How To Use the King of All Saltwater Additives Safely and Effectively
Of all the supplements available for your saltwater tank, the one that is king amongst all them is kalkwasser. a.k.a. “kalk”.
Kalk is highly effective in keeping your tank’s parameters as stable as possible and it is very cost effective. It is also part of the hidden secrets on how to keep a thriving reef tank.
Be careful though – using kalk incorrectly can ruin your saltwater tank. Lucky for you, in this episode of Mr. Saltwater Tank TV, I take you through what kalk is and how to use it safely in your tank.
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Thanks for the video, had a question though. Can using kalk replace my dosing of a 2 part solution to maintain my calcium and alkalinity parameters?
It can depending on what concentration of kalk is right for your tank. For my 90G, since I started adding kalk, I don’t dose Alk anymore and I only have to lightly supplement Ca – (around 20 mL/day).
Kalk should not be used to raise your alk though – only maintain it. 2 part should be used to raise alk.
I see, thanks again for the info Mark, I really enjoy your site. Ill be upgrading my reef in the next few months and with start using kalk per your instructions.
Kevin…tell me about your uprade…what’s on the horizon?
Help cal350 mag1050 alk140 350gll vol total. dosing
pump. 650lb rock. Xxxl scans acros
rick…wow..big tank! What is it that you need help with?
Is it possible to combine other additives into an ATO reservoir along with kalk?
I ask because my fresh-water planted experience says that combining the wrong supplements in advance can cause the good stuff to precipitate out and never be usable by the tank’s inhabitants.
Say for example I later determine I need to regularly supplement something like magnesium*. Could that be added to the mix too?
* For the record I’m such a newb that I have no idea if you can even dose magnesium 🙂 I also don’t have any corals yet, just plans. Measure thrice, cut once.
Cameron…theoretically you could combine other additives into your ATO, but each additive will need to be dosed at different rates. For example, I have a separate dosing pump for Ca and Mg because my tank demands them at different levels.
Hey Mark, thanks for all the tips. I recently took your advise and am using kalk in my ATO. I’ve got a 90 gallon DT with a 60g basement sump. I’m starting with 2 1/2 t of kalk per 5 gallons and the problem is I’m getting cloudy water when it tops up all the time. I’m using Kent kalk mix, any advise?
Mark, I am sort of confused. I know i will need to dose calc and alk to get to the levels wanted. Does Kalk basically just keep them at that level and you do not have to add unless a water change occurs? Also, if i dont have an ATO. Am i able to add it in from a dosing gallon jug? I dont have dosing pumps right now and was hoping to hold off for a month or so to save up some funds. Can i add calc, alk, mag and Kalk if i add a little at a time in a high flow area of my sump? Can Kalk be used with a dosing pump? How many dosing pumps do you have?
Also, sorry for 33 questions.. i am just trying to figure this all out since i dont have an ATO.
I recently purchased kalk, ato, and 2 part from BRS from your videos I see you use kalk from them as well. Are you using their 2 part as well? If so what recipe do you use for mg the one for 2 part or the one for kalk?
I am looking at using Kalk for my 60 gallon cube and I have an ATO using float switches with the Tunze Pump that comes with the osmolator. I just need to know if this is fine as the pump pretty much pumps large amounts of RODI when topping off. So would i need to change my ATO pump or would this be fine as I am only planning to use 1/2-1 teaspoon of kalk in my 3 gallon RODI reservoir. thanks
Mike…you’ll have to see how fast your pH rises once your ATO is done cycling. If you see a big rise (over .03 in pH) several minutes after your pump is done, then you’ll want to swap out your pump
Mark
I am looking at getting a ATO for my tank and with that want to start dosing kalk. I do have a concern. I have noticed that depending on the time of year (humidity in NC) that my tank requires more or less top offs. I worry that this will mess with me parameters depending on the season. More kalk in the system during winter and less in the summer. Will this actually happen? I would love to know so that i can get started.
