Kalkwasser Dosing

I'm not new but am looking for feed back regarding Kalkwasser Dosing. How are you doing it and what are you using?

 

I use an ATO which pumps from a 5g bucket of lime water into the sump. I use pickling lime which is the same as kalkwasser but much cheaper. I use 4 tsp(heaping) to 5gal of RO/DI water. Start out with a weaker dosage until you figure out how much you need to maintain your levels in your system.

 

That's what I planned on doing except my ATO is gravity fed. Do you think i'll have a problem with it clumping? And do you have a problem with it clumping? Thanks Jim

 

No I don't have any problems with clumping. You just have to make sure you don't pull off the bottom where all the solids settle.

 

I wish I had a dime for every post about a kalk wasser overdose.Keep a careful eye on your dosing device at first.

 

Gravity fed is fine but you can't pull from the very bottom of the container. At least a couple inches up from the bottom is where you want to be, because the slurry will settle at the bottom. You only want to dose saturated lime water and you do not want the slurry getting into the tank.

Most people start off with 1 tsp per gallon of ATO water. 2 tsp is the max that the water can hold. Start with 1 and test daily until you see what your parameters are doing. You might need more, you might need less. As your coral grow, you will need to increase the amount until you max out at the 2 tsp/gallon at which point you might need to supplement with two-part.