mcarroll
10K Club member
Personally, I'd recommend increasing water changes do deal with as much of the chemistry differential as possible, for a start.
Increased water changes -> add two-part dosing
When you're doing the max with water changes, add two part dosing. This will be mostly or all for alkalinity to begin with, though sooner or later you will see Ca numbers starting to fall a little as well. I recommend using Brightwell Calcion and Alkalin8.3 as, while not usually the cheapest solution, they give you excellent directions to get you started using them correctly along with your test kits. The fact is you shouldn't be dosing much at the beginning, so the cost really isn't that consequential and getting off to a good start can't be over-rated.
Increased water changes + two-part dosing -> (Increased water changes + two-part dosing) + kalk
Once you've been dosing two part for Ca and alkalinity for a little while and you start seeing costs go up, this is the time to add kalk to your ATO system. There are many, many ways people add kalk, but I like the Tunze 5074 due to its simplicity and utility. TLF makes a unit with a similar concept. Dose at the max. rate for the doser (you can't get more than about 100ppm Ca using plain RODI water) and compensate by adjusting your two-part dosing way down as your test kits dictate.
By the time you notice two-part costs going back up again after adding kalk, you'll be very comfortable in your testing and dosing routine and you're ready to switch up to bulk or DIY two-part ingredients to keep ongoing costs manageable.
That's what I recommend.
How much water changing (and how often) are you doing now? If you're not already there, I'd try to take water changes up to at least 20% per week - more is possible - depending on feasibility for you.
-Matt
P.S. Sorry to hear about the crash.....what happened?
Increased water changes -> add two-part dosing
When you're doing the max with water changes, add two part dosing. This will be mostly or all for alkalinity to begin with, though sooner or later you will see Ca numbers starting to fall a little as well. I recommend using Brightwell Calcion and Alkalin8.3 as, while not usually the cheapest solution, they give you excellent directions to get you started using them correctly along with your test kits. The fact is you shouldn't be dosing much at the beginning, so the cost really isn't that consequential and getting off to a good start can't be over-rated.
Increased water changes + two-part dosing -> (Increased water changes + two-part dosing) + kalk
Once you've been dosing two part for Ca and alkalinity for a little while and you start seeing costs go up, this is the time to add kalk to your ATO system. There are many, many ways people add kalk, but I like the Tunze 5074 due to its simplicity and utility. TLF makes a unit with a similar concept. Dose at the max. rate for the doser (you can't get more than about 100ppm Ca using plain RODI water) and compensate by adjusting your two-part dosing way down as your test kits dictate.
By the time you notice two-part costs going back up again after adding kalk, you'll be very comfortable in your testing and dosing routine and you're ready to switch up to bulk or DIY two-part ingredients to keep ongoing costs manageable.
That's what I recommend.
How much water changing (and how often) are you doing now? If you're not already there, I'd try to take water changes up to at least 20% per week - more is possible - depending on feasibility for you.-Matt
P.S. Sorry to hear about the crash.....what happened?
