Simple Kalk Doser TOTW 02-14-05

**kevinpo** · 01-08-2003 12:06 PM

Here is a simple and inexpensive Kalk doser that can be made for about $7.

Just drill a hole 3/4" from the bottom of an old salt bucket and screw in this small valve from Home Depot ($5.97). I chased the hole with a 1/4" NPT tap. Attach a small piece of polyflow tubing also from HD and you're ready to go. I drip kalk into the skimmer intake (to reduce phosphates) at night and in the morning put the buckets in the garage for storage.

Hope you find this useful,
Kevin

**kevinpo** · 01-08-2003 12:08 PM

Here is a closeup of the valve. It can be found near the drip irrigation section at Home Depot.

Regards,
Kevin

**scubadude** · 01-08-2003 01:26 PM

LMAO! I love it! You little DIY Hack Kevin! Love how your feeding it into the skimmer intake too, im just curious if it has any adverse affects? how long have you had your little hi-tech kalk topoff running? is it maintaining your CA levels and are you using it in conjuction w/ a CA reac? Ever thought about throwing in a PH for stirring? You could put it on a timer where it mixes only for a couple of minutes once a day....but then it wouldnt be simple anymore....Less technology and more biology right

**kevinpo** · 01-08-2003 02:34 PM

Rocky,
I started using this setup last Feb. I dose the full 6 gal in about 6-8 hours so no need to stir

I do this every other night. I use Ball's pickling lime (.99 lb. at WalMart)

Yes I also use a calcium reactor which uses 2" x 4" diameter of media per month. I also dose 7 soupspoons of Turbo Calcium in the morning after adding kalk.

On the days in between I add 6 soupspoons of baking soda to 1 soupspoon of washing soda for buffer.

My calcium drops by 10 ppm per day if I fail to follow this regimine. It's much cheaper than buying another giant calcium reactor.

Note: If you put the lid on the bucket you will not get a crust buildup on the water surface of the kalk mixture but you will need to put a very small hole in the lid (1/16" diam.) to prevent a vacuum forming as the bucket drains.

Regards,
Kevin
PS: I have more where this one came from

**dkh0331** · 01-08-2003 02:40 PM

Gotta love simplicity at its best!

Good job Kevin and thanks for sharing with the class!

David

**scubadude** · 01-09-2003 10:40 AM

Originally posted by kevinpo

PS: I have more where this one came from

By all means, please show/tell us more

Couple ques's

How much Mrs. Balls do you use in that 6gal? the next time you dose do you clean the bucket and start all over or do you use the settled part again? You use the 6:1 baking&washing soda to balance the lime drip right? How long after you mix up your lime do you have to wait until you drip? Its only 3/4" above the bottom of the bucket? It looks a bit higher. Sorry bout all the questions but it has been a while since I have dosed lime, and Im getting ready to do this on some fairly large systems ( a 450g and a 350g )

Thanx Kev

**kevinpo** · 01-09-2003 11:34 AM

Hi Rocky,
Questions are always welcome! I use an old soupspoon to measure everything (scientific huh

). I put 3 heaping spoons of lime in. I only clean the bucket about once a month. Sometimes towards the end of the month if it looks like there is still a lot of lime in the bucket I just add water. I stir it a few times with a plastic rod and let it set for about 1 hour. It is clear by then and set it for a fast drip. I attach the tube to the intake screen on the skimmer with a rubber band (another hi-tech device

)

"Its only 3/4" above the bottom of the bucket? It looks a bit higher."

Shhhh just one of my many mistakes ;) It turned out for the best though. The next morning I tilt the bucket, open the valve wide open and fill a pitcher with the remaining mixture and dump it into the sump of my 90 frag grow out tank (without dripping

).

I use the baking soda/washing soda mix to keep the alkalinity up to the desired levels. I use the same pitcher and spoon (hey I'm saving all my money for corals) and put 6 heaping spoons of baking soda and 1 of washing soda into the pitcher and fill with water. I let it set until clear about 15 min. I then slowly pour it into the sump. There is always some residue at the bottom that didn't completely dissolve so I just fill the pitcher with water again and repeat in 15 min.

I buy the baking soda in a 10 lb box. The washing soda comes in a 3 lb 7 oz. box and lasted about 1 year.

HTH,
Kevin

**LittleDevil** · 01-12-2003 05:13 PM

Hey kevin,

I am kinda new at the reef tanks, What is the lime for? and how much do you put in your tanks? and should I be dosing kalk? how do you figure out how much your tanks need?What about the bakingsoda and the washing soda?????

Right now I am just using aragamilk, thats the only thing I use. I have a 150g, sps, soft corals,6 fish.....Cal=400 kh=10dkh(179ppm)

Any advice please??
Matt

**kevinpo** · 01-12-2003 08:14 PM

Matt,
They are all used to maintain proper calcium, alkalinity, and PH in reef tanks containing calcium skeleton building corals. The chemistry needs to be kept in ionic balance as well as the amounts at the proper levels. Here is a link that has a calculator that gives you the proper level of both calcium and alkalinity in relation to each other. Just type in one of the measurements and it will give you what the other level should be to be in balance (be sure the proper units are selected).
http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/caalkcalc.htm

Here is a link that I think will explain much better than I how and why these things are used. At the end of the article are links to other articles specific to the uses and limitations of them.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

Regards,
Kevin

**scubadude** · 02-15-2005 10:29 AM

I threw this reac together with some spare acrylic pieces I had laying around. I think it will serve the purpose I want. The bottom inside elbow will be the RO/DI Feed with a one-way check valve naturally and the top side outlet will be for the output. The large bulkhead on top for the fill of the lime.

Please critique

I do plan on the output side to be hooked to a float to my sump, which will feed my 75g.

**Samper** · 02-15-2005 02:56 PM

Here is my kalk doser in all its glory.

For you nano guys out there this works just fine.

You can see how easy it is to hang it...a nail, I use picture frame wire to hold it in place, melted a hole in the bottom of the bottle so that pressure doesn't build up then drilled a hole in the cap, stuck my iv drip tube through, glued it in place and that's about it.
You can control the drip very easily.

I got the iv tubing from the ER on my post, go in to your local ER and ask a young staffer if you can get one and there shouldn't be a problem. Just don't look or act like a crackhead or anything when you do it.