Dosing equipment
- Thread starter ronj
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DonW
R.I.P.
No. When you go shopping for the container you will see a small triangle stamped somewhere. The number in the triangle needs to be a #2.
Don
Adding it slowly over time is the only way to get all of the benefit out of the kalk, other wise it just precips away like Don said. I use a aquadoser pump controlled by a AC JR. I only pump kalk at night. It started out as an effort to lower my PH swing(dropped it from .65 swing to a .3 swing), but found that it was really nice to not have to dose daily. I started with 20 minutes of pumping via my aquadoser every 2 hours. Still to much precip. Even 10 minutes every 1 hour was too much at a time. I finally settled on using the "wave" function on my controller to turn it on for 1 minute, then off for 14 minutes. This seems to be the perfect amount for my tank right now but Im sure it will change as things grow.
i just looked in my stand..i don't have enough room for a gravity fed container..i have too many pipes in the top of my stand ..it will have to sit right next to my sump, level with it..i guess i will have to get a dosing pump..
reedman
Well-known member
look for them used...I got a rock solid one for a fraction of the new price. Search for "peristaltic pump" on the different sites and you will find one. These work much better than the "medical dosing pumps" since the tubing is thicker. It doesn't require near the maintenance and is reliable.
Just to echo Don's comments. I lost 5-6 fish and many corals from dosing kalk with a powerhead. not a good idea. My PH went from 8 to something off the charts in just a fraction of time when the floatswitch stuck. It's too easy to have a problem with that setup.
Just to echo Don's comments. I lost 5-6 fish and many corals from dosing kalk with a powerhead. not a good idea. My PH went from 8 to something off the charts in just a fraction of time when the floatswitch stuck. It's too easy to have a problem with that setup.
DonW
R.I.P.
DonW
R.I.P.
Depends on your evaporation. ??? Yes it will pull up out of the container and over to the neighbors if you wanted.
Don
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
You need to make sure you have enough volume to keep up with evaporation and be slow enough to prevent precip.
What appx is your evap (worse case)?
Don
i will have to check it tonight..i just finished a water change..if i had to guess, i think i am losing about 1-2g a day... i just ordered 2 bottles of Mrs. Wages..i paid $14 for 2-16oz bottles..i never looked at Walm art..i hate going there..i hope i didn't pat too much
DonW
R.I.P.
3 gpd is around 8ml min.
Don
Don
well i just realized that i need to start over with the evaporation test...i installed my MH's today..i am sure i am going to have alot more loss now...just from last night, i lost at least a gallon, maybe two..i am going to refill it in a bit and see
Katchupoy
Well-known member
also consider that summer evaporation is diff in winters evap...
well i got my auto topoff controller today..i just took the time to hook it up...it seems to be working well..i have to go to Lowes tomorrow and get some kind of hardware to hold the tubing in place in my resevoir tank...the tubing was curled up, so it is not wanting to stay under water...i am going to wait about a week to figure out exactly how much water i am using, then i am going to start dosing with kalk...i have just a basic rubbermaid container with a topoff controller and an Aqualifter pump...do i just put the kalk directly in the rubbermaid tub, or should i mix it overnight in another container???? do i need a small powerhead in my rubbermaid????
"...do i just put the kalk directly in the rubbermaid tub, or should i mix it overnight in another container???? do i need a small powerhead in my rubbermaid????
"
Yah add the water and kalk powder to your rubermaid tub. Throw a power head in there for a while so everything gets mixed up good(I do it for about an hour). Let it settle for 24 hours. Then go ahead and drip your kalk, but leave the bottom inch in there. Thats where all the impurities from your kalk will settle out. Make SURE to keep the container sealed at all times. As cO2 mixes with the kalk it drives down its potency. Defintly dont mix it un covered.
"
Yah add the water and kalk powder to your rubermaid tub. Throw a power head in there for a while so everything gets mixed up good(I do it for about an hour). Let it settle for 24 hours. Then go ahead and drip your kalk, but leave the bottom inch in there. Thats where all the impurities from your kalk will settle out. Make SURE to keep the container sealed at all times. As cO2 mixes with the kalk it drives down its potency. Defintly dont mix it un covered.
