Pickling Lime I dont get it part 2

[Skimmerking]

Lots of people in the US are using this why Can't I get it goign right.
Well I tested the pickling lime in a gal of RO/DI water and used a TSP of Pickling lime and the ALK was at 39Dkh. That doesn't seem right does it then I tried a 1/2 tsp of pickling lime in another gal of RO/DI water and the Dkh was sitting at 33Dkh. so I was thinking that using 1/4 of tsp of pickling lime
what i found was my ALk was going up to 14 with my top off I have a 20 gal tub that i was running for a top off with pickling lime and RO/DI water and now I had to take it off due to the hi ALk in my tank the cal was sitting at 450PPM. can some one shed a little light on this stuff.

[untamed]

Measured Alk is directly related to the pH of the sample. Freshly mixed Limewater would have an extremely high pH, and as a result would test as having extremely high pH. Very normal.

As for the high Ca/Alk in your aquarium, you may have simply over dosed the limewater. If you stop all Ca/Alk supplementation, the tank should use up the Ca/Alk and return to normal over time. Once that happens you can resume added limewater, but only increase the dosage slowly.

Are you also running a Ca Reactor? If so, shut it off until the Ca/Alk return to normal.

I think the bottom line is that you can't assume that you need to add as much Kalk as "full concentration in an amount equal to evaporation". That could be more than your system needs.

If you need to limit the amount of Kalk remember that there are only 2 ways: 1) reduce the concentration of the solution or 2) limit the AMOUNT that gets added per day.

[Aquattro]

I dunno, I mixed 5 tsp with 5g RO and used this in my auto top-off when I used kalk. Never measured the alk, so can't tell you what it should be. My tank never went too high though. I'd probably look up some of Craig Bingman's articles on kalk if you want the chemistry behind it.

[Skimmerking]

I dont understand, why if pickling lime is suppose to be the dame as kalk wasser isn't it. that is what I thought. See i have 4 clams and lots of coraline in the tank along with 2-3 sps,lps I was under the impression that coraline uses alot of ALK and CAL. SO you think that I shouldnt run it throught my top off them right untamed and judt do 1 gal bottles per night or 2 gal bottles. would ya mine if I called you so I can chat with ya pm your number if you dont mind


thanks Mike

Brad I have a question then should I use 1 tsp of MRs wages pickling lime to 1 gal of water then mix it up and drip it over a night once the levels are down

[Aquattro]

Mike, I used full strength kalk with 50+ SPS colonies, if you have 3 or 4 and a couple of clams, you're probably over doing it. First thing you need to do is determine your consumption. See what it is now, then add nothing and see what you get for levels in 24 hours. The difference is what you need to add per day (rough calculation, but you get the idea)

[PoonTang]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

Lots of people in the US are using this why Can't I get it goign right.
Well I tested the pickling lime in a gal of RO/DI water and used a TSP of Pickling lime and the ALK was at 39Dkh. That doesn't seem right does it then I tried a 1/2 tsp of pickling lime in another gal of RO/DI water and the Dkh was sitting at 33Dkh. so I was thinking that using 1/4 of tsp of pickling lime
what i found was my ALk was going up to 14 with my top off I have a 20 gal tub that i was running for a top off with pickling lime and RO/DI water and now I had to take it off due to the hi ALk in my tank the cal was sitting at 450PPM. can some one shed a little light on this stuff.

Care to share with us on where you found it here in Canada?

Start slowly with say 1 TSP per 5 gal of makeup h2o and test cal/alk after a few days of this. If low then increase to 2 TSP per 5 gal, test levels in tank etc and so on until you find out your tanks demand level.

[mark]

Can't comment on the pickling lime but have you ever measured your tanks demand for Ca/Alk (ei. stop adding everything other than water for evap, take a measurements then say two days later measure again)?

[Skimmerking]

yeah just got off the phone with brad will do that first thanks for the help