Kalk questions

[Jake]

Well I have been reading that lots of folks drip kalk and are happy with the results. Also, my pH of mixed RO/DI water is 8.0 which is a little low. So... I started the low end drip method this week to see how my tank likes it. Dripping 1 g/day mixed with 1 tsp/gal into the sump of a 75G tank at about 1 drip/sec.

Observations: Fish all seem more laid back, at ease (maybe my imagination), pH has not changed after dripping 3 gal over 3 days. No other noticable changes yet except my skimmer.

Q. My skimmer has been going nuts by filling wet skim full cup each day. Do I need to re-adjust the skimmer setting if I continue night dripping Kalk? Or is something else maybe going on in the tank that is not obvious yet?

Q. How long should it take to increase my pH to 8.2-8.3?

Q. Can I continue running carbon while I drip?

 

[sasquatch]

thats a lot of questions! so, ph may never change from dripping, there are numerous factors working at ph, dripping 24/7 as make up water will help stabilize ph and may increase it a bit. Whenever solutions are added to the tank it will change the surface tension and affect you skimmer ie drop bubble height or make it go mad, its a toss up lol, carbon is fine, watch out for accumulations of calcium on heaters and inside pumps. If you start dripping kalk its a good idea to get your alc/cal/mag balanced first and the kalkwasser will help maintain them

 

[rmlevasseur]

Your ro/salt mix should not test at 8.0. I have run across some bad batches of Reef Crystals, so might wanna check that. As a result of that find, I have let fresh mixes circulate for at least 4 days before adding. I also added an airstone to the mix, which did bring up the PH a bit and has helped a lot.

I have my kalk drip controlled by my auto-topoff, which is very sensitive. As a result my kalk drip rarely makes my skimmer go beserk - but yes it has happened, so make sure your skimmer can't flood the place or drain your tank.

How long it takes to raise your PH naturally depends on the size of your tank. But my kalk mixes test at about 9.8, so not long!

I run carbon 24/7.

 

[Jake]

Thanks for the responses. Sorry I am slow on the return, been out camping all weekend with the scouts.

So my skimmer still running extremely wet, so I guess I will adjust the standpipe to slow it down. My chemistry was fairly balanced when I started but I am going to test weekly for awhile to gain confidence that I am not messing up my chemistry.

On the pH, that is a good idea to test the kalk mix pH. My regular tap water is at 8.0 and after RO mix it is still about the same. I don't use an airstone but I do let it mix with a pump for two days. I may need to consider using an airstone if I can come up with an extra air pump.

Also noticed that I had a lot of green algae on all glass surfaces after just 4 days of not wiping. Seems excessive to me so guess I need to keep a close eye on parameters for now.