Precipitate Question

LeoLionFish · Dec 2, 2011

I not absolutely sure is precipitate but 90% sure. I dont know what else it could be. How does Kalk actually form precipitate?? I have read some articles but they are speaking Mandarin as I read it. Can you explain it?

Travis D.
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mjaustin22 · Dec 2, 2011

I wish I could, I probably know as much as you. All I know is when I've had precipitation before either my sand clumps, water turns cloudy or I see it on heaters and pumps as a hard white substance that then needs to be scraped off. This happened when i was dosing 2 part and i've never noticed it while dosing kalk. sorry, I can't help out more. Maybe someone smarter then me can chime in.

justreefin · Dec 2, 2011

From what I read in your original post, you are topping off at the same time you are stirring the reactor. This is causing you to top off with the stirred up undissoved kalk and percipitate inside the reactor. Try to top off when the Reactor is not stirring, this allows the kalk and percipiate to settle to the bottom and nothing but clear water should be coming out of the reactor.

pickupman66 · Dec 2, 2011

I agree with the post above. top off when any precip has settled when at all possible. Limewater will do three things for you when dosed from my experiences.

1. it will add calcium to the water
2. it will raise the PH of the water
3. it will raise the alkalinity of the water.

I would suggest that you find a way to consistently test for all three before dosing. it is not the kalk that will precipitate out of the solution (or your tank water) but it is the calcium. if the carbonate hardness of the water is too low, it cannot "hold" the calcium in suspension and it will precipitate out.

Now, if you are finding you have a Low PH but the alk is above 8.0Dkh, it is most likely an issue with the CO2/O2 Imbalance and you need to get more dissolved oxygen in teh water. it is common in the wintertime to have a depressed PH because our homes are all closed up.

if you find that your PH jumps up rapidly then falls when you dose the Kalk, I would suspect that the Alkalinity is LOW. the biggest symptom I see with low alkalinity is a PH that swings in larger amounts on a DAILY basis.

Now, I see your calcium is in the upper range (per my preferences) at 460. if your alk is low, you can mix a tablespoon of baking soda (arm and hammer) with 1 gallon of RO/Di and then slowly drip that into your tank SLOWLY. it will raise the alkalinity and the PH but not add to your calcium and can help to put the three back in harmony.

fwiw, my 180 right now is at 430 calcium, 8.2Dkh and 8.11PH it fluctaates between 8.11 and 7.87 over the last 10 days but mostly between 8.1 and 8.0.

FWIW, here is the graph of my tank for the last month. The peaks occured at 9pm and teh valleys were at about 8 am. the big dips were times when I was doing something to the tank.

LeoLionFish · Dec 2, 2011

The problem then lies with my reactor because the water comes in to it and then goes through a reducer down the center of the reactor. The end is a "sprinkler" head that vibrates under the pressure from the pump which stirs the Kalk. It is the TwoLittleFishies Kalk reactor. Am I adding the Kalk to it wrong? Or is it a design flaw in the reactor?

Travis D.
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Dowtish · Dec 2, 2011

If you havent read this thread already, you should check it out.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-chemistry-forum/54889-kalk-all-s-cracked-up.html

Dowtish · Dec 2, 2011

This is the very last post in the thread at the moment....

"Any kalk stirrer will work with your application and evaporate rate. However I would not recommend the TLF reactor. The design has a major flaw and that is the need of a check valve. The check valve continuously fails and causes saturated kalk mixture from the bottom of the reactor to be siphoned back to the ro/do reservoir. The next time the reactor kicks on you get an overdose of kalk water because all the kalk from the bottom of the reactor was just pulled out and into the reservoir and rodent have time to settle."

gmoney243 · Dec 2, 2011

Rodent have time to settle? That's the problem get the mice outta there!

gmoney243 · Dec 3, 2011

I don't think 460 calc is enough to precipitate. But what kinda pump is on ur ato? Maybe its to strong and causing the reactor to fill with slurry and dose slurry to ur tank instead of settled kalk?

poolkeeper1 · Dec 3, 2011

Just a little thought on your approach to additives! In most all cases you should never dose anything that you can or do not test for, That being said KH IMO is the most important parameter that you need to keep stable along with Ca and salinity (Stability Promotes Success) SPS. How do you know or measure the demand of your tank if you are not testing the item you are adding??? It could be as simple as you have no real demand or need to dose Kalk and are just raising your levels to the point of saturation and this may be causing your cloudy water, Along with the fact that your dosing Kalk that is not settled and putting impurities in your tank from the solution/method you are using. There are simple methods of dripping kalk that will just dose pure kalk without adding the slurry left on the bottom of the mixture and they are easy to use. A simple container with a valve to drip into your sump with no more that what could cause harm is the safest way to dose IMO.
Bill

LeoLionFish · Dec 3, 2011

Bill - I test for pH and Calcium, should I be testing for something else??
Chris - My TLF has a check valve between the pump and reactor. It is a better one than the one supplied by TLF.
Mike - the pump is the one that comes with the Tunze Osimolator ATO system. I am unsure of the pumps name.

Travis D.
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poolkeeper1 · Dec 3, 2011

LeoLionFish said:
Bill - I test for pH and Calcium, should I be testing for something else??
Chris - My TLF has a check valve between the pump and reactor. It is a better one than the one supplied by TLF.
Mike - the pump is the one that comes with the Tunze Osimolator ATO system. I am unsure of the pumps name.

Travis D.
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At the very least you should test for KH,Ca,Salinity,Po4 to be sure you are not adding something your tank does not need. Ca and KH (Alkalinity) are directly related to each other and the correct balance of these need to be maintained for a healthy tank along with low levels of Phosphate to keep healthy SPS. Adding Kalk increases both KH and Ca when dosed so you should know if your tank requires them before adding them or any other additive before dosing them. JMO
Bill
Just realized i omitted Magnesium as this is also very important in maintaining both Ca/Kh in a closed system, Sorry...

Dowtish · Dec 3, 2011

Travis, I bookmarked this on my computer, so I can refer back to it.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

LeoLionFish · Dec 3, 2011

Thanks Bill and Chris for all your responses and help, it is ALWAYS appreciated!!

Travis D.
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gmoney243 · Dec 3, 2011

+1 everything bill said .. and tjat tunze pump might be to strong for tje kalk and doing what I mentioned I'm not familiar with that pump tho so might wanna check make sure your kalk stays clear while the ato is running or just disconnect the kalk till u really need it. Use a refigium with lots of chaeti might balance out ur ph problem
Lmk I got tons of chaeto if u need.

LeoLionFish · Dec 4, 2011

Thanks Mike!! I am looking into a new kalk reactor with an electric stirrer and turning my TLF reactor into a reactor for ecobak. As for the cheato I will hit you up if I need some. I got a little now but its not doing so well. I think it doesnt have enough nutrients in the tank yet since my system is so new. I have a good enough light over it.

Travis D.
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gmoney243 · Dec 5, 2011

ive had some good and bad experiences with chaeto myself but what type and watt bulb are u using? the best bulbs are the cheapest highest watt i use the 26w warm bulbs from walmart runs like $2/bulb replace every 3 months. if the chaeto is dying its most likely not nutrients unless you are running ecobak or something then u might starve it. but even in low nutrients like a new tank its enough to keep it alive and grow some. usually heat from the bulbs is the factor when chaeto is dying the bulb might be to close or the water doesnt have any movement to disperse the heat waves comming from the light. same would happen to your corals if the water and surface wasnt moving so much to dissapate the heat wave.