How to mix kalk

[esmith]

How to mix kalk powder

I am in the process of getting my drip rate dialed in, then I'll need to mix and start dripping kalk, but I am not sure about how to mix it.

When I mix the kalk, do I need to use a PH to aggitate the water or should I just throw in the powder and stir it a little with a spoon or something? I know I need to let it settle for a few hours so that the precipitate can settle to the bottom, I just don't quite understand how exactly to go about mixing it into the water.

Any suggestions?

Thank you,

Eliyah

 

[reedman]

I use a PH to mix for a couple hours in a sealed container, let settle for a few hours, start drip.

 

[uwscotch]

What i find that works well is gallon milk jugs. I add approx. 1 tablespoon of CaOH2 per gallon thru a funnel. I then "chase" the powder with 30 mls of vinegar. this helps rinse of the funnel. i follow this with 1 gallon of RO/DI water still rinsing the funnel. i then cap the jug and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. i let the gallon settle overnight. by the way, I make 4, 1 gallon jugs at a time. after overnight settling, I siphon the clear liquid off into a new jug. This is what I use to drip. I use the same jug to mix up a new batch. This allows me to ensure that the solution is supersaturated, i.e. a new tablspoon of CaOH2 plus the remaining slurry in the jug. I throw away the mixing jug after about 10 uses. Hope this helps.

uwscotch

 

[esmith]

Thanks reedman & uwscotch.

One more question...is it better to mix a seperate container than the one I am going to be dripping from, and why (other than having all that sludge in there)?

uwscotch: Does the addition of the vinegar lower the PH of the kalk solution, or does it increase it?

Eliyah

 

[Katchupoy]

Having a seperate container will insure that there will be no powder of kalk can enter your main tank. And you can create another batch on the first container while you are dripping on the second one.

I have a sump where I drip my kalk and Im not too worried about powder coming out of the jar. But make sure that if you need to only use one jar for mixing and dripping, have at least an inch or two spacing from the bottom of the jar to the end of the hose. This will keep those settled powder from going with the drip.

 

[esmith]

Actually I made the dripping container out of a 5 gallon bucket, and the John Guesset ball valve is ~2.5" up from the bottom because I was planning on mixing and dripping out of the same container. I think I rather like to idea of mixing in another container though, then I could make more when needed.


Thanks Katchupoy!

Eliyah

 

[Mushroom Boy]

I recently deployed a DIY kalk reactor and love it. All of my top off goes through it. It goes about a month between kalk refills. Here are a couple pics of it.

And one while the pump is running...

 

[uwscotch]

looks like the question about using different containers was answered. I do it just to make sure i don't transfer the sludge. The bottom of the mixing container contains CaOH2 that has not been dissolved. even a larger pH shock to the tank. The vinegar helps lower the pH, bring it down from 12 or so. It also allows you to dissolve more Kalk.

uwscotch

 

[uwscotch]

A tragic story is coming to all of you soon. My wife dumped a gallon of Kalkwasser into my 30 gal reef. The jug was poorly labeled, my fault, and the tank needed water. She tried to neutralize it with acetic acid. As of 6 hrs since the incidence, death includes 2 cleaner shrimp, a frogspawn, mushrooms, sorry nothing to frag at the meeting. there is more to come. I actually had a nervous breakdown. I may end up hanging it all up. Enjoy the pic of my tank in the photo gallery, it may someday be restored to its former glory.

uwscotch

 

[esmith]

uwscotch, thanks for all your help today. I'm soooo sorry to hear about your losses, do you have a hospital tank you could transport anything to (I know I don't, but at times like these it would be worth the trouble).

Keep us updated on it's progress. I think Desolas had this happen once (his auto topoff pumped all the kalk into the tank) and I remember him telling me that he didn't loose anything...maybe you should talk to him about what he did.

HTH,

Eliyah

 

[reedman]

uw scotch,

I have an empty 30 gallon tank you can borrow if you need it. Just let me know. Also, when you are recovered (and you will recover) you can always count on frags from me to get you back in business.

Hope it turns out alright. Keep doing water changes, I had similar and it recovered overnight. Keep trying.

-Reed

 

[jmaxwell]

Paul...I am intersted in your Kalk reactor..is it run in line after your RO/DI and then directly to the tank as top off? How expensive was it (if you don't mind me asking). I would love to automate this process as I have an automated top off system in my sump run from my ro/di, but have not been using it as of late because I am adding kalkwasser as my topoff water.

