Kalkwasser dosing questions

[Mattc123]

Yeah it's a weird situation since you don't really have corals to uptake the stuff. But I mean the fact you don't have corals means if there are alk swings it is not the end of the world.

That and the fact that GSPs will pretty much take anything I can throw at them lol so I guess they're a good indicator right now but at least they're open and growing every day.

 

[Mattc123]

I would maybe try and get the Kamoer Stepper Doser since you can do a continuous mode, and you can adjust it up to 0.1 ml a minute. I have a 50 gallon so I need something to dose very slow, and it's continuous which is nice. If it gets unplugged and plugged back in it'll go back to the same continuous setting like nothing happened, so you may be able to use that to your advantage if using a probe along with it and having it work along with your pH levels.

Also the only other thing I can think of is a refugium to help pH, but I know not everyone has the space for that in the sump (I don't).
Maybe try microbubble scrubbing? Might help a tad, all you need is a air pump/stone.
I know it helps clear up organics in and around the rock which can clear out stuff and improve pH.

Also if you have liverock or some sort of hitchikers, something could have died and released a bunch of stuff that really is taking a toll on the pH. But this situation is strange and I hope it gets solved.
I had dealt with Pathogenic Bacteria with my corals for over a year and it was so upsetting and made me want to quit. I lost all so many of my stony corals despite my tank being great parameter/pest wise.

I had all dead rock minus 2 big chunks of live rock so there is that possiblity but I'd hope not since I used mostly dead rock. Thank you for all your help here and I will keep this thread updated! Pathogenic bacteria sounds like something that would definitely make me quit but kudos to you for working through it! Do you have any pics of you tank and how big is it?

 

[Cantusaurus]

This actually sounds like a better option than a 50ml/pump and I'll look into this as well. I have a santa Monica drop 1.2 scrubber but it has never worked properly and I think it's probably because I have an undersized air pump. I'm going to get a whisper 150 and see if that helps. I also just toned down the light cycle on it. It's either that or sell it and go with chaeto but that will probably make a mess. So hopefully between a CO2 scrubber, kalkwasser, and hopefully fixing the algae scrubber the pH will finally be fixed. Luckily my neighbor is a chemist and can get me soda lime and kalk powder for free/almost free!

Oh wow! Well that definitely helps having that hook up

 

[bobnicaragua]

Don’t dose the kalk without having the coral load to consume it. Add in some hardy SPS like montipora and stylophora. Test your alk on a regular basis and keep it between 7-9. Slowly up your dosage as your corals grow and need more alkalinity and calcium.

 

[Cantusaurus]

I had all dead rock minus 2 big chunks of live rock so there is that possiblity but I'd hope not since I used mostly dead rock. Thank you for all your help here and I will keep this thread updated! Pathogenic bacteria sounds like something that would definitely make me quit but kudos to you for working through it! Do you have any pics of you tank and how big is it?

It’s kinda a mess right now. I’m holding a lot of frags for someone. Also the colors don’t look accurate but you still get the point

 

[Mattc123]

Oh wow! Well that definitely helps having that hook up

He's definitely a real one for that lol

 

[Mattc123]

Don’t dose the kalk without having the coral load to consume it. Add in some hardy SPS like montipora and stylophora. Test your alk on a regular basis and keep it between 7-9. Slowly up your dosage as your corals grow and need more alkalinity and calcium.

The only problem is I don't want to throw them into a tank with 7.5 pH. Maybe I'll dose a week and see where my alk, calcium, and pH is and I can get a few montis after that to start uptaking it all. Or if anything just more frequent water changes.

 

[Mattc123]

It’s kinda a mess right now. I’m holding a lot of frags for someone. Also the colors don’t look accurate but you still get the point

That is an absolutely insane amount of coral! Sadly I've never gotten to that point but I hope to soon because that's beautiful whether it's a mess or not! Loving your btas as well. Might just have to buy some from you if you ever sell any!

 

[Acros]

High room CO2 concentration is the usual cause of low tank pH. It is a better idea to fix that. I know it is not always practical in the summer of winter. Dosing kalkwasser without fixing the root cause might not give you the desired pH boost.

Adding corals to a tank with 7.5 pH is perfectly fine. Yeah, they might do better in a tank with higher pH, but 7.5 is not going to kill coral. You will have other issues in a new tank, which will kill coral.

 

[Cantusaurus]

That is an absolutely insane amount of coral! Sadly I've never gotten to that point but I hope to soon because that's beautiful whether it's a mess or not! Loving your btas as well. Might just have to buy some from you if you ever sell any!

Yeah thank you. Yeah I definitely worked my way up to it. I would ideally not have any frag racks since they shade corals below and they don't look good, but it is what is. I'm also holding that nice CSB Bubble tip. Anemone for someone, and yeah it is beautiful. It will look even better when it is not in a box and gets a lot more light.

