kalkwasser

[jorge0912]

i want to start dosing kalkwasser my tank just has mainly soft corals but i do have 2 hammers two frogspawns, acan , brain coral
all are frags except for the frogspawns they are two huge heads
is a 54 gallon reef tank
use one galon and refill the drip when it finishes
i am thinking of using a zoo med to drip very slowly a day
i want to bring my calcium from 370 to 420
alk from 7 to 9
but i been watching alot of online videos research and i am just s
o confused of how to use and how many teaspoons to use
as my corals dont have that color i saw at reef store when i bought and have not grown much this year
any advice and how to use and start thanks all take all the advice i can

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You need to adjsut the calcium first with a different product.

If you used limewater (kalkwasser) to boost calcium by 50 ppm, alkalinity will necessarily rise by 7 dKH.

Use calcium chloride to boost the calcium.

7 dKH is fine, and so is 9 dKH, so my suggestion is to slowly start dripping the limewater while monitoring the alkalinity, and adjust either the amount of liquid or the strength of it over time to zero in on an optimal alkalinity.

Adding 1.25% of the total system water volume (about a half gallon in your case) in saturated (2 teaspoons per gallon) will boost alkalinity by 1.4 dKH and calcium by 10 ppm. In a system like yours, I'd start at a much lower daily addition and work up (if needed).

Do you know roughly what the daily evaporation rate is? In other words, what the max amount of limewater you could add each day?

 

[jorge0912]

not much i put 2 gallon a week so lets say maybe 1/4 of gallon a day

 

[jorge0912]

i can also dose part a and b but can they dose at the same time with a drip line i know those are more easy to use ..
i know kalk wasser is a bit more harder

 

[MaiReef]

I use a Kalkstirrer hooked up to my ATO into my sump. Works well for me. I valved it off to go without if I just want plain RO/DI.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/two-little-fishies-kalkwasser-stirrer-reactor-300.html

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd mix the limewater at 0.5 teaspoons per gallon of fresh water and see what that does for alkalinity for a few days, replacing all or most of the evaporated water.