Jim

 

[esmith]

Jim, I think there is some DIY plans in the DIY forum for this exact same reactor (don't quote me on it being identical, but very similar). The cost of this one is ~$65.00 including a Max Jet PH and clear acrylic. In fact Jim, here is the link:http://www.mv.com/users/besposito/nilsen.html. I've thought about building one of these myself, only one problem...getting the water into the fish room.

Eliyah

 

[uwscotch]

thanks for the emphathy. it looks like the immediate deaths are over. I don't know what the long term fallout will be. I fortunately had a hospital tank/aka unsuccessful larvae rearing tank. A lot of things made it into their and other buckets of water. An immediate 10 gallon water change was done with pH buffering, it was actually below 7.0 This was followed by a 20 gallon water change was essentially a complete change. The anenomes look like they are recovering, only one was transferred to the hospital tank. Sorry for rambling, this post is about using kalkwasser. Thanks for the offers of help. Parameters in the main tank are stabilized right now and I expect things to recover from what I've read about other peoples incidences.

best.

you really got to love this hobby. Only if it didn't involve the death of our friends.

 

[Curtswearing]

Oh no!!!. I'm sorry for your losses. I'm sure you are hurtin' right now. It looks like you have a lot of great friends who will help you recover so I'm sure you end up in good shape. I appreciate your feeling of responsibility for your critters. IMO, the main purpose of these internet boards is to educate others so they learn don't have to start from scratch which helps our critters.

I use a Kent aquadoser and it's drain is raised above the bottom of the unit. When I get home from work, I add my Kalk to it with a full dose of water. I cap it and shake well. Then I let it settle over the evening. I loosen the cap prior to going to bed and set the drip rate. I have a pinpoint pH monitor so I can see at a glance day or night where my pH is at. On occassion, I don't even add new Kalk as I never rinse out the aquadoser. On occassion, I just add RO/DI water and shake a little longer than normal and drip that. I'm not telling anyone else to do this....just tellin' you what I do. The reason I keep it capped tightly prior to dripping is in the link I will be attaching.

I haven't tried the vinegar method listed in the link I'm attaching yet but will likely try it soon. Based on my research, it should help provide more calcium than Kalk alone.

Vinegar and Kalk

 

[wanareef]

uwscoth

I had the same thing happen to mine- the ro/di PH got stuck on and pumped kalk into the tank. It was cloudy, just like a snow storm. Everything was P-OD but luckly no losses.

We have a semi-automated top off system for our tank and when it's not hanging up (floatswitch) it works great.

The holding tank is a rubbermaid trash can- food grade that holds about 47gals of ro/di. The semi part of it, "I have to fill it" but that will soon be changed. There is a float switch in the fuge, when the water level goes down, it turns on the PH in the holding tank, pumps the water through a DIY kalk reactor, (basically a clear acrylic tube with flanges on top for easy access, PH for recirculation, almost the same as mushroomboy's,) to the sump by the intake for the skimmer. There is a timer for the PH on the reactor that turns it on for 5 mins every 6 hrs. I just load the reactor up with ESV kalk every 2 months or so.

Out tank evaporates about 1.5 to 2 gals a day.

 

[DonW]

If it helps you can get a petcock at a beer and wine making store, the type you push or lift the handle. I have one in a 1.5 gallon(mixing container) container 2" from the bottom. You can also get them at one of those bottled water stores. Also if you only need small amounts you can get a heavy IV drip bag (2 liter) used for dripping chum (very inexpensive) and works super.

Don

 

[esmith]

Curtswearing: thanks for the informative article, lots of really great info in that one. I am actually trying out that method right now, and it appears that mixing the kalk with acetic acid first does totally dissolve it.

Eliyah

 

[Mushroom Boy]

uwscotch, sorry to hear of your woes. Sounds like you're on the road to recovery, though.

Jmax, yup, I used basically the same plan that Eliyah pointed you to. It was relatively simple to setup. Most of the components came from Home Depot and Mclendon's. The $65 mark sounds about right as well. I use a SpectraPure liquid level controller for my top off, so it is coming directly from the RO unit.

 

[Curtswearing]

ESMITH,

I greatly appreciate the feedback. I'm working so much overtime right now that I haven't actually tried it myself.