Kalkwasser Build-Up.

[Ty Hamatake]

So I am currently running kalkwasser through my gravity fed ATO. My question is, do I have to worry about the leftover water becoming super concentrated after a while or will it eventually just precipitate out? I plan on cleaning my reservoir as needed, but when does it become necessary? My reservoir is 14 gallons and I am only using 6 tsp per refill right now.

Thanks in advance!

 

[gfox]

I wonder the same thing.

 

[Shaddow_wolf169]

I have heard it always creates a sludge on the bottom of the bucket or jug. Someone will chim in

 

[Kyle Rinker]

I have a 20 gallon top off reservoir. I used to clean it monthly and that seemed to work fine. However, one time my siphon breaker clogged from precipitate buildup which caused my ATO to add 15 gallons at once. The end result was a serious drop in salinity and a serious spike in calcium and alkalinity. End result is that cleaning it out more often is better than not. I have since switched to 2 part dosing because I got tired of cleaning my reservoir out

 

[Flippers4pups]

So I am currently running kalkwasser through my gravity fed ATO. My question is, do I have to worry about the leftover water becoming super concentrated after a while or will it eventually just precipitate out? I plan on cleaning my reservoir as needed, but when does it become necessary? My reservoir is 14 gallons and I am only using 6 tsp per refill right now.

Thanks in advance!

I've been using kalkwasser since the early nineties and my advice is to not use gravity feed, nor use a float valve in an ATO. The risk of failure in both is great and the chance of crashing a tank is there, this depends on the water volume of your top off reservoir/tank.

If you choose to implore one of these methods, keep your top off volume small.

I use a electronic float switch with a redundant switch plugged into a small feed pump in my ATO container that sits above the bottom of the container.

Saturation of lime water starts to happen at 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of calcium hydroxide per gallon of RO/DI water. Anything more and it will precipitate out with the rest of the solids to the bottom of the container. The leftover water at the bottom of the container will be at saturation and its volume deducted from the amount added to fill the container. The amount of water added to fill the container would be used to calculate how much calcium hydroxide to add.

In other words..... I've got a 10 gallon ATO container and it's got a gallon of kalkwasser left in it. I fill it up and add enough calcium hydroxide for 9 gallons.

The solids left at the bottom should never be allowed to be dosed, only the clear solution. I clean my solids out once a month. When mixing in new calcium hydroxide after filling my container, I stir it to mix completely and wait to let it settle before turning on my ATO float switch.

One last thing, keep your ATO top off containers sealed/ tight fitting lids. Co2 reacts with kalkwasser and reduces its potency.

Hope this helps

 

[Ty Hamatake]

I've been using kalkwasser since the early nineties and my advice is to not use gravity feed, nor use a float valve in an ATO. The risk of failure in both is great and the chance of crashing a tank is there, this depends on the water volume of your top off reservoir/tank.

If you choose to implore one of these methods, keep your top off volume small.

I use a electronic float switch with a redundant switch plugged into a small feed pump in my ATO container that sits above the bottom of the container.

Saturation of lime water starts to happen at 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of calcium hydroxide per gallon of RO/DI water. Anything more and it will precipitate out with the rest of the solids to the bottom of the container. The leftover water at the bottom of the container will be at saturation and its volume deducted from the amount added to fill the container. The amount of water added to fill the container would be used to calculate how much calcium hydroxide to add.

In other words..... I've got a 10 gallon ATO container and it's got a gallon of kalkwasser left in it. I fill it up and add enough calcium hydroxide for 9 gallons.

The solids left at the bottom should never be allowed to be dosed, only the clear solution. I clean my solids out once a month. When mixing in new calcium hydroxide after filling my container, I stir it to mix completely and wait to let it settle before turning on my ATO float switch.

One last thing, keep you ATO top off containers sealed/ tight fitting lids. Co2 reacts with kalkwasser and reduces its potency.

Hope this helps

This I pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[Flippers4pups]

This I pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Your welcome. Happy reefing!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do pretty much the same except I rarely remove the residual solids (it accumulates to a thick mud). I make up 120 gallons at a time and use it over a month. When making more I add some new calcium hydroxide (or oxide) and stir up the mud since there is often enough undissolved calcium hydroxide in it (along with calcium carbonate) in it to make more limewater.