Kalkwasser and Calcium and Strotium

[rememberme]

I have obtained Kent Turbo Calcium and Turbo Strotium and also Kent kalkwasser (so don't tell me Kent are rubbish! :-D ). I am reading the kalkwasser and it says to dose the liquid between the crust on top and powder left on the bottom? How do I get to it?

Also does it matter if I put a bit too much of either the calcium or stro. as on the lable it says it can do harm - but on the site it says it does them good :s

Thanks a lot!

[Paidbychrist0825]

just put a hole in the crust( at top) and pour the liquid into your dosing unit.
too much can be harmful, but you shouldnt get there unlesss your trying to.
keep calcium levels between 380-450ppm and you should be good there.
i am not sure on the stronium, but someon on here will be.

[rememberme]

I have seft the mix for an hour and a half (I know it needs to be alone longer) but there is not crust forming... Just looks like diluted milk. Is that ok?

[Paidbychrist0825]

crust may only form at bottom. the crust will not form in the main tank, it will be very diluted. im thinking you should just put it in your dosing system and let it go.

[rememberme]

OK cool - my 'dosing unit' is just a ribena jug which has a tap at the top, I'll leave it dripping for a while (about 1 drip per second) how long should I leave it for...

Doing it at night I hear is best due to less pH increase etc...

Thanks for the help dude!

[Charles Poole]

Are you testing your water for any of these chamicals?

If not, then don't use them. Improper dosing is likened to dumping battery acid in your tank. You wouldn't do that would you?

To answer your question on harm, yes, overdosing can and will lead to disasterous outcomes.

*** Please dose nothing without first testing to find out if the dosing is necessary. Many people can do just fine with regular water changes. ***

[MikeS]

I drip kalk as all of my makeup water, and as long as you got calcium dependant critters in the tank and are mixing and dosing properly, it's really hard to overdose kalk. However, I agree you should be keeping track of calcium levels. The Turbo Calcium, on the other hand, is strong stuff, and it will do all kinds of wild things to your tank if you are not careful with it....IF you need to use it, like in the case of a severly calcium depleated tank, make sure you use it sparingly and test calcium, pH and alk. daily while using it! Also do not add it directly to your tank, mix it with water and drip it! As for the stronium, it is a trace that seems to be quickly used up in the tank, but regular water changes will add it back to the tank, there is no real need to dose it, unless, as crlkeep stated, you can keep track of it. Crlkeep summed it up good....be careful with dosing. with good regular water changes, the only thing you will need to add to your tank is kalk, and maybe a good buffer to keep your alkalinity levels ok. Note on the kalk....you can use Mrs. Wages pickling lime as kalk mix, I've used it for years....you can get it at most grocery stores at a fraction of the cost of the Kent stuff, and it's the same thing!

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Not so sure about hard to overdose kalkwasser. With a pH of 12+, it can easily lead to a spike in pH that will be disasterous. I know at least 6 people that wiped out their tank by overdosing kalkwasser. Admitedly they did not perform regular tests to ensure the need for kalkwasser.

As far as pH management goes, this is a very debatable subject. Shifts in pH are normal, and most likely needed for biological purposes. My tank swings from 8.05 to 8.40 everyday. Has been this way for years. I tried kalkwasser, but found that for my tanks present rate of calcification, it is just a hassle. I would have to dose approx. 14 gallons of fresh kalk everyday to keep up.

Mrs. Wages pickling lime...

I love to find ways to make this hobby more affordable. Thanks for the tip, I may have to check it out for myself...

There are many home products that can be used to dose our tanks. Homemade alkalinity ( Arm & Hammer Baking Soda ( Sodium Bicarbonate )
pH probe calibration fluid ( Borax 20 Mule team )
Craig Bingman also listed a Magnesium supplement, that was comprised of Epsom salts and one other component. ( sorry off hand I can't recall the other products name. )

Just by a $10 - $15 dollar test kit for whatever you want to dose, and save yourself the heartache in the long run... :)

[MikeS]

wow...14 gal a day....yes, that would be a headache! I'm assuming you have a calcium reactor then? In my 55, I lose around a gallon a day, so dripping Kalk isn't as much of a hassle for me.
Your point on pH swings is worth noting, however. I always drip kalk at night only, when pH drops naturally anyway, to avoid excessive swings in pH.
When referring to "overdose", I meant actual calcium levels, I guess I overlooked the pH issue. I have a hard time maintaining 350-400 meq/l calcium levels, and it drops off fast if I don't use kalk. Sometimes when work calls me away for several days, I come home to a tank hovering around 200-250 meq/l calcium! Kalk also has the benefit of helping the alkalinity in my tank, which has always seemed to have been poorly buffered for some reason.
The Mrs. Wages pickling lime is good stuff...it is identical to commercial kalk mixes for the most part, and you can get a 1 lb bag for under $2.00....much cheaper!
Have you ever used Arm&Hammer baking soda in your tank? I was always told that this was a big no-no...but if you have used it with sucess, maybe you could share some details....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

I do not run a calcium reactor.

