Kalkwasser question. I feel a little dumb.

[whyoming.white]

Ok I’ve been dosing Kalk to my tank at a level of 1.5tsp per gallon for about 2 months now through my auto top off. Recently I picked up the Red Sea trace colors program so I can start dosing that to my tank as well. I chose this one because it says you can dose based on your calcium(plan on picking up the corresponding test kit soon).

How would I measure my daily calcium consumption since I am adding through my auto top off? I have a feeling the answer is going to be simple and I’m just over complicating it.

Is it as simple as just topping off with straight RODI for a few days and checking levels? Just want to make sure I dose correctly

 

[redfishbluefish]

Just to be clear, you are going to continue to use kalkwasser in the ATO?

You assume the kalkwasser addition is a wash......your baseline. I'll assume the kalkwasser additions are no longer keeping up with Calc (and Alk)....and that is what you'll now test for...the demand above and beyond the Kalk additions. So what you do is measure calc and alk levels....and again, assuming they are low (below what you want the levels to be at). Use any one of the dosing calculators and add the necessary amounts of alk and calc to bring it up to the levels you desire. Test to make sure they are at those desired levels. Now, the following day (about the same time), measure alk and calc and note how much it's dropped. If it's a very small drop, consider testing on day 2 and possibly day 3. If you go multiple days, you'll need to divide your consumption by the number of days to determine daily consumption. Once you know this numbers, start dosing the appropriate amounts. Continue to test daily to dial in the dose.

 

[Bpb]

It is that simple. However...your evaporation rate may be variable seasonally so remember to check it every couple months to make sure you’re still on track.

 

[HolisticBear]

There is a kalk calculator that provides the amount of Ca/Alk that kalk is providing. I probably wouldn't use that as the primary way, but could be interesting to compare. The skipping for 3 days (RODI only) and measuring your Alk consumption isn't a bad way to then have a Calcium number that you can covert into the proper RS ABCD amount.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/KalkContribution.php

 

[redfishbluefish]

..........The skipping for 3 days (RODI only) and measuring your Alk consumption isn't a bad way to then have a Calcium number that you can covert into the proper RS ABCD amount.....

Just to be clear, what I proposed above is continuing to run the ATO with kalkwasser. Again, assuming your tank has reached a level of consumption were kalkwasser can no longer keep up. So you simply supplement with alk/calc additions.

 

[HolisticBear]

Just to be clear, what I proposed above is continuing to run the ATO with kalkwasser. Again, assuming your tank has reached a level of consumption were kalkwasser can no longer keep up. So you simply supplement with alk/calc additions.

I think your assumption is wrong. With Red Sea he is not adding additional Alk/Ca or Mg, he's just adding their trace elements and wants to know how much Ca/Alk his Kalk is adding (which is currently keeping up with demand)

Cheers, Michael

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Right. Just use a calculator to see how much daily calcium the kalkwasser is contributing. Nothing more needed (at least if you accept Red Sea's idea to tie trace element dosing to calcium consumption. I don't think that's optimal).

 

[redfishbluefish]

I think your assumption is wrong. With Red Sea he is not adding additional Alk/Ca or Mg, he's just adding their trace elements and wants to know how much Ca/Alk his Kalk is adding (which is currently keeping up with demand)

Cheers, Michael

I do apologize......I'm old school and just don't keep up with the marketing mumbo jumbo names they have for their products. I remember when chlorine eliminators were simply called what they were.....sodium thiosulfate....no mumbo jumbo fancy names to attempt to differentiate their product. I did assume "colors" was their mumbo jumbo for alk and calc. Again, sorry for misleading you.

 

[whyoming.white]

Thank you everyone

 

[Mike Reef Addict]

It is that simple. However...your evaporation rate may be variable seasonally so remember to check it every couple months to make sure you’re still on track.

My Kalk consumption is 1/2 q gallon a day winter 1 gallon a day summer. I was just talking to a friend about this last night

 

[CNDReef]

Brs calculated it based on saturated kalk

for every 0.61 gallons of kalk you add 1 ml of colors to a 25 gallon volume tank
You can find the video on there sponsor forum here on r2r

 

[whyoming.white]

I’ll have to look for that video later on.