Kalkwasser or All for Reef?

[beehive124]

Hi all! I have a small 30 gallon system that now needs dosing because the corals are getting pretty large. I’ve never dosed before as my corals haven’t particularly needed it since they were smaller and water changes kept params in check. I was wondering what was better to dose: Kalkwasser or All For Reef. Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

What elements do you need to dose?

 

[rtparty]

If you manily need alkalinity and calcium plus a pH boost, go with kalkwasser.

If you need more than those two and no pH boost, All For Reef is a good choice

 

[areefer01]

Hi all! I have a small 30 gallon system that now needs dosing because the corals are getting pretty large. I’ve never dosed before as my corals haven’t particularly needed it since they were smaller and water changes kept params in check. I was wondering what was better to dose: Kalkwasser or All For Reef. Thanks!

Before anyone should really answer there are a few open questions for you:

1. What is the water change frequency
2. What is the consumption rate of Alk, Ca
3. Regarding #2 above, what do the trends look like
4. Are you planning on dosing manually or automatic via controller or semi auto via auto top off (kalkwasser)

It very well could be that your frequent water change could continue to manage parameters. On the other hand depending on what the trends look maybe one of the two you list will be better. Just depends on how fast you need to replenish based on daily changes.

 

[Seansea]

I dose A4r because it is easy and adds alot of trace elements which i need because my scrubber removes tons of crap both good and bad. It is great for keepin alk rock solid but does nohing for ph. I am considering using some kalwasser witht the A4R simply because my ph hangs a little low.

 

[CNDReef]

Kalkwasser is very simple and there’s a few ways you can dose it. You can go as basic as a gravity drip or as complex as a dosing pump.
Cheapest option of any to maintain alk calcium.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

AFR is perfect for small systems. I've done kalk, 2 part, and AFR. All in nano's.

AFR is by far the simplest and most complete of the three.

 

[beehive124]

Before anyone should really answer there are a few open questions for you:

1. What is the water change frequency
2. What is the consumption rate of Alk, Ca
3. Regarding #2 above, what do the trends look like
4. Are you planning on dosing manually or automatic via controller or semi auto via auto top off (kalkwasser)

It very well could be that your frequent water change could continue to manage parameters. On the other hand depending on what the trends look maybe one of the two you list will be better. Just depends on how fast you need to replenish based on daily changes.

I change water every 7-10 days (25%) each time. I hadn’t checked my alkalinity in awhile unfortunately, but I checked after my last water change and it was at 8.5 dKh. Today (about 7 days later) it was at 7.1. My magnesium is also lower than normal at 1300 ppm instead of the usual 1450. I hadn’t really tested my water in a few months and my coral really took off growing, so a drop like this I should’ve anticipated, but I was lazy.

I was planning on using a dosing pump from BRS, the 1.1 ml a minute model, and hook it up to a timer.

PS I don’t have a reliable calcium test kit so I’m unsure of the rate there.

 

[Acros]

Here is my roadmap for newbies to dosing.

Step 1: Start with all for reef (simple and will teach you how dosing works).
Step 2: Now your corals have grown significantly and all for reef is not cost effective anymore. Dose ESV Bionic or a similar 2/3 part.
Step 3: Experiment with kalkwasser. It is a lot more hassle and won’t give the desired ph boost in all scenarios. Plus it is messy.
Step 4: You upgraded to that big acro dominant system. Time to look into a calcium reactor.

 

[danny_M]

Hi all! I have a small 30 gallon system that now needs dosing because the corals are getting pretty large. I’ve never dosed before as my corals haven’t particularly needed it since they were smaller and water changes kept params in check. I was wondering what was better to dose: Kalkwasser or All For Reef. Thanks!

I'm using both. The minimum dose of All For Reef calculated for your amount of water, mainly to make use of the advantage of suplementing minor trace elements present in AFR, and kalkwasser to boost and maintain stable PH. I measure Ca ( Calcium) level once a week to make shure it does not get too high ( 465 is my limit). Seems to work good so far, Ph sits between 8.05 and 8.15. I'm planning to do some testing with NaOH (natriumhydroxide) to get better Ph boost without raising Ca even more.

 

[exnisstech]

Before anyone should really answer there are a few open questions for you:

1. What is the water change frequency
2. What is the consumption rate of Alk, Ca
3. Regarding #2 above, what do the trends look like
4. Are you planning on dosing manually or automatic via controller or semi auto via auto top off (kalkwasser)

It very well could be that your frequent water change could continue to manage parameters. On the other hand depending on what the trends look maybe one of the two you list will be better. Just depends on how fast you need to replenish based on daily changes.

^this ^

 

[GirlGotTanked]

FWIW, I have a 29g and have been using the Carbo-Calcium (no trace elements) for about 2 months now. The average alk was 8.3 and the cal was 420. I needed to raise my PH so I've been dosing kalkwasser to supplement. Now my readings on average are alk 9.5 and cal 470, no precipitation. PH boosted from 7.8 to 8.1. Everything is looking good, growing good. I love the Tropic Marin line because it makes the alk/cal a non-issue. I hear great things about All for Reef too, I just had a bottle of trace elements that I'm working through before I switch over to it.

 

[beehive124]

Thank you all! This has been extremely helpful! I decided to go with AFR as it contains magnesium and trace elements and my pH sits really nice at 8.0-8.15, so I wouldn’t need the pH boost kalkwasser brings.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Sounds like a fine plan.

Happy Reefing!