Help me get started

KJoFan · Oct 1, 2017

I have been dosing kalk in my ATO to keep up with alk demand, however as of late it's not keeping up. I'm not at full saturation, but thinking of just moving to AF balling method as I bought the components and a doser.

The issue is that my alk is sitting at 6.8 currently. Down from 7.1 on 9/28. Kalk is at 1 tsp/gallon in the ATO. I don't want alk sitting this low, but don't know how to figure how much it's using per day in order to find a starting point with AF except to let it drift even further down, which I'd rather not do.

Is there an amount of AF I could just start out with and monitor for a few days to get it more dialed in? I obviously have some wiggle room and need to bring alk up, ideally closer to 8.0.

Anirban · Oct 1, 2017

Total water volume and Ca and Mg readings please.

KJoFan · Oct 1, 2017

I would guess...70 gallons total. It's a 66g display and the sump probably runs about 15g in it, so after displacement...

I don't have readings for those from today, but I tested this past week:

Ca = 435
Mg = Honestly I haven't tested this recently. It's always been 1500+ which I believe is attributed to using Fritz RPM salt. Seems common to have elevated Mag for some reason.

Anirban · Oct 1, 2017

You need to bring that Mg down. Otherwise you will not be able to equal dose all three components and it will be tough to balance out unless you want to keep it that high.

KJoFan · Oct 2, 2017

Anirban said:
You need to bring that Mg down. Otherwise you will not be able to equal dose all three components and it will be tough to balance out unless you want to keep it that high.

I need to probably test it once and see where it actually is. I haven't tested in awhile. It was always high so I didn't bother. But, as you say, now it will matter a bit.

Not sure how I would bring it down though if it needs it when my NSW is also high.

For now I've just replenished the kalk in the ATO until I can get things ready.

KJoFan · Oct 2, 2017

I tested Mag tonight with my Red Sea kit and got 1600+ (as high as the kit goes). I really don't know how I am to bring this down? I am using the Fritz salt and have a fair bit left to use up, then I'll move to AF Reef Salt. Unless I need to start switching now in hopes of drawing down Mag?

rkpetersen · Oct 2, 2017

KJoFan said:
I am using the Fritz salt and have a fair bit left to use up, then I'll move to AF Reef Salt.

FWIW, I just tested a new box of RPM a couple of days ago, and got 1410 ppm for Mg using the Salifert test kit (at salinity 1.026 / 34.5 ppt). Last time I tested RPM it was similar. Ymmv of course.

Are you dosing anything else besides kalk? Or could your kalk have Mg in it?

(I don't know how to get rid of excess Mg short of water changes with something that has less. I am currently dealing with excess potassium with unclear source myself, so I can appreciate the headache this is causing you.)

KJoFan · Oct 2, 2017

rkpetersen said:
FWIW, I just tested a new box of RPM a couple of days ago, and got 1410 ppm for Mg using the Salifert test kit (at salinity 1.026 / 34.5 ppt). Last time I tested RPM it was similar. Ymmv of course.

Are you dosing anything else besides kalk? Or could your kalk have Mg in it?

(I don't know how to get rid of excess Mg short of water changes with something that has less. I am currently dealing with excess potassium with unclear source myself, so I can appreciate the headache this is causing you.)

I do wonder if they've addressed the Mag issue, as it seems to have been around awhile. I've had this box for...a month or better and who knows when my LFS actually got it. I haven't tested the NSW from this box, but it must not be significantly lower just based on my tank readings.

Maybe I could pick up another test kit just to see, though this test isn't necessarily old or anything. Honestly, I haven't noticed ill effects and wouldn't worry about it if not for wanting to switch to AF balling.

I wouldn't think the kalk would have any mag in it? It's just the BRS Kalkwasser. I know the AF components have other things in them, but would the world end if I started with 1 and 2 and held off on 3? (I'm sure some will say yes)

Anirban · Oct 2, 2017

KJoFan said:
I tested Mag tonight with my Red Sea kit and got 1600+ (as high as the kit goes). I really don't know how I am to bring this down? I am using the Fritz salt and have a fair bit left to use up, then I'll move to AF Reef Salt. Unless I need to start switching now in hopes of drawing down Mag?

Start doing 10% water changes with the reef salt now. Then after few weeks mix both salts to do water changes. In that way you will use up your fritz and your Mg will come down too.

KJoFan · Oct 2, 2017

Anirban said:
Start doing 10% water changes with the reef salt now. Then after few weeks mix both salts to do water changes. In that way you will use up your fritz and your Mg will come down too.

Does the reef salt have lower mag? Hopefully. I can switch to the reef salt exclusively for that tank now if it will help. I can use up the Fritz on another tank and QT that mag levels won't really matter. Or, I can mix them to use it up faster.