[jsheffel]

I have a 30 gal tank. Right now I am just trying to promote the growth of coraline and Halimeda. Would a gallon of Kalkwasser (mixed per instructions on bottle, three cap fulls of concentrate) be excessive to add each week (in five equal doses)?

[CSeaSee]

That depends of a lot of things: how much evaporation do you have? How much calcium is used each week? Is your tank heavily stocked?
The answer will probably be no, 1 gallon/week will be fine. But, you'll want to test the water those first few weeks to see what effect your Kalk additions are having on the tank. Also, you need to drip in Kalkwasser slowly, over the course of hours. It's not something that should be added "in five equal doses."

[jsheffel]

Even when adding as little as one ounce per gallon at a shot? If so, at what rate should I add 24 ounces to the tank (i.e. should that amount go in over two, three or four hours)?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by jsheffel

I have a 30 gal tank. Right now I am just trying to promote the growth of coraline and Halimeda. Would a gallon of Kalkwasser (mixed per instructions on bottle, three cap fulls of concentrate) be excessive to add each week (in five equal doses)?

I didn't know Kalkwasser came in bottles??? Are you talking about calcium hydroxide or calcium chloride?

[jsheffel]

The product is called NatuReef reef former concentrate. Manufactured by Coral Reef Research, Inc. in Ft. Laud., FL. The contents description says "16 fl. oz. Calcium Hydroxide slurry with strontium additive."

[Ninong]

I guess that makes it a Kalkwasser slurry with added strontium. It might be cheaper to just buy calcium hydroxide (pickling lime) and mix your own Kalkwasser?

[jsheffel]

When I use up the rest of this bottle, I'll give that a try. Thanks.

Do you have advice on the rate of addition of the Kalkwasser to the tank?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by jsheffel

When I use up the rest of this bottle, I'll give that a try. Thanks.

Do you have advice on the rate of addition of the Kalkwasser to the tank?

It all depends on the calcium demand of the tank. In other words, it depends on how many corals, coralline algae, clams, etc. you have in the tank that take up calcium.

I dripped limewater (Kalkwasser) every night to replace evaporated water. That amounted to approximately 1.5 gallons of limewater per day for a 120-gal tank. Most people who use Kalkwasser, use it for all of their evaporation replacement. If the tank has a lot of corals, that may be insufficient to keep up with demand.

You can always start out with mixing just one teaspoon of calcium hydroxide powder per gallon of freshwater and see how that works out. If necessary, you can increase it to two teaspoons per gallon of freshwater, which is the most that will dissolve.

Check out this article by Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley on choosing calcium and alkalinity supplementation methods.