Thank you Mark
Mike
@ Mike… & @ Mark (see below)
Mike hope you got your ATO up and going! It’s sooooo nice! Like having a doorman for your car (; Yes, you’ll have fluctuations in your needed concentrations based on evap, top off, etc. You have a controller? Apex is like having a doorman for your house, lol. Take care (:
@ Mark…
Mark, just curious what your diurnal pH swing is? Recently, mine’s about .17 (8.5-8.22 avg) without Kalk on my 200g system. I do infuse BRS recipe 2 for alkalinity over 12 nocturnal hrs; I.e., OSC 000:00/007:00/053:00 and maintain my Alk at 170ppm. Ca is infused (oppositely) too and around 460-480.Â
When I do add Kalk, I can only add 4 tsp Kalk to a 20g RODI ATO; I can’t add more than 1 tsp/ 5 g concentration; it’s perfect for me. I’m going to start Kalk again slowly at 2 tsp/ 20g for slow gradual affect.
Lol, I know what you’re thinking, but I have a lot of gas exchange at 15ft drop to my sump (:Â
Don’t want to split hairs just wanted to compare. I don’t quite like being this low, I’m more a 8.20-8.40 kinda guy (: Thanks.
Respectfully,
B-
Brian…I’m looking at a 8.1-8.25 daily swing. Not that much.
7:00 of ALK is a lot! You must have some screaming coral growth!
I have a 30 gallon mixing vat which currently serves as my ATO (APEX triggered by float switch on my sump). I don’t see how I could add kalk to the mixing vat as I probably only use about 5 gallons per week top off (180 gal tank). Therefore, I was thinking either to T off a Kalk reactor to my ATO, or utilize a dosing pump. I currently have a 1.1 ml BRS pump available. Keeping in mind the cruise control mantra, which would be better? Is a 1.1 ml dosing pump enough or do I need to upgrade to a 50 ml, and can I concentrate the kalk enough so I can dose lesser amounts each time, e.g 1 gallon concentrated vs. 5 gallons more diluted?
@ Mark… & @ Wade (see below)
Mark, yes my corals are going nuts! (:
@ Wade…
Boy, that’s a interesting question! There are a lot of variables that will affect your situation; i.e., coral growth, calcification rates, Coraline growth, and also how much you can dose at one time vs. timed dosing, affect on your pH, etc.
As far as dosing goes, concentrating Kalkwasser for delivery on a separate pump like a reactor is possible, but just adds another failure point on your system, more maintenance, and more expense initially.
You can ease into the concentration you’d need via your top off reservoir by starting slow as Mark suggests (1tsp/5g RODI) and monitor for affect. Since you have the capacity you can time your Kalkwasser delivery to meet your needs perfectly with the correct approach using your controller, and adjust where necessary.
Wade, my personal situation calls on me to start with a weaker solution of Kalwasser, only 2tsp/20g RODI because I get a lot of gas exchange in my overflow plumbing setup, and my pH is easily supported during the night with a weak solution of Kalk; note: I mainly use a two part dosing system to meet my calcification needs and Kalk to slightly support my diurnal pH swing for fun. I use a weak Kalk solution in my ATO during the nocturnal hours over a 12 hour period. During the day hours I do not dose top off for evap. My daily evap is approximately 0.8 gallons per day (5.6 gallons/week). I currently use approximately 3,072 mls of topoff per day, introduced during the night hours delivered over nine 30 minute dosing sessions each delivering 341mls of Kalkwasser top off.
