First Chip and now me...

[yauger]

Sorry to hear that Josh..i wish u the best of luck..

 

thanks for the kind words... I'm hoping nothing died due to my mistake.

 

Has there been someone in our club who has OD on kalk and had nothing die on them? is this even possible?

[yauger]

well crap, okay so I get home and the visibility is still not very good... so far I netted out my yellow tang (RIP) and my Midas Blenny (RIP) so now I'm down to 2 fish my emperor angel and a small yellow tang. From what I can see the corals are fine for now but who knows how long it will take to get the kalk out of my system.... I'm so bummed right now but trying to keep my head up with the thought I havn't lost any corals yet.... crap crap crap.

[yauger]

can someone break down the steps for a kalk OD for me? maybe I'm losing my mind but for the life of me I can not focus enough to remember what to do. please advise.

[Pat_13]

Water changes is the best way to bring it down, good luck

[Amuze]

Josh, can't you move your livestock over to your frag tank and just drain your main tank? Sucks your fish are dying...

[phisigs79]

Water changes will make it worst. Just let it run its course. I had it happen to me 3 times first two where the worst and didnt lose anything (i couldnt see in the tank at all but the PH wasnt high when I caught it) . Losing fish however are probably a bad sign. IMO fish are stronger than LE corals. I think PH is the factor that makes things start to die. If its high for some time then its not good. Also moving them to a different tank is asking for trouble since the chemistry is so different. Ride it out and good luck

Edited November 20, 2008 by phisigs79

[yauger]

well doesn't that just suck... we will just have to see what happens... if things dont clear up tomorrow I will begin ransfering corals to my buddies system...

[phisigs79]

Just wait it out. If you switch them you have a better chance on losing things IMO. Its a waiting game but you should be ok just chill

[yauger]

Just wait it out. If you switch them you have a better chance on losing things IMO. Its a waiting game but you should be ok just chill

 

yeah your right... dang hard to do though... its kinda like seeing your kids hurting and you can do nothing to help them... :(

[yauger]

on a bright note visibility is higher now... hoping by tomorrow the tank will be clear at that point it will have been 24 hours though....

[Rascal]

Josh:

 

So sorry to read about this. I definitely feel your pain. I agree with Chris, if you are losing fish it is a bad sign. On the other hand when I had my Kalk OD we had to evacuate the house within 12 hours because of the stench of rotting corals, so maybe things aren't that bad you. Any idea how high your Ph is?

 

If you are on the fence about whether to move your corals or ride it out, you could always hedge your bets by fragging them and just removing the frags to another system.

 

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

 

For what it's worth, I think Chip's advice is spot on. It would have saved my system and probably yours too.

[yauger]

thanks Mike yeah thats something I might want to look into...

 

Morning update....

 

well visibility is back near 100% again (thank GOD) however with the clud of kalk rising I can now assess damage and losses to my coral stock... Here is a list of COLONIES I have lost so far... (man this is getting expensive)

 

Purple Monster Colony (4"+)

Cali Blue Tort Colony (8"+)

ORA Blue Tort Colony (4"+)

Steve Ellis Colony (5"+)

ORA Chips Colony (4"+)

Tri-Color Videlia Colony (6"+)

Rik's Red Table Frag

Tyree Rainbow Chalice

Tyree Alien Eye Chalice

 

Yellow Tang

Midas Blenny

 

I'm sure there are some I have missed but to tell you the truth I rather not think about it much longer... This is crap, one simple mistake and hundreds of dollars lost in corals and fish. One the positive note my skimmer has kicked in over drive and has skimmed out majority of the kalk floating about my system in addition it has controled the ammount of ammonia released. I did a couple of water quality test and the prams are good, almost zero across the board except the pH is still hanging around 9. One thing I will do is destroy the kalk reactor I have and replace it with a kalk stirer (although it is not at fault I am) I'm hoping most of the die off is finished but I can't tell just yet. I will get a better idea on whats going on by tonight when I get home. if the pH isn't back to normal (8.1) by 48 hours after the accident then I will begin the tear down of my system as I'm about done with dissappointment.

[JMsAquarium]

Sorry to hear about the losses Josh. But, if there is anything I can do to help you to get back on your feet, just let me know.

JM

[yauger]

JM, you're awesome... thanks for the offer... hopefully when things settle I will decide to stick with the hobby as I just built this new system and its only 2 months old now. bummer that this has to happen right before the holidays....

[flowerseller]

Josh,

I got stuff too.

 

From what I've seen here, "I" have NO IDEA how you actually over kalked your system though.

That would be the first step in determining how to prevent that part of the issue moving forward.

Just "mixing" for 20mins will not cause this, you had to be "adding" to the tank. Big difference.

 

for example,

In my case, my float was stuck down causing the "add" pump to keep adding thus OD'ing my system.

Because I never add more than 1/2-3/4 cups tops to the reactor , my exposure was dramatically reduced.

My kalk reactor (sounds similar to yours) mixes every 90 mins for 5 mins via ACIII but only has 1/2-3/4 cup kalk inside.

Other models may stir continuously, and you mentioned 4 cups kalk, so you have the propensity to add all four cups thus greatly increasing your exposure to an OD incident. That's the difference between my OD and most we read about. A safety measure if you will.

 

In short,

There's just NO REASON to ever have 4 cups, or even more than 1 cup for that matter, of kalk in a kalk reactor at a time.

That's the disaster waiting to happen.

You proved it by not being able to see 1" into the tank, I proved it by mearly having a slightly cloudy tank.

Recharging it each week is the key.

