Akalinityl questions
- Thread starter Budman's Corals
- Start date
- Tagged users None
mcarroll
10K Club member
Hm. A few points that might help...
Limewater does not lower alkalinity - it's a (perfectly) balanced calcium and alkalinity supplement.
Please refresh your knowledge here: What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
A good quote:
As far as the alkalinity numbers in the first post, you can mostly blame those plating Monti's - they look HAPPY!
You simply need to take measures to increase your calcium and alkalinity additions. There are lots of options, which can all be combined as you see fit. This could include:
Water Changes
With the number of stony colonies you've added (way too fast for you to adjust to them, I think), water changes are still highly recommended, but are only going to make up one part of an overall dosing strategy. Do as much as you can, and put some effort and creativity into making them both fast and easy. E.g. I started doing very small (5%) daily water changes instead of weekly because it works much better for me - I actually do them! So think outside the box if it helps!
Kalk Reactor
Adding vinegar as specified at the link above is a great, and fairly unlimited way to boost your water's uptake of lime. My tests at home saw double the kalk output and I wasn't dosing all that much vinegar...I think the "suggested" amount. This is my favorite suggestion for you since it's no real additional effort and you already have the hardware.
Two-part Dosing
Unless you have pH issues AND you dump your doses in (vs dripping) I can't imagine having issues with simply using baking soda to maintain alkalinity. I'd skip baking the baking soda. Just FWIW.
Having two-part chemicals around is great for making corrections to numbers, as you know. I would definitely consider also making at least a small daily addition of both parts if you don't want to experiment with getting vinegar working in your kalk reactor. This is my second favorite suggestion since it's super simple, you already have at least some of the hardware, and it can be very inexpensive as well.
CO2 Reactor/Calcium Reactor
I don't really recommend them. Unless you happen to have the hardware around, the setup costs alone are a deal-breaker when you consider your other options. Beyond that, they are by far the hardest to set up due to the complexity inherent to them, especially by comparison with other options. Also, you are practically guaranteed to have a depressed pH level when running a CO2 reactor, which is one additional wrinkle in a system that doesn't probably need any more. They also remind me of the bad old "hi-tech" days of reefing.
If you do decide to go this route, just remember that every reactor has its pro's and con's....haven't seen a perfect one yet. You just have to be aware of the particular pro's and con's up front, if you can. (This would go without saying for most equipment, but it's a point worthy of much extra attention with a CO2 reactor.)
Hope this helps!
-Matt
P.S. At my tank's peak, I used the first three...20% weekly water changes, lime reactor w/vinegar and (eventually) massive two-part dosing. It's one way to do it.
Limewater does not lower alkalinity - it's a (perfectly) balanced calcium and alkalinity supplement.
Please refresh your knowledge here: What Your Grandmother Never Told You About Lime by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com A good quote:
As far as the alkalinity numbers in the first post, you can mostly blame those plating Monti's - they look HAPPY!
You simply need to take measures to increase your calcium and alkalinity additions. There are lots of options, which can all be combined as you see fit. This could include:
- Increased water changes.
- Add vinegar to your kalk reactor.
- Begin two-part dosing. (This is not the same as using two-part to make corrections.)
- Add a calcium/CO2 reactor.
Water Changes
With the number of stony colonies you've added (way too fast for you to adjust to them, I think), water changes are still highly recommended, but are only going to make up one part of an overall dosing strategy. Do as much as you can, and put some effort and creativity into making them both fast and easy. E.g. I started doing very small (5%) daily water changes instead of weekly because it works much better for me - I actually do them!
So think outside the box if it helps!Kalk Reactor
Adding vinegar as specified at the link above is a great, and fairly unlimited way to boost your water's uptake of lime. My tests at home saw double the kalk output and I wasn't dosing all that much vinegar...I think the "suggested" amount. This is my favorite suggestion for you since it's no real additional effort and you already have the hardware.
Two-part Dosing
Unless you have pH issues AND you dump your doses in (vs dripping) I can't imagine having issues with simply using baking soda to maintain alkalinity. I'd skip baking the baking soda. Just FWIW.
Having two-part chemicals around is great for making corrections to numbers, as you know. I would definitely consider also making at least a small daily addition of both parts if you don't want to experiment with getting vinegar working in your kalk reactor. This is my second favorite suggestion since it's super simple, you already have at least some of the hardware, and it can be very inexpensive as well.
CO2 Reactor/Calcium Reactor
I don't really recommend them. Unless you happen to have the hardware around, the setup costs alone are a deal-breaker when you consider your other options. Beyond that, they are by far the hardest to set up due to the complexity inherent to them, especially by comparison with other options. Also, you are practically guaranteed to have a depressed pH level when running a CO2 reactor, which is one additional wrinkle in a system that doesn't probably need any more.
