How to top off with kalk?

[Mattl22]

I have a 75 gal sps tank that I manually top off with rodi every day I was told today by a reefing buddy that I really need to be topping off with kalk
How do I go about this simply, I have no room for more pumps or containers
Please school me on how this works

 

[ZANYMASTER]

If your Calcium is fine,you don't need Kalk.It's good to dose to keep your PH up.

 

[mqur1963]

By on ebay manual dripping for 5 t0 10 dollar and use one gal gal and adjust drip aftr mixing kalk one tea spoon per gal dose very slow evry 7 to 10 second dropp

 

[MIKE NY]

the problem with the drip method is that it constantly gets clogged and stops so it needs to be cleaned often...Matt ..if your PH and cal levels are good don't bother...I use it mixed in my top off water container to combat the low PH coming out of my cal reactor...

 

[Mattl22]

I was thinking of just adding it before bed with my rodi to keep my alkalinity from dropping during the night

 

[cali_reef]

One table spoon per gallon of topoff water, add a little white vinegar if you need more Ca and don't want the PH spike.

Pour the mixture in a high flow area and do it slow if you do all the topoff at once.

 

[Mattl22]

I just measured my alk was a bit low 125 ppm my ca was fine around 480
I added the alk part of my 2 part and brought back up to 161 ppm what is the ideal # to shoot for ?
I will test again tonight to see if it drops

 

[Mattl22]

Thanks for all your help guys!
Cali reefer can u over dose the kalk or does this dosage amount keep it stable or do I have to test to see how much my system is using?
My system is just starting to use up ca and alk as my frags r growing out so this is all new to me

 

[Mattl22]

Still looking for advice / help


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

Matt try getting a mediical doser pump on ebay, works great for me

 

[NYreefNoob]

i mix 2 tblspns per gallon and dose through my ato, i get about 2g a day of evap. yes you can crash a tank with it. i crashed and killed 99% of everything in this tank, my ato got stuck and dumped 5g on kalk water into my system
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/tank-threads/45901-my-last-tank-7.html

 

[Josh]

Cali reefer can u over dose the kalk or does this dosage amount keep it stable or do I have to test to see how much my system is using?

You really should not be using kalk unless you know you need it. You can maintain levels just fine in all but large or sps dominated tanks without it. Use 2 part like ESV Bionic. Kalkwasser is LIME, it has a pH of 12-13, you can overdose extremely easily. In powdered form it is dangerous, do not mix it in your kitchen sink. Do not get the powder on anything. Do not allow it to get near your eyes.

Again, I do not recommend using kalk unless you are quite sure of what you are doing.

 

[Mattl22]

I'm trying to figure out weather I need it !

 

[Alex]

Use ESV bionic , as stated. your better off. And if your calcium demand is high, then maybe you should think about a calcium reactor.

 

[Josh]

I'm trying to figure out weather I need it !

If you don't know, then don't use it. Use ESV Bionic 2 Part, much easier and safer.

 

[NYreefNoob]

when going to figure out if you need it or not look into how much cal\alk you have to dose daily. i don't really recomemd people using it especially if they dont understand it. even with dosing kalk i still have to use 50 ml a day of 2 part, the use of kalk for me basically helps keep levels in check. not only can you crash a tank completely with kalk you can stress all the animals out with flash ph jumps and level jumps. the 2g that gets dosed for me is over a 24 hr period. my ato comes on about once a hour and doesnt dose alot at once, i will shortly be moving into a calcium reactor as my sps amount has increased alot and size so the demands have gotten higher

 

[Alex]

when going to figure out if you need it or not look into how much cal\alk you have to dose daily. i don't really recomemd people using it especially if they dont understand it. even with dosing kalk i still have to use 50 ml a day of 2 part, the use of kalk for me basically helps keep levels in check. not only can you crash a tank completely with kalk you can stress all the animals out with flash ph jumps and level jumps. the 2g that gets dosed for me is over a 24 hr period. my ato comes on about once a hour and doesnt dose alot at once, i will shortly be moving into a calcium reactor as my sps amount has increased alot and size so the demands have gotten higher

When you get your calcium reactor make sure you get one that is appropriate for your bio load, and then some.

 

[NYreefNoob]

ive had reactors before, and thinking on my 80g system the mrc mini cal pro will be more then enough

 

[Alex]

ive had reactors before, and thinking on my 80g system the mrc mini cal pro will be more then enough

:biglaugh::biglaugh: Not meant for you, it was meant for mattl22, but that MRC sounds like a good move...lol

I was agreeing with your method of calculation for need.

 

[Mattl22]

Ok will test in a bit to see if my cal and dkh came down from what I added yesterday
Will post the results
Can I use the alk part of 2 part to bring just alk up daily ?
I use bright well powder 2 part and am not using a lot so right now the cost is not an issue!