[yauger]

you trying to make me feel bad Chip? dang dude...

yeah like I said before this was my fault however that doesn't make me feel any better thinking about it. the mixing pump in the kalk reactor was accidently left on over night causing the entire cloumn of water to be super saturated in kalk... and when my ATO kicked on it flooded my system with saturated kalk water, considering that I evap mroe than 7 gallons a day in my system the ammount that went into my system over a 9 hour period was around 3 gallons. also when the kalk in the reactor settled there was only a 1/2" on the bottom and I know the last time I recharged it it was around 3" there so I figured the rest went into my system.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Sorry for your losses Josh.

[flowerseller]

you trying to make me feel bad Chip? dang dude...

yeah like I said before this was my fault however that doesn't make me feel any better thinking about it. the mixing pump in the kalk reactor was accidently left on over night causing the entire cloumn of water to be super saturated in kalk... and when my ATO kicked on it flooded my system with saturated kalk water, considering that I evap mroe than 7 gallons a day in my system the ammount that went into my system over a 9 hour period was around 3 gallons. also when the kalk in the reactor settled there was only a 1/2" on the bottom and I know the last time I recharged it it was around 3" there so I figured the rest went into my system.

Yes, my point was aimed just to make you feel bad, being so close to your birthday and all.

 

Actually,

I want to know if you were just that low on water in the sump causing many gallons to enter the system or did it just keep pumping like my case with a stuck ON float?

Regardless of the type reactor you use, if you dumped mulitple gallons in at once, you will have an issue, especially with that much kalk in the reactor.

 

How big is your system BTW, with 7gpd, sounds like you gotta have water dripping off the walls of the house.

[yauger]

Yes, my point was aimed just to make you feel bad, being so close to your birthday and all.

 

Actually,

I want to know if you were just that low on water in the sump causing many gallons to enter the system or did it just keep pumping like my case with a stuck ON float?

Regardless of the type reactor you use, if you dumped mulitple gallons in at once, you will have an issue, especially with that much kalk in the reactor.

 

How big is your system BTW, with 7gpd, sounds like you gotta have water dripping off the walls of the house.

 

haha actually the windows in the basement are usually covered in dew during the winter months.... totally volume is around 150 give or take. I run a dehumidifer 24/7 in the storage room where the system is set up in so that accounts for the increase in evap. yeah the pump came on like normal and usually dumps around a 1/4 gallon in my sump at a time so that why it pumped so much kalk into the system. the main reason i had a kalk OD is because I left the internal reactor pump on over night on accident, and when the fresh ro is pumped in the reactor it goes straight to the bottom causing the kalk to rise up and out. if the pump was off I have about 6" of effluent which is pumped in and not the actual kalk... what can you do right? we all make mistakes, its just this time its costing me mucho cash.

[Gatortailale]

Sorry to hear about your loss; after thanksgiving and system settles, we can hook up to get you corals.

 

I agree with chips pt. of trying to determine what was cause of addidion of all the kalk.

 

While I understand why a lot of peeps run all their topoff through the kalk unit, I don't do it that way. I separate the two. Topoff on own system that way if it fails, I don't get a big dose of kalk. I using dosing pump and 5g bucket for kalk addition. I get to control rate (ml/hr). Only down side is having to fill 5g bucket ever other day. But I'm down messing around daily anyway and always good to check tank. When out of town, I just swap 32g trash can I use for water change in place of bucket and all set for a week.

 

Good luck on recovery!

[yauger]

Sorry to hear about your loss; after thanksgiving and system settles, we can hook up to get you corals.

 

I agree with chips pt. of trying to determine what was cause of addidion of all the kalk.

 

While I understand why a lot of peeps run all their topoff through the kalk unit, I don't do it that way. I separate the two. Topoff on own system that way if it fails, I don't get a big dose of kalk. I using dosing pump and 5g bucket for kalk addition. I get to control rate (ml/hr). Only down side is having to fill 5g bucket ever other day. But I'm down messing around daily anyway and always good to check tank. When out of town, I just swap 32g trash can I use for water change in place of bucket and all set for a week.

 

Good luck on recovery!

 

Craig, thats probably the best suggestion I have heard in a long time... as a matter of fact thats what I will do this weekend. that way I dont have to worry about a kalk OD any longer. one question though how do you control the drip rate? is it gravity fed or pump driven on a timer?

and Thank you so much for the offer once the dust settles (probably around January) I will give you a shout...

[jason the filter freak]

Well it's not a total bust thats good, sorry for your losses though. you'll spring back no prop, your system is a beast.

[Gatortailale]

I have non-control version of reefdosingpump I got from Dhoch few years ago.

 

http://www.reefdosingpumps.com/Pages/products.html

 

maybe same company, it looks about same as this one http://www.innovativeaquatics.com/Pages/products.html

 

other options:

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...cfm?pcatid=9965

 

if you got loot, here is the best doser (IMO): http://www.spectrapure.com/St_prec_p0.htm

 

Then you can set rate you want to add kalk.

 

 

This is how I control topoff - they recommend you use float switch up to ro/di so you don't short cycle the ro/di unit - to add life to membrane (short cycle = it runs a lot more and shorter periods). The float will let sump drop a inch and they your ro/di runs less, but for longer periods.

 

The little float is like a safty valve, it shuts of ro feed water when high enough, then the pressure valve shuts off ro/di so no waste running when tank full.

 

 

 

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p4.htm

[yauger]

nice thank you for the info, will be asking my wife for a birthday present today...

[Almon]

Only down side is having to fill 5g bucket ever other day.

 

Why not Auto Top-Off the water in the 5 gallon bucket as well as the sump?

 

 

I, like Chip, only use a small amount of Kalk in the Kalk stirrer. I add about 1/3 cup twice a week. It prevents the kalk overdose and,IMO, is more effective.