Can u check your kalkwasser?

So I just hooked up my home-made nielsen kalk reactor. got the plans off the internet (yea google). the mixing end at the bottom is circulating milky stuff, and the effluent from the top is nice and clear.

so to make sure it was putting out good stuff, i checked it with my salifert test kits that i use on my tank. the ph was off the chart high, which is good cuz it should be 12 i guess. the dKH was 9, and the calcium level was 400. is this right? i guess i thought that the calcium level of kalkwasser would be more like a billion...

thanks for advice...

d

 

i don't think kalkwasser solution should be extremely high in calcium its not liquid calcium. since it is mixed with top off water. if it was extremely high in calcium it would though your parameters way off. also remember the minerals and salt doesn't evaporate with the water. i have never used kalk so i maybe wrong, but it seems to me it should provide just enough calcium to replace what the corals use in between top offs.

 

where do i turn in this brain?

so, i'm an idiot. i was all excited about the new reactor, so i put a bunch of kalk in and let it mix. probably a bit too much.. i hooked up the pump and it blew about 2 gal into the tank before i realized why i suddenly couldn't see my fish anymore!

tank ph went off the charts. i ended up putting in several tablespoons of bicarb, precipitating out quite a snowstorm, and bringing the pH back to 8.5 - it used to be 8.3. oh boy.

well, now just to wait and see. anenome looks ok, fish are all acting normal, inverts look ok too. hopefully not too much harm done by this moron.

-d