Kalkwasser question

[Joemorton84]

So ive been dealing with kalkwasser and im having trouble. So I averaged my tank evaporates about 5 gallons in a week. I've been dosing kalkwasser from a doser into the tank. Doesn't seem to be rising the alkalinity. I have 5 gallon containers that im using for kalkwasser due to me having a 250 gallon system. Im dosing 800ml a day its dosing 12 times a day but noticed sump level is rising and throwing my skimmer off. Anyone have this issue. I need some help

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So ive been dealing with kalkwasser and im having trouble. So I averaged my tank evaporates about 5 gallons in a week. I've been dosing kalkwasser from a doser into the tank. Doesn't seem to be rising the alkalinity. I have 5 gallon containers that im using for kalkwasser due to me having a 250 gallon system. Im dosing 800ml a day its dosing 12 times a day but noticed sump level is rising and throwing my skimmer off. Anyone have this issue. I need some help

That’s a very low dose, and it sounds like even so you are dosing too much fluid.

 

[Garf]

So ive been dealing with kalkwasser and im having trouble. So I averaged my tank evaporates about 5 gallons in a week. I've been dosing kalkwasser from a doser into the tank. Doesn't seem to be rising the alkalinity. I have 5 gallon containers that im using for kalkwasser due to me having a 250 gallon system. Im dosing 800ml a day its dosing 12 times a day but noticed sump level is rising and throwing my skimmer off. Anyone have this issue. I need some help

In a 250 gallon system, you gotta be evaporating off more than that.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That dose is about 0.1 dKH per day of added alk.

 

[Stephen Glover]

I‘m dosing 2400ml kalk per day on a 90 gallon system.

 

[radfly]

I dose 950 ml in a 20 gallon. You are really low on your dosage.

 

[ReefEco]

I would guess that even just the coralline on a 250 gallon system would consume more ALK/CAL than you could replenish with just dosing saturated kalkwasser solution, which as you are finding out, is limited by your top off rate. What corals do you have in your tank? If your top off rate is really that low, you likely will need to research dosing 2-part solutions for Alkalinity and Calcium on a doser, then manual occasional replacement of Magnesium with a third solution, or there are some one-part solutions, calcium reactor, etc. Lots of options...

 

[chimbo84]

Something is off here. You should definitely be evaporating more than that unless you have a glass lid or something preventing air exchange on your tank.
I have a 120 and dose about 2000ml a day and this is for light consumption.

 

[JB Reefer]

I'm dosing 13,000 ml at night of Saturated Kalk my total daily evaporation on my 500 gallon tank.

 

[Joemorton84]

Something is off here. You should definitely be evaporating more than that unless you have a glass lid or something preventing air exchange on your tank.
I have a 120 and dose about 2000ml a day and this is for light consumption.

Yes glass lids. I raised it to 1000ml to see if I see an increase. In a day then if not ill try 2000ml.

 

[saltyfins]

Yes glass lids. I raised it to 1000ml to see if I see an increase. In a day then if not ill try 2000ml.

lose the glass lids. You need that gas exchange, and you are also killing your par I tossed mine when I got them. No need for those. if you need a lid, making one with very fine filament is best. easy also

 

[ReefEco]

If you are already seeing a rise in your sump level at 800ml/day, then you are dosing too much - so I would worry about increasing your dosage further without linking it with your evaporation rate. As suggested, if you lose the glass lids, track your top off for a couple days, and then recalculate your kalk dose. Don't dose kalk solution without it being informed by your evaporation rate...

 

[Joemorton84]

I would guess that even just the coralline on a 250 gallon system would consume more ALK/CAL than you could replenish with just dosing saturated kalkwasser solution, which as you are finding out, is limited by your top off rate. What corals do you have in your tank? If your top off rate is really that low, you likely will need to research dosing 2-part solutions for Alkalinity and Calcium on a doser, then manual occasional replacement of Magnesium with a third solution, or there are some one-part solutions, calcium reactor, etc.

If you are already seeing a rise in your sump level at 800ml/day, then you are dosing too much - so I would worry about increasing your dosage further without linking it with your evaporation rate. As suggested, if you lose the glass lids, track your top off for a couple days, and then recalculate your kalk dose. Don't dose kalk solution without it being informed by your evaporation rate...

If you are already seeing a rise in your sump level at 800ml/day, then you are dosing too much - so I would worry about increasing your dosage further without linking it with your evaporation rate. As suggested, if you lose the glass lids, track your top off for a couple days, and then recalculate your kalk dose. Don't dose kalk solution without it being informed by your evaporation rate...

Ok im going to try and see if maybe my ato went off which added to the rise. Im unsure. But I will keep that in mind.

 

[Stephen Glover]

What’s your pH with the glass lids? Unless the air in your house has very high C02 you want that air exchange.

 

[Joemorton84]

What’s your pH with the glass lids? Unless the air in your house has very high C02 you want that air exchange.

Ph seems to be 8-8.3

 

[Joemorton84]

What’s your pH with the glass lids? Unless the air in your house has very high C02 you want that air exchange.

Should I be checking co2 in the tank how could I do this to know

 

[Stephen Glover]

Should I be checking co2 in the tank how could I do this to know

i use a portable c02 meter to measure the air in the room. If you remove the glass lids and your pH decreases then you know the c02 in your house is high. Your Ph is fine so I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[ReefEco]

Usually modern houses are pretty tightly sealed, so have high Co2 levels, which usually depresses pH. Higher pH leads to higher consumption of ALK/CAL usually, since calcifying organisms do it faster at higher pH. You could get a Co2 monitor, but honestly that is a layer of information you don't really need unless you are really trying to tune your tank - let's get the basics squared away first. If you are running a skimmer, the gas exchange from it likely far outstrips that of the surface of the tank, so I'm less inclined to remove the lids because of gas exchange, but more for evaporation rate to increase your kalk, and blocking light...

 

[Joemorton84]

Usually modern houses are pretty tightly sealed, so have high Co2 levels, which usually depresses pH. Higher pH leads to higher consumption of ALK/CAL usually, since calcifying organisms do it faster at higher pH. You could get a Co2 monitor, but honestly that is a layer of information you don't really need unless you are really trying to tune your tank - let's get the basics squared away first. If you are running a skimmer, the gas exchange from it likely far outstrips that of the surface of the tank, so I'm less inclined to remove the lids because of gas exchange, but more for evaporation rate to increase your kalk, and blocking light...

Yes I am running nyos 160 on my tank

 

[Funwithreefer]

Not to hijack the thread, but i have a somewhat related question. I just shifted from dosing Kalk from my ATO to a dosing pump, dosing 24 times a day. I'm still trying to dial it in and currently doing 2,500 ml on a 150 gallon (110 volume) to try to keep pH at 8.3. But i'm noticing my salinity dropping. Seems odd considering i was seeing about a gallon of evaporation a day and i'm not even dosing a gallon Thoughts?