Calfo's kalk method

[JeffK]

Is anyone currently using Anthony Calfo's suggested method of dosing kalkwasser - i.e., mixing a very small quantity of kalk powder (approx. 1/16 of a teaspoon per 100 gallons of tank capacity) into chilled, purified water (approximately 1 cup) and pouring the slurry directly into the tank?

I'm intrigued by this method because evaporation is so erratic in my neck of the woods, and, hence, kalk additions via "standard" drip methods are highly variable in quantity.

Any thoughts on pros and cons?


Thanks!

Jeff

 

[taikonaut]

There are some pros and cons associated with Calfo's method. I will just rumble off some cons as I remember them.

1, high quality, food-grade kalkwasser is needed due to the direct addition of slurry. This is because kalk is prone to contains other metal and impurities, and they usually precip. out in hi pH solution. This is why most of us discard the junk on the bottom, and drip the clear, top layer.

2, labor intensive, and not easily automated due to the use of chilled slurry, as you noticed

3, temperature affect the solution a little, but if you consider the fact that the final mixture is a slurry anyway, there is no point going thru the hassle in making it at a certain temperature to take advantage of the higher solubility.

 

[liquid]

It sure can't hurt to try it Jeff. Calfo did it for a while with success in his coral farm. I'd say try it a time or two and see what happens. Just make sure to follow his directions specifically based on your tank volume. Too much kalk paste can cause some nasty pH swings.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

And, if you've got questions, you can ask him.

 

[JeffK]

Thanks for your comments, Taikonaut, Shane and Seamaiden. I think I'll proceed with caution--i.e., while keeping a watchful eye on pH, calcium and alkalinity--and see how it works out.

Jeff

 

[imsqueak]

I just posted a thread that might answer this. http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=391593#391593
sorry cant get it to hyper link, I'll just copy/paste it here.

It doesnt have to be complicated at all.

Kalk is nothing more than pickling lime which is on your grocer's shelf. Dont bother with Kent's or others unless you want to go to the difficult end of the next comment. Kalc can be the simplest thing you can add, or one of the more difficult. Choices are, dump in powder to your sump (origin/from tank area)(not highly recommended but some do it with sucess) I do it occassionally ~ when really lazy and water's not low. Next is slurry, pour 1 tbs (55-75g tank) powder to your daily top off amount of water (5oz -2g), swish, swirl, dump in sump (origin area). Third is dripping: use a jug to gravitate kalk water down to your sump (to return area). Simple as a 2 ltr bottle w/ air hose 1" from bottom and glued into it - to a 5g jug w I.V. drip or even dosing pump.

When you've gotten sick of daily top offs you will instal a top-off system. Then you will have to have a Kalk or Calc/reactor which is where the money/complexity comes from. I still like spending the time tankside daily as opposed to $200-$1000: top-off + reactor (55g-110g) . When I get tried of daily top-off I'll diy it for about $100-200(not calc). Check the web for lots of plans and post yours when you diy it so others will learn.

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the board, imsqueak, and thanks for adding the information. Your link worked just fine, but if you want to hyperlink, c&p the following (adding your own hyperlink term where applicable):
linkword - the url link "http://___" goes after the = but still inside the brackets --> something like this:
[ url=http://takemethere.com/resource/html ] Take me away [ /url ]. (I've added spaces so it doesn't actually try to hyperlink.) If you want to see how it works, here's a real hyperlink (just hit "quote" and you'll see what I did here) hyperlinkfun.

 

[Anonymous]

Anthony is a very approachable and reachable fellow. If you have specific questions try going to www.wetwebmedia.com
Either Anthony or Bob Fenner monitor the site and are very responsive.
FWIW, when you add a two-part Ca-buffer solution, you are effectively doing the same thing Anthony is doing in one step. His addiditions are small enough that they maintain Ca and Alk, but do not cause spikes in pH. Precipitation occurs with all additives to some degree or another, and no atter what an aquarist does, over time things WILL accumulate in a closed system, so the heavy metal argument is void.

 

[Anonymous]

Indeed! However, Bob's out since yesterday, so I'll be doing a good part of the monitoring. 8O

 

[Anonymous]

There goes the subsurface neighborhood!!!

 

[Anonymous]

I have been doing this for oh...probably a couple years now. Ever since the big hubbub on RC with Anthony. I use about 1/2 tsp per day. Works fine for me.

There was some talk about precipitating out Mg or some such, but I've had no ill effects. I do have a relatively low calcium uptake in my tank, however. Just maxima and bubble coral.

I like this method because its easier than mixing up batches of kalk and dripping it. It's not labor-intensive, unless comparing to a calcium reactor, but with less setup and expense.

My .02

HD

 

[Anonymous]

There goes the subsurface neighborhood!!!

Hey.. I think I resemble that remark.

So, HD, what hubbub do you speak ob?

 

[Anonymous]

When someone first noticed Anthony's recommendation in his book and posted it on RC, there was a big to-do about it.

The coldness of the water allows for more kalk to be dissolved in it. Also, if you need more kalk you can use vinegar to dissolve more. Anthony says just dump the slurry in.

Others claim problems would ensue. Spikes in pH, precipitation of magnesium (I think it was), calcium precip? All kinds of sky-is-falling scenarios.

Then there were those that said it's just a better idea to slowly add things to your reef so as not to upset any balance or creatures.

You know, it was one of those humongous threads with all the big-wigs involved.

I ended up trying it. My pH goes up about .1-.2 points, but I'm still in a good range. I like the method because it's easy for me.

HD

 

[Lostmind]

http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/bree ... asser.html

I follow this link, works like a charm. 3 months now dosing kalk, calcium is 420, dkh is 13 or so, ph is a little low at 7.7-8 (probably because my house is fairly airtight and so not enough fresh air).