Dosing AFR & Kalkwasser

Jaybeastin · Oct 21, 2023

How do I dose AFR & Kalkwasser together ?

Correct me if I’m wrong , Kalkwasser raises Alk & Cal.

If I dose AFR wouldn’t it also increase ALK & CAL? And other elements ?

Do I basically just split the doses of AFR and KALk until I reach my desire parameter ?

PBar · Oct 21, 2023

Hello,
in general, you may start by only using kalk.
Yet, this will be limited to your maximum water evaporation.
By the time that you reach that maximum, and the tank is still demanding for more alkalinity and calcium, you may start to supplement with AFR.

Now, it will depend on what type of corals and how much you have in your tank.
Could be that AFR won’t be needed.

Indeed, AFR contain also other elements. But this, normally, is only needed if the tank has already a considerable amount of coral.
Otherwise, just kalk will work fine.

Let me know it it is clear!
Cheers!

Jaybeastin · Oct 21, 2023

PBar said:
Hello,
in general, you may start by only using kalk.
Yet, this will be limited to your maximum water evaporation.
By the time that you reach that maximum, and the tank is still demanding for more alkalinity and calcium, you may start to supplement with AFR.

Now, it will depend on what type of corals and how much you have in your tank.
Could be that AFR won’t be needed.

Indeed, AFR contain also other elements. But this, normally, is only needed if the tank has already a considerable amount of coral.
Otherwise, just kalk will work fine.

Let me know it it is clear!
Cheers!

Very clear !

I’ve been dosing only KALk So far and my tank ALK is stabled but my mag & Cal it’s on the lower side .

So I just add some AFR to balance the CAL & MAG? And it wouldn’t raise the ALK?

divewsharks · Oct 21, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
Very clear !

I’ve been dosing only KALk So far and my tank ALK is stabled but my mag & Cal it’s on the lower side .

So I just add some AFR to balance the CAL & MAG? And it wouldn’t raise the ALK?

Can you increase you KALK? AFR is going to increase everything, including ALK. If you only want to increase (or at least not evenly) your CA & Mag, then you would want a straight 2/3 Part.
I currenlty use KALK + AFR. Vast majority of my dosing is maxing out the KALK then adding AFR on top of it ot keep ALK stable.
For the KALK, how are you dosing it?

gbroadbridge · Oct 21, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
Very clear !

I’ve been dosing only KALk So far and my tank ALK is stabled but my mag & Cal it’s on the lower side .

So I just add some AFR to balance the CAL & MAG? And it wouldn’t raise the ALK?

AFR on its own is not designed to adjust levels of major elements, and is intended to work standalone.

You should adjust Calcium using Calcium Chloride to the level you wish and then use AFR to maintain elements at that level.

Jaybeastin · Oct 21, 2023

divewsharks said:
Can you increase you KALK? AFR is going to increase everything, including ALK. If you only want to increase (or at least not evenly) your CA & Mag, then you would want a straight 2/3 Part.
I currenlty use KALK + AFR. Vast majority of my dosing is maxing out the KALK then adding AFR on top of it ot keep ALK stable.
For the KALK, how are you dosing it?

I can increase KALk but wouldn’t it raise the ALK?

I’m mixing 2 tbs of KALk in a 1 gallon at 250ml per day in a 24 hours period.

Aiming for the parameter of the Redsea blue bucket parameters

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 21, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
Do I basically just split the doses of AFR and KALk until I reach my desire parameter ?

yes, but if calcium is low, you need to raise it some other way.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 21, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
Very clear !

I’ve been dosing only KALk So far and my tank ALK is stabled but my mag & Cal it’s on the lower side .

So I just add some AFR to balance the CAL & MAG? And it wouldn’t raise the ALK?

NO, that cannot work. Both AFR and kalkwasser will raise alk by 2.8 dKH for each 20 ppm boost to calcium. Use calcium chloride, as folks noted.

ELChingonsReef · Nov 1, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
I can increase KALk but wouldn’t it raise the ALK?

I’m mixing 2 tbs of KALk in a 1 gallon at 250ml per day in a 24 hours period.

Aiming for the parameter of the Redsea blue bucket parameters

How many gallons is your tank. I'm trying to do the same thing

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 1, 2023

Luv4tangz said:
How many gallons is your tank. I'm trying to do the same thing

Use this calculator to determine how much kalkwasser gives how much alk and calcium. It typically takes a lot!

Reef Chemistry Calculator

ELChingonsReef · Nov 2, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Use this calculator to determine how much kalkwasser gives how much alk and calcium. It typically takes a lot!

Reef Chemistry Calculator

Cool thanks randy. I'm going to start using kalkwasser for the first time. My goal is to dose 1ml of kalkwasser per minute for 12 hours in a 90 gallon mixed reef full of sps and acans. I will start at Midnight to 12pm the next day at a rate of 1ml per 2 minutes to start . Ill have my apex monitor PH and calcium/alkalinity . I'll use the calculator to help me with the details. Thanks randy. I appreciate your help sir.

