I will be doing it by its self till i hook up a automatic top off. said:Okay...
Take a new or old pitcher, like you mix cool-aid in. One with either a strainer or a spout.
Fill it with RO/DI.
Take a teaspoon of kalk or pickling lime and dump it into the pitcher.
Stir it around for a few minutes.
Let it sit overnight or all day until it settles and you can see the bottom or the the solution is clear. You'll have a crust on the surface and a pile of powder on the bottom. You can use a big spoon to get the crust out, you won't lose much solution fishing that stuff out.
Carefully pour the clear liquid, making sure not to get too much of the crust and none of the powder into your dosing container. I assume you have a drip line device??
At night after your lights go out, set it up to slowly drip the solution into the sump either in the skimmer chamber or the return section. Set it to drip 1 or 2 drops every minute or so. Let it drip overnight.
You want to make sure that the amount you are dripping is not more than the you evaporate or you'll end up diluting the salinity.
You want to monitor your pH initially in the tank itself. The pH will go up, but you don't want it to go over 8.3 or 8.4. Watch it the first few times you do it until you are comfortable letting it drip on its own. If the pH goes past that point, stop the dripping until it settles back down then continue.
You will want to test your Alk and your Calcium before and after dripping to see if you get enough of a bump in both and do not exceed your target. You will have to play with it over the course of a few days to determine the amount you will drip.
You do not want to dose unless you can accurately monitor pH via a calibrated electronic monitor and unless you do your testing before and after. This is very important because if you dose too much you will pH shock your system. Its unlikely you will create a problem with alk or calcium with a single dose or two, but don't drip more than 20oz or so at a time just to make sure. Start small and slow and gradually increase until you get the numbers you want. I can't stress this enough.. do not overdose or guess what your numbers are. Many experienced reefers have nuked their tanks with Kalk and its never pretty.
For safety, make sure you have some white vinegar on hand in case your alk or pH goes up too high. You can use very small amounts, like a cap full at a time to slowly lower both back down if you have am emergency. Only use that in case of a serious problem because vinegar in the tank can also spur a bacteria bloom.
Take notes... be prepared and go slow.