Has anyone used kalkwasser on a dosing pump?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That’s great thanks! Is kalk your only supplement or do you use 2-part/calcium reactor as well? What kind of pH rise do you think I will see with roughly 200 mL per day? And what dosing pump do you use to get 70 doses? I’m pretty sure mine tops out at 24/day.

Not much at all. It’s too small of a volume. The numbers I give are for instantaneous addition. If you spread it out over a whole day the rise is far less because the tank sucks in CO2.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

As a general rule for alkalinity supplements, bicarbonate gives a small pH drop, carbonate gives a pH rise, and hydroxide gives about twice the pH rise per unit of alkalinity added.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Not much at all. It’s too small of a volume. The numbers I give are for instantaneous addition. If you spread it out over a whole day the rise is far less because the tank sucks in CO2.

As a general rule for alkalinity supplements, bicarbonate gives a small pH drop, carbonate gives a pH rise, and hydroxide gives about twice the pH rise per unit of alkalinity added.

Thanks for the reply! So do you think the dual esv b-ionic and kalk might keep pH slightly elevated with the CO2 scrubber?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply! So do you think the dual esv b-ionic and kalk might keep pH slightly elevated with the CO2 scrubber?

Yes, all those will help.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Yes, all those will help.

Thank you! I’ll try this for now and keep track of alk and pH to see if it does the trick!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you! I’ll try this for now and keep track of alk and pH to see if it does the trick!

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[cloggins]

Thought I'd chime in... I add kalk w/ a dosing pump.

 

[Cory]

Me too. Best way imo.

I wouldnt add it to raise ph because it will add alkalinity and calcium.

However it is fine to maintain alk and calcium but the ph raise is only temporary not permanent.

 

[drawman]

Thought I'd chime in... I add kalk w/ a dosing pump.

Are you dosing every hr?

 

[drawman]

Me too. Best way imo.

I wouldnt add it to raise ph because it will add alkalinity and calcium.

However it is fine to maintain alk and calcium but the ph raise is only temporary not permanent.

Same question for you are you dosing every hr?

 

[Cory]

Same question for you are you dosing every hr?

My doser lets me dose 24 times a day. So i do that.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Thought I'd chime in... I add kalk w/ a dosing pump.

Me too. Best way imo.

I wouldnt add it to raise ph because it will add alkalinity and calcium.

However it is fine to maintain alk and calcium but the ph raise is only temporary not permanent.

My doser lets me dose 24 times a day. So i do that.

It seems like kalkwasser on a controlled doser is the safest way to add it. On my old tank I had it in the ATO but it was 150 gallons and I felt fairly confident that there weren’t any major swings. With a smaller tank, doses split up over 24 hours seems like the way to go. And I’m definitely not treating it like a “pH additive”. I’d like to use it as a compliment to my 2-part hoping it helps to buffer my pH a bit more.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It seems like kalkwasser on a controlled doser is the safest way to add it.

An ATO whose max dose rate is just a little bit higher than the daily evaporation is also perfectly safe.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

An ATO whose max dose rate is just a little bit higher than the daily evaporation is also perfectly safe.

Good point! That’s probably why it worked so well on my 150, I never had an over-top-off issue.

 

[Mickey]

One more thought to consider, Kalk is a much cheaper way to add Alk and CA than two part, so you might want to add a set amount of Kalk and then use two part additions if the Kalk alone doesn't keep up with the demands of the tank.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

One more thought to consider, Kalk is a much cheaper way to add Alk and CA than two part, so you might want to add a set amount of Kalk and then use two part additions if the Kalk alone doesn't keep up with the demands of the tank.

Another true point. For me in such a small tank the ESV B-ionic is a manageable cost for me and worth the additional trace elements. But the addition of kalk is a great way to offset some of the dosage while hopefully gaining a minor pH bump overall.

 

[xiaoxiy]

I’m a little late to this thread, but I’ve been doing kalk in a reactor (AVAST K2) with the Versa Doser for approximately 2 months with really good results. Currently I dose approximately 1.2L a day in my 80 gallon system. I replenish magnesium with automatic water changes. I have ATI essentials set up as a back up for when my alk consumption exceeds my ability to add Kalk to the system.

 

[drawman]

I’m a little late to this thread, but I’ve been doing kalk in a reactor (AVAST K2) with the Versa Doser for approximately 2 months with really good results. Currently I dose approximately 1.2L a day in my 80 gallon system. I replenish magnesium with automatic water changes. I have ATI essentials set up as a back up for when my alk consumption exceeds my ability to add Kalk to the system.

So oddly enough I just read a thread where a guy had his Versa crack due to Kalk. @GainesvilleReef can you comment?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So oddly enough I just read a thread where a guy had his Versa crack due to Kalk. @GainesvilleReef can you comment?

When you use a reactor with a doser, I'd put the doser upstream of the reactor.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

I’m a little late to this thread, but I’ve been doing kalk in a reactor (AVAST K2) with the Versa Doser for approximately 2 months with really good results. Currently I dose approximately 1.2L a day in my 80 gallon system. I replenish magnesium with automatic water changes. I have ATI essentials set up as a back up for when my alk consumption exceeds my ability to add Kalk to the system.

Very nice looking tank! Love the double island structure! I think the kalk 2-part combo sounds like a successful option.