Kalkwasser mixing help!

[Chandlertank108]

Hello everyone, last night I mixed my first kalkwasser. After let it settle for 12 hours my kalkwasser water still look cloudy.

is this normal and safe to add it with ATO?
thank you

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

It will look cloudy and can stay cloudy for some time. It's completely normal and safe.

It will clear up in a day or two unless you have high CO2 levels in your house and use an open-topped ATO container.

 

[Retro Reefer]

It’s ok to use like that and will probably clear up some more as it sits.. I would build a little stand out of egg crate to get the pump up off the bottom of container.

 

[JCOLE]

Yes. I have (3) 5 gallon clear buckets I use for my ATO. When one runs empty then I mix up 5 gallons of kalk and move that bucket to the back of the line and put the next bucket in line with the ATO. With 3 sealed buckets this allows about 5-6 days to let everything settle before use. My kalk water is always crystal clear when ready for use.

 

[Erik L]

Yes. I have (3) 5 gallon clear buckets I use for my ATO. When one runs empty then I mix up 5 gallons of kalk and move that bucket to the back of the line and put the next bucket in line with the ATO. With 3 sealed buckets this allows about 5-6 days to let everything settle before use. My kalk water is always crystal clear when ready for use.

I’m curious how large your tank is? Looks like your topping about a gallon a day?

 

[JCOLE]

I’m curious how large your tank is? Looks like your topping about a gallon a day?

150 gallon with a 40 gallon sump, 20 gallon fuge and 20 gallon frag tank. It's probably more like 2 gallons a day. I have to change the bucket every 2.5-3 days.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

It's not clear from your picture whether you're mixing your kalkwasser and letting it settle in your ATO container, or what you've pictured is the settled kalkwasser that's been poured off from another mixing vessel.

If it's the former, I would strongly recommend that you not do this. The Tunze ATO pump will create fairly strong currents in your ATO container; certainly sufficient to stir up settled kalk powder. And that's even if you've elevated the pump off of the bottom. Pumping actual kalk powder into a tank is extraordinarily risky - many tanks have been wiped out this way.

Instead, stir your kalk up in RODI water in a separate 5 gallon bucket, let it settle, and pour this off into your ATO container.