Vinegar and kalk

[phljess]

I have heard of numerous people who use vinegar to spike the alk and cal of their kalk mixture. So my questions are:

1. Is adding vinegar to kalk a good idea?
2. Would it be helpful to add it to a reactor and if so how much should you add?

[reefdadx2]

Also listening in. Michael R

[David Grigor]

If you do a search you will find Randy is not an advocate of using vinegar. The use of vinegar converts to additional carbon that can be avoided. More carbon leads to more bacteria which consume oxygen which gets depleted.

Also it is not very practical to dose in combination with a reactor.

If you need a boost in ALK/CA levels look into supplementing Kalk with a 2 part. A commercial or the DIY recipe Randy came up with.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd avoid it with a reactor, as it is technically difficult to do, and I'd also avoid it if you can use limewater alone to meet your aquarium needs. But if you dose limewater from a reservoir, and need either more solid lime to dissolve or the pH to be lower, it can be useful. I do not need it in my aquarium.

This article has more, including reasons to use it and the amounts to use:
What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.htm

[phljess]

Thanks Randy, You are always helpful.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome and thanks.

Happy reefing. :)