcium tester last week but have been too lazy to fire it up.

 

[TX_REEF]

I use a Kalk reactor that pushes RO water using a DOS, which eliminates the pump maintenance. If you're dosing for Calcium and Alkalinity, you should be good. My issue was that I was chasing PH and ended up with elevated Alk and Calcium. Ended up cutting back on Kalk and using a Co2 reactor.

Can you say more about pushing RO water? Do you just have concentrated calc in a sealed reactor, use a dosing pump to push RO water into it and have the reactor drain into the sump? This seems like a good way to prevent kalk clogging the perastaltic pump lines

 

[exnisstech]

I dosed nothing but kalk on the tank below. I recently broke it down to move to a bigger tank. I did kalk it in the ato for a while but my evap rates are too inconsistent so I switched to dosing. I used a brs 50ml a minute dosing pump with a cheap digital timer and that worked flawless for over a year. This is shortly before I broke down the tank. Nothing high end but what I did have thrived. Monticaps grew like weeds and the acro high on the right was little frag when I glued it to the wall

 

[Pntbll687]

The biggest con for me, is the size of the container needed. Right now I'm dosing 2.3ml per minute and using a 12g container. I have to refill it pretty often.

I'm thinking of moving to a reactor, and getting a 30g tank as a top off and push into the kalk reactor

 

[Starbuxxx]

Can you say more about pushing RO water? Do you just have concentrated calc in a sealed reactor, use a dosing pump to push RO water into it and have the reactor drain into the sump? This seems like a good way to prevent kalk clogging the perastaltic pump lines

That's exactly how it works. RO water gets pushed from the bottom of the reactor with the settled kalk so, as the water rises, the saturated kalk just drains into the tank near high flow. Kalk gets stirred however often you choose (every 20 min for 1min for me). Zero worries about equipment wearing down. When the kalk settles, you can tell if it's low and when you need to add more. Air tight seal.

 

[TX_REEF]

That's exactly how it works. RO water gets pushed from the bottom of the reactor with the settled kalk so, as the water rises, the saturated kalk just drains into the tank near high flow. Kalk gets stirred however often you choose (every 20 min for 1min for me). Zero worries about equipment wearing down. When the kalk settles, you can tell if it's low and when you need to add more. Air tight seal.

Can you send me a video of your setup or direct me to a youtube guide? That sounds like a great plan

 

[Starbuxxx]

Can you send me a video of your setup or direct me to a youtube guide? That sounds like a great plan

This is identical to my set up with the same brand. He says that he empties his reactor out every month to clean it out but i dont do that. I just add powder when it gets low, like every week for the amount I use. I imagine you could make a DIY version as well.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Started using kalkwasser on my first tank which is 15G. ( I don't like water changes...) I did use the ATO as the dosing method which worked fine for the most part. But I noticed fluctuations obviously due to the inconsistency with evaporation. The biggest jump I've seen using the ATO method was .6 alk in 24hrs.

I've now switched to the powdered AFR that I manually dose twice a day. Once before I leave work and get home. If I need larger boosts I'll refer back to it. At

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

I want to start using kalk but dosing a daily amount.

Not based on evap.

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

Started using kalkwasser on my first tank which is 15G. ( I don't like water changes...) I did use the ATO as the dosing method which worked fine for the most part. But I noticed fluctuations obviously due to the inconsistency with evaporation. The biggest jump I've seen using the ATO method was .6 alk in 24hrs.

I've now switched to the powdered AFR that I manually dose twice a day. Once before I leave work and get home. If I need larger boosts I'll refer back to it. At

You dose the powder directly to the tank or make it into liquid first? I had to ask because that wasn’t clear lol

 

[Seansea]

Too messy for me. I did it for 3 months in my ato and was nasty. Pump and bucket always caked in this crap. Just went back to afr with big teaspoon of sodium carbonate in ato.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

You dose the powder directly to the tank or make it into liquid first? I had to ask because that wasn’t clear lol

oh no lol. For AFR I mix the 900ml water to 6 scoops powdered as recommended then dose accordingly. I go through maybe 300ml per month. It lasts a while so the costs of simplicity is worth it. I'm also not SPS heavy so my requirements are pretty low.

 

[TX_REEF]

This is identical to my set up with the same brand. He says that he empties his reactor out every month to clean it out but i dont do that. I just add powder when it gets low, like every week for the amount I use. I imagine you could make a DIY version as well.

did you mean to attach a link or photo? sorry I didn't see anything

 

[Starbuxxx]

did you mean to attach a link or photo? sorry I didn't see anything

ReefDudes Kalkwasser Setup

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don’t think there is any con to using kalkwasser when it is dosed slowly and appropriately, but evaporation does limit how much you can dose.

Overdoses should be considered, but often cause nothing more problematic than a tank white out for a few days.