They also remind me of the bad old "hi-tech" days of reefing.If you do decide to go this route, just remember that every reactor has its pro's and con's....haven't seen a perfect one yet. You just have to be aware of the particular pro's and con's up front, if you can. (This would go without saying for most equipment, but it's a point worthy of much extra attention with a CO2 reactor.)
Hope this helps!
-Matt
P.S. At my tank's peak, I used the first three...20% weekly water changes, lime reactor w/vinegar and (eventually) massive two-part dosing. It's one way to do it.
OP
OP
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Messages
- 2,722
- Reaction score
- 722
Hm. A few points that might help...
Limewater does not lower alkalinity - it's a (perfectly) balanced calcium and alkalinity supplement.
A good quote:
As far as the alkalinity numbers in the first post, you can mostly blame those plating Monti's - they look HAPPY!
You simply need to take measures to increase your calcium and alkalinity additions. There are lots of options, which can all be combined as you see fit. This could include:
One at a time...
- Increased water changes.
- Add vinegar to your kalk reactor.
- Begin two-part dosing. (This is not the same as using two-part to make corrections.)
- Add a calcium/CO2 reactor.
Water Changes
With the number of stony colonies you've added (way too fast for you to adjust to them, I think), water changes are still highly recommended, but are only going to make up one part of an overall dosing strategy. Do as much as you can, and put some effort and creativity into making them both fast and easy. E.g. I started doing very small (5%) daily water changes instead of weekly because it works much better for me - I actually do them!
Kalk Reactor
Adding vinegar as specified at the link above is a great, and fairly unlimited way to boost your water's uptake of lime. My tests at home saw double the kalk output and I wasn't dosing all that much vinegar...I think the "suggested" amount. This is my favorite suggestion for you since it's no real additional effort and you already have the hardware.
Two-part Dosing
Unless you have pH issues AND you dump your doses in (vs dripping) I can't imagine having issues with simply using baking soda to maintain alkalinity. I'd skip baking the baking soda. Just FWIW.
Having two-part chemicals around is great for making corrections to numbers, as you know. I would definitely consider also making at least a small daily addition of both parts if you don't want to experiment with getting vinegar working in your kalk reactor. This is my second favorite suggestion since it's super simple, you already have at least some of the hardware, and it can be very inexpensive as well.
CO2 Reactor/Calcium Reactor
I don't really recommend them. Unless you happen to have the hardware around, the setup costs alone are a deal-breaker when you consider your other options. Beyond that, they are by far the hardest to set up due to the complexity inherent to them, especially by comparison with other options. Also, you are practically guaranteed to have a depressed pH level when running a CO2 reactor, which is one additional wrinkle in a system that doesn't probably need any more.
If you do decide to go this route, just remember that every reactor has its pro's and con's....haven't seen a perfect one yet. You just have to be aware of the particular pro's and con's up front, if you can. (This would go without saying for most equipment, but it's a point worthy of much extra attention with a CO2 reactor.)
Hope this helps!
-Matt
P.S. At my tank's peak, I used the first three...20% weekly water changes, lime reactor w/vinegar and (eventually) massive two-part dosing. It's one way to do it.
WOW,All I can say is THANKS, You took alot of your time to really help me out,I really appreciate all this info you gave me. I heard good bad things about Calcium reactors and heard they were really finicky,Id rather not spend that much money and just get the levels up and try the 2 part system, I can get a apex controller and another dosing pump and I think that is all I would need.
Yes them Monti caps have really taken off so im thinking it wasnt a good idea to add them ,but I will definitely read about the vinegar right now and reply here on if I decide to try it.
Do u think i should still use the Kalk Stirrer in the meantime.
OP
OP
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Messages
- 2,722
- Reaction score
- 722
Now the Kalk stirrer I have I just add the powder to the chamber and when the ATO kicks on it automatically stirs the chamber and then mixes the kalwasser, How would liquid vinegar help this ,since I would think it would be spent right away. Little confused on this part
Singlefin
Valuable Member
Mr. Saltwatertank has a good video explaining kalk in your ato. I did it for a little while then switched to dosing. It also holds your level where you set it. It doesn't really raise your numbers. If you do it correctly. One variable is the amount your tank evaporates changes throughout the year.
Thereeferboss
Active Member
Nice tank
OP
OP
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Messages
- 2,722
- Reaction score
- 722
Thanks Thereeferboss,Just gotta get the swinging down :usa:
