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Cultivated Reef

Making kalk?


Chris333

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As I understand it kalk is calcium hydroxide mixed with water and can be added to your top off water.

 

Has anyone made this mix themselves? what is the ratio, is there anything else added, etc...

 

 

Thanks

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yes....for several years. It's a pain in the @ss. With the 2 part liquids that are available now I wouldn't go the kalk route. Especially if you have kids or pets around. It also has a tendency to build up in un-testable properties if you use it for several years. Get a dust mask, too. That stuff is nasty to breathe in. I would never use that stuff in any of my reef tanks ever again. JMHO. I know a lot of people that use it, but I won't.

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I am just curious. I friend can get 50# bags of calcium hydroxide at work. I was just gonna try a couple lbs worth on the first couple top offs just to help with the coralline.

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imho, kalkwasser really isn't a ca/alk supplement you should use starting out.

 

for one thing, it's very very caustic as pep pointed out. you can easily overdose and crash a tank. it's a pita to continually make (kalk reactors make it much easier).

 

the 55# bag you mentioned should be from a food-industry source. an industrial source might contain too many contaminants or levels of contaminants unacceptable to our setups, e.g. various metals.

 

pickling lime (e.g. Mrs Wages Pickling Lime) is a very inexpensive alternative source of lime, CaO.

 

but i suggest you opt for a two-part ca/alk additive (btw, we have a sponsor specifically for this) versus using kalk. hth

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Give these a shot...

 

Limewater (kalkwasser)

 

What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

 

The Self Purification of Limewater (Kalkwasser)

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/chem.htm

 

The Degradation of Limewater (Kalkwasser) in Air

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-...ature/index.htm

 

Magnesium and Strontium in Limewater

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2003/chem.htm

 

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

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