Cloudy water using KALK

[Reef_Hobbyist]

Hi Randy,

I use KALK as my primary and 2 part as a supplement. Luckily I have a lot of evaporation so I have no limitations in that regard. I am having great success using this strategy.

I started adding vinegar to my KALK to increase the concentration and also for carbon dosing. I have built that up slowly over time and having great success with that as well including managing N & P effectively.

However, lately I am noticing that since I have increased both KALK and vinegar I start to see some cloudiness in the tank and I am wondering if the higher concentrations of KALK might be causing some precipitation to occur in the DT? I suppose the other option is a bacteria bloom but I would expect that to be more of a temporary thing.

I experimented with lowering the KALK concentration and increasing the 2 part, and some other things but I haven't been able to nail it down. If I don't use KALK and vinegar at all then I do not see any cloudiness. Can you speculate for me on the precipitation versus bacterial bloom?

Thanks in advance....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

More likely you are getting a bacterial bloom from the vinegar.

Do you have a pH and alk measurement in the tank?

 

[Reef_Hobbyist]

More likely you are getting a bacterial bloom from the vinegar.

Do you have a pH and alk measurement in the tank?

My 900 gallon system runs at a pH of 8.15 and alk of 8.75

I have not tested the conductivity of the KALK solution so cannot confirm if I am achieving a high concentration or not.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My 900 gallon system runs at a pH of 8.15 and alk of 8.75

I have not tested the conductivity of the KALK solution so cannot confirm if I am achieving a high concentration or not.

If that is the pH, the cloudiness is almost certainly bacteria. If the pH was 8.6 or higher, it might be precipitation.