I dose daily with Baking Soda and Kent Turbo Calcium.

I mix both in a gallon jug of Ro/DI water. Then dose accordingly.

It is the Sodium in Baking Soda that most people are afraid of. To date, I have never seen any shift in my tanks salinity due to this additive. I believe that the small amounts of salt removed by protien skimming are replaced by the Baking Soda.

To give you a better idea of my daily dosing, here is a pic of the amounts of each that I dose every day. If it wasn't for the cheap cost of baking soda, I would go broke... :)

[MikeS]

hmmmm....I might have to experiment with the baking soda....I have always had a hard time maintaining alkalinity in my tank...dKH stays good, as does pH, but my actual alkalinity has always been low....I use Kent ProBuffer....
Do you find you get wild swings in pH, calcium, or alkalinity using Turbo Calcium?...thats strong stuff...I only use it when my tank is depleated....
MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

What I do is premix 1 gallon (3.78 L) of RO/DI water, with 20 teaspoons Turbo Calcium ( 80 grams ). I let this mixture sit in an open milk jug for 24 hours. Then there is no pH drop involve, or atleast no more than .01

I don't understand how your dKh could be good, but your alkalinity is low. They are both measurements of the same thing... Atleast from the stand point of most hobby test kits.

What test kits do you use to measure these two values?

[MikeS]

ok....lets see if I can expain...it took me years to figure it out myself....hehe

pH, dKH and alkalinty are all related, affect and are funtions of one another, but are measurements of different water properties. pH, of course, is the measurement of the degree to which a solution is either acidic or basic (alkaline). Alkalinity is a measurement of how well a sloution resists an acidic change in pH, ie, the higher the al
kaline the better the solution resists changes towards the lowering of pH. Carbonate Hardness is a measurement of the contribution of carbonates and bicarbonates to the total alkalinity of a solution, as there are other compounds (borates, hydroxides, ect.) that add to total alkalinity. When you test dKH, you are only testing the level of alkalinity in your tank due to carbonates and bicarbonates.
So it is possible to have a normal dKH level in the tank (mine tests around 10 deg. dKH) but still have a lower total alkalinity (mine tests around 2.0 meq/l). This tells me that my carbonate and bicarbonate levels are ok, but I'm short in a few other areas. I have yet to figure out how to fix this, as most buffers only add carbonates to the tank....hmmmm....mybe I'm just nuking it out too much....I don't know...hehe

I hope that made sense.....hehe

I use a variety of test kits, I have lots of them, SeaChem, Tetra, Red Sea....the list goes on....if I get a reading that is way out of wack, I re-test, if I get the same reading, I try to duplicate with a different test kit. I have kits for both dKH and total alkalinity.

how long does it take you to dose 20 tsp. of turbo calcium into your tank? In my 55....1/2 tsp. will raise my calcium approx. 50 meq/l.....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Well, dKh or ( German degrees of Carbonate hardness ) would only be part of the total alkalinity. This is over 93% of your total alkalinty. 89% being bicarbonates.

Total alkalinity is the measure of all chemicals relating to alkalinity ( bicarbonates, carbonates, borates, phosphates, silicates and hydroxides ). So if your total alkalinity is less than your dKh, then your test kit is bad or reading something other than what it should.

1 teaspoon of Kent Turbo Calcium weighs 4 grams. 1 gram = 9.8 meq/L Ca++

4 grams = 1 teaspoon = 40.2 meq/L Ca++ ( may vary slightly ) This is in 1 liter of purified water.

55 gallons = 3.78L x 55 = 207.9 L

40.2 meq/L / 207.9 L = .193 meq/L rise in Ca++ per 55 gallons of water approx.

Not sure when you took your readings, but if it was less than 2 hours after dosing, this may explain things.

[MikeS]

Total alkalinity is the measure of all chemicals relating to alkalinity ( bicarbonates, carbonates, borates, phosphates, silicates and hydroxides ). So if your total alkalinity is less than your dKh, then your test kit is bad or reading something other than what it should.



hmmm....interesting....I've got those results numerous times, and using different test kits....ie dKH being in a normal range and total Alkalinity being slightly low......my total alkalinity typically tests around 2.0 meq/l....which should give me a carbonate hardness of around 6 degrees, but my carbonate hardness is usually 9-10 degrees....I get these results using different test kits...right now I have a seachem total alkalinity and carbonate hardness kit, a Tetra carbonate hardness kit, and a Red Sea total alkalinity kit.....I wonder if there is something else going on there that gives me these results...maybe something in the water that interferes with one of the tests....I don't know, all I know is those are the numbers I tend to get....

as for the turbo calcium....both my calcium test kits are accurate only to 20 meq/L +/- ....(not very accurate). I have a 55 gal tank, minus volume taken by sand, rock, ect....I'd say my actual water volume is somewhere around 40 gal, +/- ....if I mix 1/2 tsp of turbo calcium into 1/2 gal fresh water, and drip it overnight, my calcium level tends to be approximately 50 meq/L higher the next day.....so maybe that number is a result of lower than 55 gal. water, and the large range of my test kit.....
Just curious....where did you get the stats on the turbo calcium? I didn't see any stats on yeild on my jar of turbo calcium....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Don't bother asking Kent Marine either. They don't like to help out a whole lot. These results are from testing performed by myself and Randy Holmes-Farley. We compared notes, and they matched. Plus, I have been using it for several years, and the numbers do add up.

Each container of Turbo Calcium varies slightly, and grain size also affects the actual weight. But these variations are slight.

An easy test is to take a 200 gram container of Turbo Calcium, and measure the whole thing out with a teaspoon. You will get roughly 50 teaspoons per container, give or take 1 teaspoon. 50 x 4 = 200.

Just out of curiousity, are your readings of 50 meq/L Ca++ actually 50 mg/L?

[rememberme]

lol wow how this thread has got detailed!! :|

[MikeS]

hehe.....more info than you wanted, huh?

Ok clkeep....this conversation inspired me to do some testing on my own...and I got some interesting results.... :D

Last night, I mixed 1 tsp of Turbo calcium each into 1 gal of distilled water ( I made three 1 gallon batches.) I then tested my tank water for calcium, I got 350 meq/L. I tested ths number 3 times to make sure, got the same thing all three times. I'm using the seachem calcium test kit, it measures in milliequivilants per litre, or ppm. The kit claims a +/- 5 meq/L precision rate (my other test kit is +/- 20 meq/L....sorry for the misqoute, I didn't realize the seachem kit was a +/- 5 kit....) I dripped one of the gallons into the tank overnight, and let the other 2 sit overnight. This morning, I tested both of the 1 gal/1 tsp turbo calcium solutions, I tested them both twice. I came up with a solution that measured 380 meq/L in both. I then tested my tank water, it was testing at 390 meq/L. I tested it 3 times to be sure. I then did a little simple math...assuming my tank has 40 gal of water in it, dripping a 1 gal solution of 380 meq/L calcium should only give me an increase of just under 10 meq/L! Yet all three tests I performed showed a 40 meq/L increase in calcium!

Any ideas on why I'm getting this number? The kit claims it resists interference from other compounds in the tank that might give false readings....so these numbers leave me wondering what is going on....

I also tested dKH and Total Alkalinity....I got 2.0 meq/L total, and 8 dKH....with a dKH of 8, I should have a total alk of 2.9 meq/L....I think I'm just going to chalk up these results to an error with one of the two test kits, or a blunder in the way I'm using them....

Interesting discussion, however....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

I chose to use only 1/4 teaspoons in RO/DI water. The smaller amount means a bit more accuracy in such a small water volume. Here are the results I got...

Total Alkalinity = approx. 3 meq/L ( 1000 ml ) or 150 ppm Total Alkalinity

Ca++ = approx. 2.25 meq/L ( 1000 ml ) or 45 ppm Ca++

I appologize, it is actually 9 meq/L for each gram on Turbo Calcium. I rechecked my notebook. :oops:

Excellent conversion table at the bottom of this page. (http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-1.html)

So with a reading of 350 meq/L Ca++, that would correspond to approx. 7000 ppm Ca++. We know this is not possible due to the saturation limitations of Calcium in Seawater. Not able to exceed 550 ppm Ca++ depending on actual Salinity and water temperature.