I am about to sell coral to someone online for the first time, so I'm sure I can hook you up with some in the future for really cheap. I have 5 types of birdsnests and 4 types of Stylos so I have a lot of choice when it comes to easy SPS.

 

[Mattc123]

High room CO2 concentration is the usual cause of low tank pH. It is a better idea to fix that. I know it is not always practical in the summer of winter. Dosing kalkwasser without fixing the root cause might not give you the desired pH boost.

Adding corals to a tank with 7.5 pH is perfectly fine. Yeah, they might do better in a tank with higher pH, but 7.5 is not going to kill coral. You will have other issues in a new tank, which will kill coral.

I simply have no way to fix it sadly. I can't run an airline outside nor can I leave windows open all the time and I don't know how else I can remove co2. If 7.5 won't harm them then I might have to get some to uptake the calc and alk like bob said

 

[Mattc123]

Yeah thank you. Yeah I definitely worked my way up to it. I would ideally not have any frag racks since they shade corals below and they don't look good, but it is what is. I'm also holding that nice CSB Bubble tip. Anemone for someone, and yeah it is beautiful. It will look even better when it is not in a box and gets a lot more light.

I am about to sell coral to someone online for the first time, so I'm sure I can hook you up with some in the future for really cheap. I have 5 types of birdsnests and 4 types of Stylos so I have a lot of choice when it comes to easy SPS.

Well if the selling goes well and I fix my pH I will definitely be in the market for lots of corals! I pmed you as well about what pump you'd recommend so we can keep in contact.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I simply have no way to fix it sadly. I can't run an airline outside nor can I leave windows open all the time and I don't know how else I can remove co2. If 7.5 won't harm them then I might have to get some to uptake the calc and alk like bob said

I keep one window slightly cracked all the time. You can buy bolt on window locks from Amazon. I’m in Dallas and haven’t noticed a difference in my electric bill.

 

[Mattc123]

I keep one window slightly cracked all the time. You can buy bolt on window locks from Amazon. I’m in Dallas and haven’t noticed a difference in my electric bill.

In Michigan when it's cold out in the winter keeping the window open just isn't an option and in the summer the humidity is just too high due to where I'm located especially at night on top of the fact my power is quite expensive as well.

 

[Acros]

I simply have no way to fix it sadly. I can't run an airline outside nor can I leave windows open all the time and I don't know how else I can remove co2. If 7.5 won't harm them then I might have to get some to uptake the calc and alk like bob said

I am in a similar situation and got a ph boost of 0.05 with kalkwasser. Could as well be a measurement error. I get a 0.2 ph boost if I can open windows for a couple hours each day.

That being said, I still continue to dose it as my corals look happier with kalkwasser. Better PE and faster growth.

I would suggest you to add corals and work up your alk consumption. My alk consumption is above 2 dkh/day. So I can replace all my evaporation with kalkwasser and dose 3 part balling on top of it.

Btw, I use an Ecotech Versa to dose kalkwasser and love it. They fixed the newer versions to have better tubing, suitable for kalkwasser.

 

[Mattc123]

I am in a similar situation and got a ph boost of 0.05 with kalkwasser. Could as well be a measurement error. I get a 0.2 ph boost if I can open windows for a couple hours each day.

That being said, I still continue to dose it as my corals look happier with kalkwasser. Better PE and faster growth.

I would suggest you to add corals and work up your alk consumption. My alk consumption is above 2 dkh/day. So I can replace all my evaporation with kalkwasser and dose 3 part balling on top of it.

Btw, I use an Ecotech Versa to dose kalkwasser and love it. They fixed the newer versions to have better tubing, suitable for kalkwasser.

At this point I might just have to throw the tank outside but I don't think it will fit out the window!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree with others that if alk and calcium demand is low, limewater (kalkwasser) is not going to do much.

What is your daily alk demand?

 

[bobnicaragua]

I’m going to disagree with cracking a window being so problematic. I’m in Dallas, and the high has been around 107 degrees all week. My window is cracked enough to slide a few coins under it.

I haven’t noticed a difference in my electric bill, but alkalinity uptake has increased. Worse case it’ll cost you $5 or $10 a month in peak winter and summer. That’s a lot cheaper and easier than running a CO2 scrubber.

 

[Mattc123]

I agree with others that if alk and calcium demand is low, limewater (kalkwasser) is not going to do much.

What is your daily alk demand?

My alk demand is pretty much non existent because I have no coral except a GSP. Can I do water changes to take the calcium back out?

 

[Mattc123]

I’m going to disagree with cracking a window being so problematic. I’m in Dallas, and the high has been around 107 degrees all week. My window is cracked enough to slide a few coins under it.

I haven’t noticed a difference in my electric bill, but alkalinity uptake has increased. Worse case it’ll cost you $5 or $10 a month in peak winter and summer. That’s a lot cheaper and easier than running a CO2 scrubber.

The thing is it's not my power bill, and opening them doesn't make enough of a difference for it to still be an acceptable pH, and I just can't leave my windows open all the time.