Good point about the seasons changing top off rate, I hadn't heard anyone make that correlation, especially in relation to dosing directly into the top off water.
Adam Schaafsma Thanks! It was a bit of a stumper for me. I started with kalk in my ATO, but very quickly figured out that that wasn’t sustainable. In the winter, I’ll burn through a gallon of ATO per day. In the summer, hardly any! With kalk in the ATO, my alk would go through the roof during the winter. Some suggest varying the Kalk saturation level, but that’s ripe for human error. My system eats a good amount of alk/cal daily, so I had to determine how much kalk I could dose daily without alarming the sump for high water level. Had to do that in the summer, and that’s my year round kalk dose. Given my system usage, I then dose two-part on top of that. Took a minute to figure out, but now it’s on autopilot.
Agreed! I'm down for some budget approaches, but I also like easy and simple where it makes sense. My system is well controlled, but I'm not a fan of centralized control. Distributed is safer. If one thing fails, my whole system doesn't die. At least that's the plan!
More people have to watch this video to avoid using the ATO method. Learning how to dose kalkwasser from you Jim has changed my tank. Everyone thinks it’s so intimidating due to the PH raising capabilities. But using your method with the brs doser and a nearpow it’s pretty hard to mess up.
Thanks! I have the Kamoer, too. It’s a decent pump, but I’ve noticed the internal clock is fast. Reconnecting it to BT resets the time, but the clock shouldn’t run ahead that quickly. Yours do the same?
Depends on how much kalk you’ll dose. I’m dropping in over half a gallon daily, and doing so with the Kamoer would mean it’s running quite a bit. I have the X1, it’s great for light duty/non-time sensitive dosing, but I wouldn’t use it for kalk. I suggest considering a higher throughput pump.
I'd love to use this method, but given the calculator even a small 20g tank with 1 dkh drop per day would need 0.17g/day of saturated kalkwasser. -- so a 1g reservoir lasts only 5 days, and a 5g (no space in my stand :( ) would last 25 days. Right now I'm mixing in into my 7ish gallon ATO which lasts me at last two weeks, but as you said, I'm depending on the seasonal changes and have to adjust all the time. I've thought about an ATO-fed reactor, but those come only in massive sizes much bigger than my 25g lagoon stand can handle. Any advice! I really appreciate your tips and have been following on instagram for a long time!
My kalk dosing and ATO reservoirs are the 5.5L OXO sealed dog food containers fitted with Mur-Lok bullkhead connectors. At best, the kalk container will last almost two days, which means it's empty in 48 hours. I mix kalk in an old Nutri-Seawater container, which is a little more than 16.5L, and refill the kalk reservoir daily. I just pour in more kalk. That conflicts with common thought regarding kalk, given that extra calcium hydroxide falls out of solution when kalk is saturated. The extra settles on the bottom of the container and gets stirred up when I refill, but that's all my tank has known and it's just part of my morning routine. Every few months or so I pull the container clean it out. Regarding needing more kalk, if gone for the weekend, I'll dose directly from the 16.5L container. If I'm gone for a week, I mix at least 50L of kalk, which doses from a 53L Sterilite storage bin. My daily dose of kalk is ~2.3L (0.6g). Thank you for the kind words and follow! Please let me know if there's something I can do better. -Jim
I really do like the BRS 1.1mL, and it’ll do 0.4 gallons a day if just plugged in, but the gearbox won’t last. The AquaLifter also works well, but it won’t last as long as a peristaltic and it’ll syphon. The Kamoer X1 can dose 12 times/day. Not ideal, as I’d rather have at least 24 doses for kalk. Maybe the X1 Pro would work, but I’ve not tried. I’m currently using a GHL Doser 2.1, but I’d prefer a larger pump head that can continuously dose.
Hey, Marcel. Related to a closed container, what’s your goal? My take is that a closed kalk only container is recommended to reduce kalk solution evaporation.
@@telegraham I do keep an eye on my Phi have a Hanna digital pH Checker I just don't want it going above 8.4 I use a little less than a half of teaspoon to 1 gallon of water because before when I used more my pH would shoot up a little bit too high so I dilute it some and it seems to be fine
You have to know your 24hr drop. Measure alk at night, don't dose anything and don't water change, then measure alk the same time 24 hours later. That's the value you'd use to know how much to dose. Hit me up if that doesn't make sense.
That's absolutely an option, and a method used by many. It's also how I started; however, when the seasons changed, so did my alk/cal levels. Depending on where you live, evaporative rate changes will drive more testing to know how much kalk to keep in your ATO. More testing means more money, a higher potential for error and more effort. All that leads to reactively chasing stability (how much kalk to keep in your ATO day to day or month to month) instead of relying on proven and repeatable stability (constant 365-day kalk dose with a variable RODI ATO). By letting the tank decide how much RODI-only ATO it wants, I eliminate an unnecessary variable. If your tank needs alk/cal dosing, $76USD (two timers and two Aqua Lifters), and two cleaned out milk jugs, will get you simple and inexpensive year-round stability.
Finally, someone addressing the evaporation rate between seasons..... good info, thanks for the vid 👍
Jobet Q Thank you! 🙏
Good point about the seasons changing top off rate, I hadn't heard anyone make that correlation, especially in relation to dosing directly into the top off water.
Adam Schaafsma Thanks! It was a bit of a stumper for me. I started with kalk in my ATO, but very quickly figured out that that wasn’t sustainable. In the winter, I’ll burn through a gallon of ATO per day. In the summer, hardly any! With kalk in the ATO, my alk would go through the roof during the winter. Some suggest varying the Kalk saturation level, but that’s ripe for human error. My system eats a good amount of alk/cal daily, so I had to determine how much kalk I could dose daily without alarming the sump for high water level. Had to do that in the summer, and that’s my year round kalk dose. Given my system usage, I then dose two-part on top of that. Took a minute to figure out, but now it’s on autopilot.
Nice to see the "budget" idea starting to take hold. Most of us can't afford an apex and its hundreds of modules.
Agreed! I'm down for some budget approaches, but I also like easy and simple where it makes sense. My system is well controlled, but I'm not a fan of centralized control. Distributed is safer. If one thing fails, my whole system doesn't die. At least that's the plan!
More people have to watch this video to avoid using the ATO method. Learning how to dose kalkwasser from you Jim has changed my tank. Everyone thinks it’s so intimidating due to the PH raising capabilities. But using your method with the brs doser and a nearpow it’s pretty hard to mess up.
Thank you!!!
Great video! I’ve dosed kalk for awhile using the BRS space saver jugs! Used to use the Neptune DOS, now using the kamoer WiFi single head doser!
Thanks! I have the Kamoer, too. It’s a decent pump, but I’ve noticed the internal clock is fast. Reconnecting it to BT resets the time, but the clock shouldn’t run ahead that quickly. Yours do the same?
I will definitely be dosing kalk in my 150 along with the CalRX. I was thinking the Kamorer single dosing head
Depends on how much kalk you’ll dose. I’m dropping in over half a gallon daily, and doing so with the Kamoer would mean it’s running quite a bit. I have the X1, it’s great for light duty/non-time sensitive dosing, but I wouldn’t use it for kalk. I suggest considering a higher throughput pump.
Nice one Jim 👍👍
Awesome video Jim!!! Damn you looking fresh Jim
Thanks, Alex! Doesn’t the camera subtract 10 pounds? 😂
🤭😂
Solid info, I’ll reference this when setting up a Kalk doser one of these days... 😂 did you one shot this for real? 👍
Almost! Got it in two, or 20, -ish. :-)
I'd love to use this method, but given the calculator even a small 20g tank with 1 dkh drop per day would need 0.17g/day of saturated kalkwasser. -- so a 1g reservoir lasts only 5 days, and a 5g (no space in my stand :( ) would last 25 days. Right now I'm mixing in into my 7ish gallon ATO which lasts me at last two weeks, but as you said, I'm depending on the seasonal changes and have to adjust all the time. I've thought about an ATO-fed reactor, but those come only in massive sizes much bigger than my 25g lagoon stand can handle. Any advice! I really appreciate your tips and have been following on instagram for a long time!
My kalk dosing and ATO reservoirs are the 5.5L OXO sealed dog food containers fitted with Mur-Lok bullkhead connectors. At best, the kalk container will last almost two days, which means it's empty in 48 hours. I mix kalk in an old Nutri-Seawater container, which is a little more than 16.5L, and refill the kalk reservoir daily. I just pour in more kalk. That conflicts with common thought regarding kalk, given that extra calcium hydroxide falls out of solution when kalk is saturated. The extra settles on the bottom of the container and gets stirred up when I refill, but that's all my tank has known and it's just part of my morning routine. Every few months or so I pull the container clean it out. Regarding needing more kalk, if gone for the weekend, I'll dose directly from the 16.5L container. If I'm gone for a week, I mix at least 50L of kalk, which doses from a 53L Sterilite storage bin. My daily dose of kalk is ~2.3L (0.6g). Thank you for the kind words and follow! Please let me know if there's something I can do better. -Jim
So when pouring the solution into the dosing container you want to avoid the powder sitting at the bottom right ?
For saturated kalk, yes, but you can let it go and just pull the dose from above the slurry.
I'm curious do you still recommend the 1.1mL doser? You said you're doing 1/2 gallon a day (but maybe the aqualifter is handling that?).
I really do like the BRS 1.1mL, and it’ll do 0.4 gallons a day if just plugged in, but the gearbox won’t last. The AquaLifter also works well, but it won’t last as long as a peristaltic and it’ll syphon. The Kamoer X1 can dose 12 times/day. Not ideal, as I’d rather have at least 24 doses for kalk. Maybe the X1 Pro would work, but I’ve not tried. I’m currently using a GHL Doser 2.1, but I’d prefer a larger pump head that can continuously dose.
What if i cover the ato so air doesnt go in?
Hey, Marcel. Related to a closed container, what’s your goal? My take is that a closed kalk only container is recommended to reduce kalk solution evaporation.
Tom’s aqua lifter doser is discontinued, are there other alternatives? or can I use any dosing pump?
It's back up.
I have a small one gallon container and I automatically dripping into the sump do you think it's better to drip 24/7 or just overnight
24/7. I dose for alkalinity, and not pH. Only dosing at night will increase your alkalinity as well.
@@telegraham I do keep an eye on my Phi have a Hanna digital pH Checker I just don't want it going above 8.4 I use a little less than a half of teaspoon to 1 gallon of water because before when I used more my pH would shoot up a little bit too high so I dilute it some and it seems to be fine
I'm confused about the calculator. Where does it tell you how much to dose in 24 hours?
You have to know your 24hr drop. Measure alk at night, don't dose anything and don't water change, then measure alk the same time 24 hours later. That's the value you'd use to know how much to dose. Hit me up if that doesn't make sense.
Hi Jim. Where do I find the calculator?
Dosing calculator? Check the description. 👍
I have to disagree about your ato view. In the summer months all you need to do is decrease your kalk dosage in to your ato resevoir.
That's absolutely an option, and a method used by many. It's also how I started; however, when the seasons changed, so did my alk/cal levels. Depending on where you live, evaporative rate changes will drive more testing to know how much kalk to keep in your ATO. More testing means more money, a higher potential for error and more effort. All that leads to reactively chasing stability (how much kalk to keep in your ATO day to day or month to month) instead of relying on proven and repeatable stability (constant 365-day kalk dose with a variable RODI ATO). By letting the tank decide how much RODI-only ATO it wants, I eliminate an unnecessary variable. If your tank needs alk/cal dosing, $76USD (two timers and two Aqua Lifters), and two cleaned out milk jugs, will get you simple and inexpensive year-round stability.