I would suspect the test kits of being faulty. I suggest the Sailfert line of kits, as they have the best track record from my personal experience. They are also very easily tweaked to get even higher degree’s of accuracy. Just talk to Habib the owner of Sailfert. I believe he has a forum over at Reef Central. I believe they have posts there concerning this.

Conversions factors:

Alkalinity –
1 dKh = 17.9 ppm CaCO3 ( Calcium Carbonate )
1 meq/L = 2.8 dKh
1 meq/L = 50 ppm

Calcium –
Meq/L x 20 = ppm
Ppm divided by 20 = meq/L

Let’s keep it going. It will likely get turned into an article when we are all done. :)

[Zack]

lol wow how this thread has got detailed!!


Yea i am lost and taking chemistry in school!!! :roll:

[MikeS]

hehe....yeah....I'm definately not a chemistry wiz....I don't think I ever passed a college chem class the first time I took it....hehe....

Ok....took another look at my test kit....it says it measures in mg/L or ppm, NOT meq/L....sorry I boneheaded that one! ( I was tired this morning....hehe) so all the numbers I gave you above are mg/L or ppm....not meq/L....as I said, I'm no chemist..... :roll:

also...the kit comes with a 450ppm calibration solution...I ran a test on it and I got 450ppm...so at least it is reading the calibration solution accurately....did another test on my tank water at 5:00pm....it's down to 360 mg/L....hmmm....

Help me out...I ran through your numbers above, and I'm missing something I think....ok you have 9 meq/L Ca per gram of turbo calcium, or 36 meq/L Ca per teaspoon of turbo. I'm assuming the 9 meq/L is based on being diluted in one liter of water, correct? So 1 tsp (4 grams) of turbo in 1 gallon (3.8L) of water would have 9.5 meq/L or 190 pmm Ca, right? Or did I miss a number somewhere? Odd that my test kit gave me a ppm exactly double that when measuring my 1 tsp/1 gal mixture....where did I fudge? I'm going to whip up another 1 tsp/1 gal batch tonight, and test it with my other, cheaper kit, just to see if it is anywhere close to the 380 ppm I was getting this morning...

I agree, I'm enjoying kicking this topic back and forth, and I'm sure I'll learn something new out of this....
:-D

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

The numbers may vary slightly, due to the fluctuations from one batch to another of Turbo Calcium. Reported on the container as 33% min - 37% max Calcium.

I am also going to retest using one gallon of Ro/DI and 1/4 teaspoon of Turbo calcium.

We will compare notes later. IIRC and I appologize again, but the reported value is for Anhydrous Calcium Chloride. This is what Kent Turbo Calcium is claimed to be, so we will see how close it compares. So, sorry if I confused the heck out of you. Once again I may have relied to heavily on a manufacturers claims than reality. We will see... :)

[Charles Poole]

Well, my results are as follows.

1/4 teaspoon per 1 gallon RO/DI water yields 105 ppm ( 5.25 meq/L )

so

1 teaspoon per gallon yields 420 ppm ( 21 meq/L )

so in say 40 gallons of water, 1 teaspoon should yeild a rise of 10.5 ppm ( 0.5 meq/L ) roughly.

What did your results show?

[MikeS]

Ok....my test showed 380ppm again....using both kits...(1tsp/gal)...giving me a 9.5ppm rise in 40 gallons....we are not too far apart....the difference could be due to your jar being closer to the 37% max calcium than mine.....I think I'll try a 1/4 tsp in one gallon and see how close to your 105ppm I can get. But I'd say our numbers are close enough that we are on the same page now....whew....hehe....

Since my kit is giving me numbers reasonably close you yours, and also checks out right on the money using the 450ppm calibration solution, it still leaves me wondering why I'm seeing a bigger spike in calcium in my tank water after dripping the turbo than I should...Could it possibly have something to do with the fact that I normally dose kalk, which is calcium hydroxide, then use turbo, which is calcium chloride? Maybe some weird reaction in my tank? I really don't have a clue...ok...here is what I'm going to do...I'm going to mix up a batch of kalk tonight, let it rest overnight, and test the Ca right before I drip it the next evening (both in tank and kalk mix)....test the tank again the next morning before I go to work, and see if I get the same large spike using kalk....

I see they downgraded me from three little yellow tangs undr my name to two little yellow tangs....hehe....must be because of all the misqoutes, lack of chemistry smarts and other boneheads I've had in this thread.... :D

I'll post my results when I get them....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Not to sure about the Tangs, could be a change in the format somewhere, I'll look into it.

I actually found my present dosing routine by actual tank testing. As I was not sure of the actual volume of water I have, I just started at a reasonable level, then adjusted every 4 days as needed. I also went by the notes I had written, but lost them somewhere. The numbers we got do point out that this stuff is stronger than other grades of Anhydrous Calcium Chloride. Good thing, cause it ain't the cheapest stuff....

The question of Kalk and Turbo Calcium causing erroneous results is a good question. I think I have a little Kent Kalkwasser in my cabinet. What mixture do you use. IE. 1 teaspoon per gallon?

We may learn a lot by duplicating these tests like we have been. So why not keep going...

[MikeS]

You don't need to worry about the tangs....hehe....It doesn't bother me, I was just poking a little fun at myself.... :D

I think we should keep going.....maybe we'll figure something out here.....

I mix my kalk at max strength, 2 tsp/gallon....I have found I need this concentration to "maintain" the calcium levels in my tank, I have some pretty heavy calcium users, like a large T. Derasa clam, ridge coral, dwarf cup coral, other LPS and lots of snails and tons of coralline growth. I drip the kalk at night for all my makeup water,and my calcium stays fairly constant. Actually, the clacium level slowly drops over time, that is why I have the turbo calcium, so I can get the levels back to normal once they slip below 340ppm or so.

I really don't test calcium very frequently, maybe every 2-3 weeks or so, as I have found that as long as I continue to use the kalk for all makeup water, my calcium stays in a decent range. Sometimes work calls me away for several days or I go on a trip, and I'm not able to drip kalk...if I stop dripping, the calcium levels can fall off pretty rapidly in my tank, then I use the turbo calcium.

I mixed up a batch of 2 tsp/gal....I'll test it tomorrow evening before I drip it, I'll also get a "before" reading on my tank, and I'll post the results...

On a similar note....I think I remember hearing something a while ago about calcium additives composed of calcium chloride doing funny things to water chemistry....I'll hunt around the net a bit when I get a chance and see what I can find....maybe the answer to my odd test results is out there somewhere....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Yea, the internet is an amazing research tool. I have found most answers are on here somewhere, just finding them that tends to be difficult.

I personally believe that maintaining a steady concentration of calcium is the best method. Allowing calcium levels to fluctuate, also causes fluctuations in the growth patterns of corals. They rely on the concentration in the surrounding waters to determine more than just skeletal growth. This also determines the amount of "fuel" that they need for metabolism and growth. So slowly allowing levels to drop, then rapidly increasing them is likely to cause strange or unusal growth. Maybe try adding a small amount of Turbo Calcium everyday for a while. I noticed that after adopting a daily dosing ritual, the growth of many of my corals became predictable.

I posted a growth comparison of a colony of Staghorn Acropora in my tank. This shows not only the rapid growth, but that MH lights and expensive equipment are not necessary for rapid growth. I fully believe it is the stability in water chemistry that allows and determines ( to a much greater extent than some believe ), the the ability of a given coral to grow.

I have been slowly turning my bare bottom tank back into a tank with a DSB. I am seeding it from the well established bed in my 20 gallon tank. I plan to remove my skimmers in the future, but only after I am sure that aside from my regular dosing habits, nothing else will be effected.

Mike,

You have a Blue Ridge Coral? Got any pictures? Do you dose Iron? I have seen preliminary evidence in my tank that would show a need for Iron additions. My current test kits don't allow me to adequately monitor saltwater levels of Iron, so I am reluctant to dose. I have dosed using Kents Iron supplement, at 1/2 the recommended staring dose. So far the polyps on my Blue Ridge Coral appear to stay extended for longer periods of time, and growth seems to have improved. I am not making any claims just yet, as the test is still very young. But, this colony is over 1 year old in my tank, and had not died or grown for that matter the whole time. I changed salt mixes a while back, and growth became apparent. After dosing, it seems to have steadied.

What type of lighting do you have? Where is your colony of Blue Ridge located in respects to the waters surface. How far off the waters surface are your lights? What approx. amount of current is this coral recieving?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am a very curious person. :)

I think I will move this topic to the Advanced Topics Section, and let the thread continue along the lines that rememberme had originally intended...

[MikeS]

No, no blue ridge coral....actually, it s a "branching ridge coral" (that's what the LFS called it when I got it a few years ago...and I just keep calling it that for some reason...its a Euphyllia paranchora, (branching anchor I belive most refer to it as... ) there are pics of it on my website, the address is in my sig. As soon as I take care of my bubble algae problem, I'll add updated pics, as that coral has grown and budded considerably in my tank.

