What does Kalkwasser do in a reef tank?

Kalkwasser is the German word for calcium hydroxide, a relatively inexpensive reef tank additive that will help you keep your calcium and pH levels nice and high in your tank. For some reason, the term kalkwasser has become part of the mainstream vernacular in the saltwater aquarium hobby.

How do you get Kalkwasser?

Easy to prepare – Simply add the dry powder to water and shake. When the cloudy mixture settles, use the clear liquid as make-up water. Minimizes pH fluctuations – Dramatic changes in pH can be reduced when Kalkwasser is slowly added at night when pH typically drops in the aquarium.

Does Kalkwasser raise pH?

What Does Kalkwasser Do? -Adding kalkwasser will cause the pH of your aquarium to rise because it’s a base. Keeping a proper high pH of 8.2-8.4 can help your corals grow faster and help stop the growth of unwanted algae. -Kalkwasser raises calcium and alkalinity.

Does Kalkwasser raise salinity?

The kalkwasser when dissolved in salt water will also result in a high localized calcium concentrations. This will lead to the precipitation of calcium carbonate. So, you would actually be loosing more calcium carbonate to precipitation than you’d be gaining. Kalk will not affect salinity as others have stated.

Does kalkwasser raise pH?

Does kalkwasser raise alkalinity or calcium?

-Kalkwasser raises calcium and alkalinity. Calcium and alkalinity are what corals, snails, and clams use to build their bodies. In a reef aquarium the calcium and alkalinity levels drop as the animals inside the tank grow.

Will dosing kalkwasser raise alkalinity?

Using a combination of online calculators, I found that Kalkwasser will raise alkalinity by roughly 0.0012 dKh per mL.

Can you mix kalkwasser with saltwater?

Kalk will dissolve just fine in salt water but you will not like the results. Kalkwasser is fairly soluble and if it was dumped directly into the tank as opposed to adding it in dilute amounts through top off, then you will experience a very large and dangerous pH spike.

How often should I feed my reef tank?

Feeding your fish a little bit of food several times per day is closer to the way they eat in the wild than feeding them a bunch of food every 2 or 3 days. Most fish (even sharks) will only eat what they need to survive.

Will kalkwasser raise pH?

How do I add Kalkwasser to my reef tank?

Add up to 1 1/2 teaspoons per 1 gallon of fresh top-off water in your ATO reservoir.

1. Start by adjusting your Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium levels to where you want to keep them long term.
2. With a clean top-off reservoir, fill the container with RO/DI water.