To try and answer your initial question based on my unique experiences while letting Mark fill in any blanks I leave; here it goes:
If your tank evaps 5 gallons per week then you’d need a doser capable of delivering 2,742mls per day (114mls/hr) of top off per 24 hours known as your daily needs for evaporation replenishment. So, to answer your question I believe the BRS 1.1ml/min doser will hugely be under rated only giving you 1440mls a day non-stop running! The BRS 50ml/min doser, however, will meet your needs giving you a huge choice of delivery options (up to 18 gallons per day! lol). So, you could program some timed deliveries, backed by float switches for redundant protection for mishaps and failures, and deliver over multiple dosings. For example, you could run OSC 000:00/006:00/054:00 Then ON command in your Apex ATO programming and designate a time window over 9 hours; i.e., If Time 06:00 to 21:00 Then OFF. This example would deliver 304mls of top off each hour over a 9 hour period every day. Your float switches would act as redundant protection and let the pump run if the right condition still exists, etc. Based on how your pH is affected initially after each dosing, you’d have to adjust appropriately to heed Mark’s pH swinging advice in this topic.
This very simple process seems so overly difficult when broken down into a topic. Wade, I hope this helps you make a decision based on which pump you should choose. Mark can answer on a Kalk reactor as I have no business doing so…I don’t and won’t use one (:
FWIW I own and love my ATO dosing pump; it is a 7 gal per day Reef-Filler and has a almost infinite number of options for me to use with this pump, i.e., adjust for 1 to 7 gallons per day, and can dose any direction up to 150 feet; it’s overkill to many perhaps but I like it (:
Take care and God bless,
Respectfully,
B-
Hey when you mentioned avoiding the gunk that can build up at the bottom of your ATO, I was wondering if you just mount your entire pump in the ATO higher than the gunk line?
Mark, Good episode! Maybe you can cover this question in a followup? So i’ve added kalk to my ATO reservoir and began dosing and get my ph stable. When the ATO Reservoir needs to be filled up again… theres a lot of kalk sludge at the bottom of the bucket. Does this need to be rinsed out and start over or do I just add more water and kalk and mix it all up? What do you do and whats a normal range of ph swing in the tank using this method?
Paul…I rinse out my top off bucket after each use to get rid of the sludge.
Hi Mark. I was recently rewatching this video and I believe it might address a problem I am having. I’ve been using Kent Marine’s Liquid Calcium Reactor product for a few months using their directions. It makes the water really cloudy when you put it in which looks similar to pictures people have had of their tanks when there ATO went nuts and pumped all of the Kalk into the tank.. I have also been occasionally adding Kent Marine SuperBuffer mixed with RO/DI water to the tank.
At one point the liquid portion of the “Liquid Reactor” product seemed to be used up but there was a large chunk of sludge in the bottle which I assumed to be the calcium piece of the product. I filled it with RO/DI water shook the heck out of it, and have been using it as originally directed. I’ve been adding the recommended amount but my calcium seems to stay down.
I have a 100 gallon tank with only 1 small bubble coral, 2 zoa colonies, and a goniopora frag so I know it isn’t being consumed by the corals.
When I rewatched this video I noticed your comments about not adding Kalk directly to the tank because it causes the calcium to precipitate. While I have never added any powder directly to my tank I am beginning to suspect that the Liquid Reactor sludge water combo may be causing a similar scenario. I noticed areas of white sludge in my display tank so I sucked out all of it I could see and did a couple of 15% water changes. I stopped using the Liquid Calcium Reactor sludge and have been adding regular Kent Marine Liquid Calcium but my Calcium levels continue to stay low. All of my other parameters are in normal ranges.
My questions are:
1. Is my theory sound?
2. If it is what more can I do to remedy the problem? Do I need a 100% water change?
Hi Mark, thank you again for your great videos, even I can understand.
I’ve seen others using vinegar to dilute the kalk, my question is, what is your opinion on the use of it, and is it something that I as a learner should pay attention to?.
I just recently purchased a kalk+ATO reactor called Kalk King made by e-Fins and so far it’s fantastic. It has a chamber where you load in the kalk which mixes with your RO/DI water and you set up up the drip based on you aquarium reading. This equipment has a computer control unit that monitors you PH and a float switch which stops the solution drip. Have you heard of this equipment and if so what are your thoughts.
Hi Mark. Do you still use kalkwasser on your new tank or is there something else that you are using?
Darryl…my big tank doesn’t need kalk yet so I’m not using it.