Why can't you add Kalkwasser directly to tank

A

aentrop

==Why?

Why do you have to mix it, let it settle, then use the water column mixture (and not the top/bottom layers)?

Kalk reactors keep mixing up the stuff that settles, until it is all gone...

Is it because there is an extreme chance for overdosing?

If I have calculated that a tsp of Kalk will make 5 gallons of calcium water with no sediment, why can't I just add that tsp of kalk directly to my 300 gallon tank mixed up in about a cup of water?

Why is using the top layer of kalk water bad? What will happen if i accidentally get some of the stuff from the top layer of the kalk water?
 
Google: reefkeeping kalkwasser

there is an article that will tell you everything.

In my experience with kalkwasser, has been good and have not had any major problems. I am using kalkwasser via ATO (topping off with kalkwasser). I have my ato hooked up to a aqualifter. Aqualifter pumps RODI water into the kalk reactor and the output is hooked up to a drip valve. This set up has worked for me.

The main reason not to dump it all into a tank, kalkwasser has a high PH. Too much in a tank can cause some unwanted responses via too high of a PH swing. This is also not good for your fish. I have a 150 and have not had any issues using kalkwasser. You should use this at your own risk. Be aware of all the risk by using kalkwasser. I have seen and heard people having crashes with kalkwasser.

Shoot me a PM if you want to see pics of my setup, etc.
 
No matter what you add to your tank, you should always dilute it in water. So the idea of adding a teaspoon of kalkwasser powder directly to the tank should be ruled out immediately.

If you have used kalkwasser paste to kill aiptasia, have you ever noticed how if that stuff lands on other livestock they get burned? It stings them.

Here's that article, already googled for you. :)
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php
 
@aentrop wrote:
If I have calculated that a tsp of Kalk will make 5 gallons of calcium water with no sediment said:
That would be the start of a snowstorm as the calcium precipitated out of solution, your alk will plummet, and that would most likely be the end of your tank. I would think this is something you would already know....... being that you service tanks for a living.
Click to expand...
 
FWIW, I work for Verizon - corporate billing.

I do service tanks, but it is a small side job. By no means does it provide a full living income.


And I'm not tanking about adding alot ok Kalk, only a little, like 1/4 or 1/8 of a tsp. And I'm thinking mix that much in a small cup if freshwater --> because it doesnt work properly (chemically) if you mix with saltwater,
I may have asked the question improperly, but if I mix 1/4 of a tsp in a cup of freshwater, and add that to a tank, it doesn't snowstorm - or precipitate. (I've tried)
From what I have experienced is that it just lowers the pH by .1 or .2 temporarily... So 8.1 to 7.9 for an hour or so...
 
And this is one of those questions I'm asking because I don't fully understand the chemistry and things, --> not because I actually want to make it a practice of mine.

I quit using Kalk since i have a calcium reactor, but still desire to more fully understand it.

I'm asking because:
In a Kalk reactor, you mix up the kalk, it settles a layer of white stuff on the bottom, and you output the calcuium laden water from the water column to the tank,
then, mix it up again and start over, REUSING the slurry that settled out...

So, why cant we measure it properly so that once it is mixed up the first time, there is no sediment that falls to the bottom?

Is it because we might mis-measure it once and risk killing everything? OR is it because there are actually some things in Kalk that settle to the bottom that we dont EVER want going in the tank?
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So in short:
Is it a safety measure to use the standard kalk dosing procedures? OR is it actually possible to properly measure the Kalk powder to make one single dose of calcium water?

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Also, --> What is the white stuff that collects on the top layer of a Kalk mixture? I know it is a chemical reaction with atmospheric gasses, but what makes it bad to get that stuff in the tank?
 
I still had to clean out the gunk in my kalk reactor you do not want the impurities in your tank. if you notice most kalk reactor siphon the lime water from the middle so the pure lime water is sent to the tank.

from the article posted for you to read

"The solids on the bottom of a limewater reservoir contain everything that did not dissolve, or that dissolved and later precipitated from solution. Such solids could contain magnesium hydroxide and carbonate, calcium hydroxide and carbonate (though calcium hydroxide is fairly unlikely in unsaturated limewater) and a variety of other impurities, such as alumina, silica, etc."

just mix what you need in a gallon jug and have it slowly drip into your tank. I would never just pour a slurry of kalk and ro water right into my tank.

"the right thing to do isnt always the easiest thing to do" is a quote i tell my friends that try to take short cuts in our hobby. In the long term majority of the time it will bite you in the butt
 
Simply put... kalk is not is not going to dissolve without an acidic agent in water to that degree. Water will only hold so much of it in solution, given the pH effect in the water etc. There is much more in calc than just calcium and an alkalinity component.. the left over are those components.

Water is the universal solvent, but it does have its limitations.

Also, there is only so much calcium/alk component that can be extracted from the powder without the aide of an acid. That is why some people take the powder and dissolve it in a bit of vinegar then pour that into the water for super saturation.

It may seem like waste, but the stuff is so cheap in bulk that it really makes little difference. Its also made up of stuff you don't want in the tank.. you extract what you want/need and toss the rest.
 
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