Kalk in dilute vinegar solution

reefgeezer · 11/22/2017, 09:00 AM

I'm not there yet, but soon I think I'll need to do a little carbon dosing. I have a Litremeter III that I wish to use. Unfortunately, the minimum dose is 50ml/day. The only way I see that I can use this device is to dilute the vinegar so that 50 ml of the solution equals the amount of vinegar I wish to dose. I know that storing this solution is asking for a huge bacteria bloom. Can I add kalk to the solution to raise the pH to a point where a bacterial bloom won't occur?

As always, I appreciate any advice or help.

Daddi0 · 11/22/2017, 09:36 AM

I carbon dose 45-60ml of vinegar a day into my 100 gallon multi tank system. I dont use a litremaster though. I mix the Kalk and vinegar together and once mixed well add to R/O and run through my ATO. I have only been running a short time but have not noticed any blooms. If you mix the Kalk into the vinegar before adding water, you get a complete chemical reaction and the Kalk is fully dissolved without any solids that sink to the bottom.
Cheers! Mark

bertoni · 11/22/2017, 10:40 AM

A bit of Kalk will be fine as a preservative. You could check the pH to judge how much to use, if you have a meter. A fully saturated Kalk solution will be at about 12.54. Your meter probably won't be accurate that high, but subtracting the reading from your Kalk and vinegar mix from the measurement from a fully saturated Kalk solution will give the difference in pH, which should be close enough for our purposes. I think a pH of 10 will be okay, but I might target 11.

reefgeezer · 11/22/2017, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

A bit of Kalk will be fine as a preservative. You could check the pH to judge how much to use, if you have a meter. A fully saturated Kalk solution will be at about 12.54. Your meter probably won't be accurate that high, but subtracting the reading from your Kalk and vinegar mix from the measurement from a fully saturated Kalk solution will give the difference in pH, which should be close enough for our purposes. I think a pH of 10 will be okay, but I might target 11.

Excellent. Thank you. I have some high pH test strips. They'll do I think.

11/22/2017, 09:00 AM	#1
reefgeezer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 2,621	Kalk in dilute vinegar solution I'm not there yet, but soon I think I'll need to do a little carbon dosing. I have a Litremeter III that I wish to use. Unfortunately, the minimum dose is 50ml/day. The only way I see that I can use this device is to dilute the vinegar so that 50 ml of the solution equals the amount of vinegar I wish to dose. I know that storing this solution is asking for a huge bacteria bloom. Can I add kalk to the solution to raise the pH to a point where a bacterial bloom won't occur? As always, I appreciate any advice or help. __________________ John, Current Tank Info: In-process, 90 Gallon SPS Reef

11/22/2017, 09:36 AM	#2
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	I carbon dose 45-60ml of vinegar a day into my 100 gallon multi tank system. I dont use a litremaster though. I mix the Kalk and vinegar together and once mixed well add to R/O and run through my ATO. I have only been running a short time but have not noticed any blooms. If you mix the Kalk into the vinegar before adding water, you get a complete chemical reaction and the Kalk is fully dissolved without any solids that sink to the bottom. Cheers! Mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

11/22/2017, 10:40 AM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	A bit of Kalk will be fine as a preservative. You could check the pH to judge how much to use, if you have a meter. A fully saturated Kalk solution will be at about 12.54. Your meter probably won't be accurate that high, but subtracting the reading from your Kalk and vinegar mix from the measurement from a fully saturated Kalk solution will give the difference in pH, which should be close enough for our purposes. I think a pH of 10 will be okay, but I might target 11. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni