got ethical husbandry?

lime water

HammerHead said:
I need more info on how to use this stuff. I need to know if you guys adjust the ph to what you want or use it full strength. What happens to the PH when the lights are on.
Click to expand...

It gets added slowly so as not to bump the pH too much. My is on auto top off so it does all the time whenever it needs it.

What are you thinking of doing?
 
Do you have a pH monitor? I think that's about the only way to dose it accurately. It may take a few days to dial in the correct drip rate so your pH doesn’t spike, but once you’ve got it going it easily maintains 8.3-8.4

I have it connected to an auto top-off and it will dose full strength at a rate of about 1 drip per second
 
Im doing the same as you Rich. I have a Auto top off with a 12g container. When the sumps level get low it truns on a pump from the 12g container. I have a Neptune. How are you mixing it full strength 12+PH? or are you mixing it to 8/8.5.
 
You could also add vinegar to the mix to neutrilize the pH issues, also it basically breaks down all the chemicals so you don't get any calcium prescipitations. Also I think some still are leary of using vinegar.

One question I have, what regulates pH in a tank? I realize oxygen/CO2 content will affect pH, but in limewater the pH isn't high because of oxygen, so if you add it all at once (bad) or drip slowly (good) apparently something occurs that "eat" pH, I'm not a chemist though so I don't know the mechanism that does that.
 
HammerHead said:
Im doing the same as you Rich. I have a Auto top off with a 12g container. When the sumps level get low it truns on a pump from the 12g container. I have a Neptune. How are you mixing it full strength 12+PH? or are you mixing it to 8/8.5.
Click to expand...

I have a power head that come on 6 times a day to mix the kalk in the container, and I am not actually checking the pH of the effluent.
 
are you guys using Mrs. Wages or an equiv? I have yet to find a place locally that sells it, most people look at me weird when I say "Where is your pickling lime?"
 
I'm not aware of anywhere local that carries it. A quick google will produce a bunch of online places. I ordered 8 bags or so a couple of years ago and I haven't gone through it all yet - best 14 bucks ever spent!

:D
 
Im currently in the process of building a Kalk Reactor/ Mixer ( whichever is more politically correct) from a Water Filter housing i ordered from Air, Water, Ice. I havent had the time to put it together yet but my plans are already set in stone. :D
Since its only a 10 gallon, the drip must be insanely slow not to make the pH spike. Therefore, im going to use just a gravity feed to not FORCE the feed into the tank.
Pics to come soon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top