Mrs Wages Pickling Lime

[coolwaters]

for those who are doing this...

 

is there a site where i can calculate how much of the lime stuff to put in?

[hazmat]

for those who are doing this...

 

is there a site where i can calculate how much of the lime stuff to put in?

 

Are you asking how to make kalkwasser with it?

[Stephen-in-Va]

I believe the acceptable ratio is 1-2 teaspoons of lime to 1 gallon of water. I personally use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

 

Pickling lime is kalkwasser.

[organism]

It really depends on your tank and your parameters. I dump about 1lb into a 30 gallon trash can once a week, it looks like milk in there but keeps my SPS growing strong

 

Usually it's 1 tsp per gallon as a starting point, but kalk demands go up with the more kalk that you dose.

[coolwaters]

1 tsp in a 1 gallon? oh crap lol.

 

is it better for me to stir it and let it sit overnight before using?

[Stephen-in-Va]

1 tsp in a 1 gallon? oh crap lol.

 

is it better for me to stir it and let it sit overnight before using?

 

Yes. You want the water saturated with it. You also want the clear water. Not the white stuff that goes to the bottom.

 

Here's what I do. Dump needed gallons of RO/DI water into container. Add 1 teaspoon kalk per gallon. Place small powerhead in container and let it mix for a few hours. Remove pump and put lid on container (you want something pretty airtight). The next morning I start the siphon and let the mixture drip into my tanks for top offs.

 

You can also buy kalk stirrers that hook up to auto top off to make the process easier. A larger container would also allow you to make more at once and use as needed. I believe it has to be mixed every once in a while to keep all the kalk from settling though. I use a empty Reef crystals bucket to make 4 gallons per day and transfer the mix the next morning to the containers for each tank.

[xenon]

2 tsp of kalk is the most you can saturate in one gallon of water.

 

My calcium and alkalinity demand was higher than kalk could supplement so I ditched it. I do miss the ph buffering it provided though!

[disaster999]

noob question...but what exactly do kalkwasser do?

[xenon]

noob question...but what exactly do kalkwasser do?

 

It maintains alkalinity and calcium and it will also buffer ph.

 

The only problem is that you can only dose as much as you evaporate so it must be added slowly.

[Pickle010]

Here are a coulpe of articles that I found helpful:

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/chem.htm

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

HTH

[hazmat]

I believe the acceptable ratio is 1-2 teaspoons of lime to 1 gallon of water. I personally use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

 

Pickling lime is kalkwasser.

 

Actually...Pickling lime MIXED with water is Kalkwasser. Just so we are straight with terms and all