Hey y’all! Today I finally got a Kalkwasser dosing pump set up. Ive been tracking my parameters for about two weeks and found my tank to be decreasing the alkalinity by about .1 dkh every day, so in response I started experimenting with Kalkwasser. I mixed a weak concentration of 1/2 tsp per gallon in a 5 gallon bucket of RO/DI water, and for about a week now I’ve been hand dosing 60ml of this solution a day. I found this to be just about maintaining my alkalinity levels, admittedly I’d miss a dose or two so it wasn’t perfect but I still saw my rates hold steadier. I got a BRS dosing pump and found mine to have a flow rate of 1.5ml/minute, and based off this have set up my dosing pump to run on a wifi smart plug for 6 minutes 9 times a day every two hours from 4pm to 8 am, dosing 9ml at a time and a total of 81ml over the course of the day. With this I’m hoping to very slowly increase the alkalinity, I will monitor closely as I just set this system up today and need to make sure it doesn’t cause any spikes. I’m also curious what y’all think about the use of those wifi smart plugs in terms of their reliability.
Admittedly my parameters aren’t what I want them to be right now. As of this afternoon my alk tested at 7.5 dKH, and my phosphates are stubbornly hanging out between .2-.25. Nitrates are between 7-10 and pH is solid around 8.0. These are all I test for at the moment, so I’m aware my dosing system is an imperfect set up as I’m pretty blind about my calcium consumption and have no means to add magnesium or trace elements yet. Right now all I’m hoping to do is reduce the frequency of my water changes or at least the amount I have to change to maintain good parameters, as up till now I’ve been doing 25% water changes weekly, sometimes every 1.5 weeks which is just not super sustainable for me. I have an algae scrubber that I hope to help suck up phosphate once it gets going, till now I’ve been turning it on and off manually but finally got it on a timer so hope it should take off soon. I suspect part of the problem are my rocks which are double second hand (they guy I got them from got them from another guys reef) and can function as phosphate batteries is I understand. I’ve definitely been feeding too generously as well, so hoping to attack this phosphate problem from a number of angles by reducing feeding and keeping up GFO. Don’t want to change anything too quickly to shock the system, but I know getting phosphate down and alkalinity up will get me the growth I want to see.
Despite these less than perfect parameters they are holding pretty steady, so things are still look good in the tank. I can really notice some growth on some corals, but at the same time notice that the corals I’ve for a few months now holding steady but not growing a ton. I’m especially confused by mushrooms, I have two different Rhodactis mushrooms and recently neither seems super happy, one of which I’ve had since November and has barely grown at all! The internet made me think mushrooms would grow in a puddle lol. As well I have a micromussa that looks very happy and healthy, but was regrowing from fragging when I got it in November and still hasn’t regrown its heads fully, nor put out any new heads. I’m new to all this reef keeping business so I don’t know what to expect really, but I did think the mushroom might display some growth or spread by now. A LFS nearby has a deal where if you leave a review, you get a free coral, and so far I’ve brought 3 friends in with me to leave reviews for corals (shhhhhh nobody say nothin), so my tank is starting to fill out nicely. Fish are all looking happy and healthy, even the ultra shy watchman goby is starting to come out for feedings (so long as I keep my distance and sit down on the bed ).
Overall I’m pretty happy with the way things are going. I know I have some things to work on but I’m addressing them as best I can, outside of reef keeping I’m a full time online college student and working two jobs, so I try and focus on the things that feel accessible for me to change. Advice and constructive criticism are always welcome, and if you read all this yammering, thanks!
