[rebrob]

Anyone ever use that product? Any thoughts?

[Ninong]

Kalkwasser is a German word meaning chalk water. It's pure calcium hydroxide and it is mixed with freshwater (R.O./D.I. or distilled water) to make a saturated solution, which is called limewater in English. Two teaspoons of calcium hydroxide will dissolve in one gallon of water.

It is also available as Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime or under other commercial brand names. This, too, is pure calcium hydroxide (food grade). It is usually cheaper than Kalkwasser because Kalkwasser has a German name on the label. It was first used by Peter Wilkens. Two Little Fishies (Julian Sprung and Danny Ramirez) import a lot of stuff from Peter Wilkens.

Using saturated limewater to replace evaporated water from the reef aquarium is one method of calcium and alkalinity maintenance. It should be dripped slowly at night into the sump or into an area of fast water motion.

[rebrob]

Thanks.

How is this regiment:
Every other evening drip 4 gallons of Kalk (6 tsp to start) into the sump.
I usually evap about 2 gallons a day.

[Ninong]

Even better than that would be to drip it every night rather than every other night. The reason for dripping limewater at night is that this helps to mitigate the drop in pH that happens after the lights go out. The pH rises during the daytime due to photosynthesis but then it starts dropping after the lights go out and the photosynthetic processes in the tank switch to respiration mode, giving off carbon dioxide instead of oxygen.

Saturated limewater has a pH of 12.4, which is why it must be dripped slowly and this is also why it helps to stop the pH from falling as low as it would have without the limewater being added at night. That's why it's better to drip every night rather than every other night. You are shooting for stability.

It's fine to start out with less than two teaspoons of calcium hydroxide per gallon of freshwater. Tanks with a lot of corals probably require fully saturated limewater for all of their evaporation makeup but tanks that are not fully stocked may not require as much.

[rebrob]

I have read on the forums that you can't keep Kalk too long. Would it be ok if i made a 5 gallon bucket of Kalk. Emptied two the first day into another bucket driped that. Then emptied another 2 the second day and dripped that the second night.
Then started the cylce all over again.
i.e., can i keep kalk sitting for 48 hours.

[Poseidon]

I think that would work just fine.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by rebrob

i.e., can i keep kalk sitting for 48 hours.

Yes, but keep the container tightly closed. You want to limit exposure to the air because it pulls CO2 out of the air and this causes a film to form on the surface. It also causes it to lose its potency.

If a film forms on the surface, lift it off with a wooden spoon and discard the film. You can easily keep it for three or four days if the container is tightly covered. Do NOT stir the limewater again after the initial mixing. Just carefully pour off the clear liquid from the top (or siphon it) when you need some. Once you get down near the bottom of the container, you can add more freshwater and more calcium hydroxide and make a fresh batch without removing the sediment. Just stir it up all over again. It's a good idea to discard the bottom sediment at least every 10 days and clean out the container.

P.S. -- Remember that limewater is extremely basic (alkaline), so wash your hands well if it gets on your skin to avoid irritation.

[rebrob]

thanks.

[rebrob]

Happy thanksgiving everyone

started dosing with the kalk for two nights - 2 tsps per gallon.
my reading for both mornings were

PH - 8.4
Alk - 9dkh
calc - 400

isn't the calcium a little on the fringe. Should i add calcium or will the kalk eventually bring the calcium up.

I have three LPS's, over a handful of inverts (snails, hermits, shripms) and a lot of dead/regrowing coralline from my battle with the cyano.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by rebrob

Happy thanksgiving everyone

started dosing with the kalk for two nights - 2 tsps per gallon.
my reading for both mornings were

PH - 8.4
Alk - 9dkh
calc - 400

isn't the calcium a little on the fringe. Should i add calcium or will the kalk eventually bring the calcium up.

Your calcium is fine. NSW = 411 ppm Calcium

If you want to add a tiny bit of extra calcium to raise it a little, go ahead. Just don't overdo it. If your calcium tests lower than 400 ppm, then you should add something to boost the calcium level. I usually run my calcium between 450-475 ppm but there's nothing wrong with 400 ppm.



P.S. -- You could also just wait for the limewater to raise the calcium level. It will do that but it's much slower at it than adding something like calcium chloride. Personally, I think I would just wait a couple weeks and retest.

[rebrob]

do you dose kalk and then calcium to get 450? If so, what do you use? or is this a computation of kalk powder and ro/di water mix?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by rebrob

do you dose kalk and then calcium to get 450? If so, what do you use? or is this a computation of kalk powder and ro/di water mix?

When I first set up my tank, I used a two-component system (e.g., B-Ionic or C-Balance) for a few weeks to get the calcium and alkalinity numbers where I wanted them and then I switched to limewater.

Limewater is a balanced additive. It will maintain both calcium and alkalinity. You should test your calcium and alkalinity periodically to see how you're doing. Then you can make adjustments. For example, you could cut back to just one teaspoon of calcium hydroxide per gallon of freshwater instead of two.

Limewater will raise both calcium and alkalinity in a reef tank but the process depends on the calcium demand of the tank. In a lightly stocked tank, the rise in calcium will be faster than in a heavily stocked tank. In fact, in a very heavily stocked tank, limewater may not be sufficient to maintain proper levels of calcium. It all depends on the rate of evaporation, which determines the maximum amount of limewater you can add.

Again, I suggest that you simply continue limewater additions and retest in another week or so. Keep track of your test results so that you can see if you are trending in the right direction. Make haste slowly!

[rebrob]

I shall make haste, But slowly.

Thanks for all your help.