Kalkwasser vs 2 part?

[saixiong08]

Which ones do you reefers prefer?

 

[Techie_]

I prefer kalk. I just bought 3 pounds of Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime and it should last me about 3 eternities, for only $7.

 

[Waterjockey]

I guess it depends on what your demand for alk is. I like kalk because it already is balanced for calcium, helps keep pH up, is naturally purifying, and is dirt cheap to dose. However, if you are keeping sps or otherwise have a high alk demand, kalk may not keep up to demand.

 

[lou dog420]

Mrs wages on a dripper

 

[saixiong08]

do you have to slowly drop it into the tank?

 

[Waterjockey]

do you have to slowly drop it into the tank?

Slow dosing is better. For kalk, some make thier top off water with it, some make a solution and drip it in via gravity, others use a dosing pump and spread it out over the day. Kalk has a very high pH..slower additions will make the tank alk and pH swing less.

 

[lou dog420]

do you have to slowly drop it into the tank?

Gravity dripper was the cheapest option.but it works great!!

 

[saixiong08]

ok thanks

 

[Techie_]

ok thanks

If you're having trouble finding the pickling lime in stores, most Walmarts have them, in the section with the Mason jars. Make sure not to but pickling salt.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Kalk will just jack around your mag content. Setup the 2 part and include mag.

 

[FLAdaboy]

Kalk will just jack around your mag content. Setup the 2 part and include mag.

What is your thinking behind this? If you use kalk or 2 part, the addition of a magnesium supplement may be required. One or the other doesn't make the difference. The system demand makes the difference.

 

[AdamNC]

I prefer 2 part. I tried the Kalk thing but my levels seem to bounce around too much. With 2 part, an Apex and my BRS dosers my levels seem to be much more steady. Now different ways to dose Kalk will yield different results as I was using 2 tsp per gallon in my ato.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Kalk will only get you so far. Unless Mag is addressed at the same time, you're ignoring the demands of the tank. There's a reason they're referred to as the big 3 iirc. People consider kalk ok for initiating dosing, but rarely do you see people suggest kalk and mag. (thus etc/etc)

 

[FLAdaboy]

Kalk will only get you so far. Unless Mag is addressed at the same time, you're ignoring the demands of the tank. There's a reason they're referred to as the big 3 iirc. People consider kalk ok for initiating dosing, but rarely do you see people suggest kalk and mag. (thus etc/etc)

In what way is this different for 2 part?

 

[hawkinsrgk]

Overall I prefer 2 part, but I dose kalk through a stirrer. It's easier for me to dial in 2 part. I mainly dose kalk to boost ph

 

[Brew12]

Overall I prefer 2 part, but I dose kalk through a stirrer. It's easier for me to dial in 2 part. I mainly dose kalk to boost ph

I'm curious, is there a reason you chose to do it this way instead of just increasing the dosing of your 2 part to boost pH?

 

[hawkinsrgk]

I'm curious, is there a reason you chose to do it this way instead of just increasing the dosing of your 2 part to boost pH?

Kalk has more of a PH boost that 2 part relative to Alk. You are definitely correct though if I would have wanted to have a higher Alk value, but I didn't want that.

 

[Brew12]

Kalk has more of a PH boost that 2 part relative to Alk. You are definitely correct though if I would have wanted to have a higher Alk value, but I didn't want that.

That is the reason for my confusion. It doesn't matter if you are using 2 part or kalk, to get a specific increase in pH requires a specific increase in Alk.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

In what way is this different for 2 part?

If you look into dosing kalk, there's impurities that warrant skipping the surface film and what settles to the bottom. This is not an issue with an alk additive.

 

[hawkinsrgk]

That is the reason for my confusion. It doesn't matter if you are using 2 part or kalk, to get a specific increase in pH requires a specific increase in Alk.

Are you sure? For example, I use Soda Lime on my skimmer intake and it has increased the PH of my tank. However the Alk has not increased. I thought the reason for a higher PH of Kalk to Soda Ash was that Kalk consumed more CO2 than Soda Ash. I am not implying that Soda Ash consumes CO2, just that if it does it will be less that Kalk.