Manny’s Reef · Nov 2, 2023

So for reference, I have a 160 display. I dose 3500 ml of kalk daily. This is roughly my evap. It is no longer enough to keep up for alk needs. I supplemented sign AFR. Currently 40 ml of AFR and 3500 ml of kalk is needed to keep my tank stable. No issues at all.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 3, 2023

Luv4tangz said:
Cool thanks randy. I'm going to start using kalkwasser for the first time. My goal is to dose 1ml of kalkwasser per minute for 12 hours in a 90 gallon mixed reef full of sps and acans. I will start at Midnight to 12pm the next day at a rate of 1ml per 2 minutes to start . Ill have my apex monitor PH and calcium/alkalinity . I'll use the calculator to help me with the details. Thanks randy. I appreciate your help sir.

You're welcome.

Happy reefing.

ELChingonsReef · Nov 4, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
You're welcome.

Happy reefing.

In your opinion is it best to dose calkwasser in a pre mixed 5 gallon bucket and dose evaporation rate. Or dose Rodi water to a kalkwasser mixer/reactor that drips into the tank? But eather way I'm ONLY dosing my evaporation rate right? What's confusing me is what if my evaporation rate is different on a daily basis. At that point if I evaporate one gallon instead of three I would not be getting the PH benefits I would need the days I evaporate less. I'm still going to use 2part . I'm hoping I just use less of it. My goal is to get a stable PH while getting stable calcium and alkalinity with less sodium bicarbonate.

xWascallyWabbit · Nov 4, 2023

Luv4tangz said:
In your opinion is it best to dose calkwasser in a pre mixed 5 gallon bucket and dose evaporation rate. Or dose Rodi water to a kalkwasser mixer/reactor that drips into the tank? But eather way I'm ONLY dosing my evaporation rate right? What's confusing me is what if my evaporation rate is different on a daily basis. At that point if I evaporate one gallon instead of three I would not be getting the PH benefits I would need the days I evaporate less. I'm still going to use 2part . I'm hoping I just use less of it. My goal is to get a stable PH while getting stable calcium and alkalinity with less sodium bicarbonate.

You can dose UP TO* your evap rate. You may not need to when you start out at first. Start small and test. Adjust then test. Adjust some more then test. Until you find that your Ph/Alk are stable.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2023

Luv4tangz said:
In your opinion is it best to dose calkwasser in a pre mixed 5 gallon bucket and dose evaporation rate. Or dose Rodi water to a kalkwasser mixer/reactor that drips into the tank? But eather way I'm ONLY dosing my evaporation rate right? What's confusing me is what if my evaporation rate is different on a daily basis. At that point if I evaporate one gallon instead of three I would not be getting the PH benefits I would need the days I evaporate less. I'm still going to use 2part . I'm hoping I just use less of it. My goal is to get a stable PH while getting stable calcium and alkalinity with less sodium bicarbonate.

I'm not a fan of a reactor unless space is a limiting factor.

IMO, it is easier to control potency from a settled reservoir of limewater (kalkwasser). I dosed it that way for 20 years.

You can dose with a pump set to anything below the daily evaporation rate, or you can use an ATO. I went the ATO route, but a doser will result in more day to day stability of alk. How important that is will depend on the daily consumption (2-3 dKH dosed per day is a lot more of a concern than is 0.2 to 0.3 dKH dosed per day) and the organisms in the tank.

MetallicaJoe · Nov 5, 2023

Jaybeastin said:
How do I dose AFR & Kalkwasser together ?

Correct me if I’m wrong , Kalkwasser raises Alk & Cal.

If I dose AFR wouldn’t it also increase ALK & CAL? And other elements ?

Do I basically just split the doses of AFR and KALk until I reach my desire parameter ?

The way I do it personally is dose kalk until i've maxed out the amount i can use because it raises pH and significantly cheaper. Then any time my dkh starts dropping i add an amount of dosing to the all for reef. So at first i only dosed kalk then after a while all for reef or something else was needed to keep up with dkh demand.

ELChingonsReef · Nov 7, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I'm not a fan of a reactor unless space is a limiting factor.

IMO, it is easier to control potency from a settled reservoir of limewater (kalkwasser). I dosed it that way for 20 years.

You can dose with a pump set to anything below the daily evaporation rate, or you can use an ATO. I went the ATO route, but a doser will result in more day to day stability of alk. How important that is will depend on the daily consumption (2-3 dKH dosed per day is a lot more of a concern than is 0.2 to 0.3 dKH dosed per day) and the organisms in the tank.

Thanks randy I agree. I'll dose from a reservoir with a doser. So I evaporate 2.5 gallons daily. I'll dose 1.5 gallons of kalkwasser to start and see how things go from there. I appreciate your advice randy