As for my lights, I'm running a VHO/PCF combo....1x110w actintic blue VHO + 1x110w actintic white VHO, and 2x55w 50/50 PCF's. I'd like to change out the PCF's for MH's someday....there are also pics on my website of the lights....

What brand of salt did you switch to?

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

Bio-Sea Marine mix ( by Aquacraft Inc. ) :)

[Charles Poole]

I checked out your site. Looks like we may have similar tastes in corals. Yours is the only other colony of this pink tipped Branching anchor that I have seen other than mine. I know they are out there, but don't see them too often. I posted a pic below...

[MikeS]

I checked out your site....you have a nice looking tank! What kind of lighting do you use? and how long has the tank been up?

I use Red Sea reef salt, I've had the best luck with it, my tank seems to be healthiest using that brand....at the other end of the spectrum is Instant Ocean...I have had the most problems with my tank when I have used that brand.

I took some more pictures of my branching green anchor, it is much larger now than in the pics on my site, 38 individual large polyps now, compared to 5 large polyps when I got it, with another 30-40 polyps budding off the larger ones...I'll post them here as soon as I can get my stupid computer to talk to my new camera...also going to do some updating of pics on my website....

I'll test my kalk and tank tomorrow night, I had to use up some kalk I had mixed the night before we started this discussion, I don't like letting it sit for more than 2-3 days...so I'll test the good stuff I mixed yesterday before I drip it tomorrow night....

MikeJS

[MikeS]

Ok heres my first test results.....

the kalk mixed at 2tsp/gal. gave me a calcium level of 380 ppm.

my tank is currently at 340ppm calcium.

I'll post the results of my morning tank calcium results tomorrow...I'm going to drip 1/2 gallon of kalk.....

MikeJS

[Charles Poole]

I am mixing a batch right now. 2 tsp. in one gallon of RO/DI. I will post my results later on as well....

[Charles Poole]

With my results, using 2 tsp. per 1 gallon RO/DI water, I got 570 ppm Ca++ and 26.25 meq/L alkalinity.

I used Kent Marines Kalkwasser.

According to the chart provided by RHF, saturated limewater contains approx. 800 ppm Ca++ and 40 meq/L.

Although my results are lower ( most likely Kent's Kalkwasser is not as pure a grade as previously suspected ), they are in proportion to Randy's reported results. Which helps to further verify the accuracy of my test kits...

Have you tested this mix for alkalinity? Interested to see your results.

Calcium and Alkalinity by Randy Holmes-Farley (http://www.coralforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=5717#5717)

Did you use Kent's kalkwasser or the one you mentioned earlier in this thread?

I am not suprised that the results I got where lower than those Randy reports. He didn't mention the method used to saturate limewater.

*** Note on limewater... Due to its chemical nature and high pH (12.4) it rapidly absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. This reduces not only the pH, but causes calcium and alkalinity to precipitate out of solution as calcium carbonate. So always store unused limewater in a sealed container or its effectiveness as an additive will be rapidly reduced. ***

I am going to retest this mixture in 24 hrs. The container is an old cleaned out 1 gallon milk jug. The lid is tightly fastened.

Also, has anyone tried using Vinegar to aide in the saturation levels of limewater. IIRC Craig Bingman reported that adding vinegar to limewater increases the saturation level. I don't know how much vinegar to add to what amount of solution, but worth looking into.

[MikeS]

I used the Mrs. Wages pickling lime, 2 tsp/gallon.....perhaps it is not as concentrated as the Kent Kalkwasser mix. I have tested it in the past, and I wrote the results down in a notebook, I'll look for the notebook and see what my earlier test results were.

I'm going to continue to test my kalk mixes for awhile, to see if I get a large variation from the 380ppm. I'll also start noting alkalinity as well. Also, I keep my kalk in a sealed container until I drip it, because of the CO2 issue.

This morning my tank tested at 340 ppm, which was the same as the night before. This result does not suprise me, as I only dripped 1/2 gallon of kalk into the tank, and at 380ppm, that should have given me just under 5ppm total increase in Ca, which is less than the precision of my test kit. It is worth noting, however, that I did NOT see the large spike in Ca in my tank test results like I have seen after dosing Turbo calcium, which also had a Ca level of 380ppm....hmmm...

I have also read about using vinager to increase the saturation of the kalk mix in the water, but I have not experimented with it for the same reason you stated, I have not found any information on mixing ratios. I also would like to make sure there are no long term negative effects from adding vinager to the tank on a regular basis before I try it in my tank.

lets keep going....

:D

MikeJS