Kalkwasser

[CourtNjoeZreef]

So I was using kalkwasser in my ato but after it was out I decided to start dosing with a pump. Right now I'm at 10ml a day for a starting point.

I am shooting for 9.0 alkalinity (everything in my tank looks nicer in the higher range this far)

I been monitoring the drop for the last month and over the course of a week my 70g system drops from 9-> 7-7.7

I assume the carried drop is coral growth and my feeding habits. I'm usually good with it but not always #human

I guess my question is this:
Is 10ML a good starting spot or am I far and wide too low and should jump to something like 50ml a day.

Also to note. I added a lid for my jawfish and stopped evaporation by about 50% it was about a gallon a day out of the ato. Before bit quite 50% but darn near.

Any other information that could help I'll provide vest of my ability

Ph 8.3
Undetectable Ammonia nitrite nitrate

 

[jurgenph]

it sounds like you were dosing a gallon of kalkwasseer with your ATO previously.

switching that to 10 ml per day would explain the drop, and sounds fairly safe to bump that up until you reach stable numbers. just make sure to spread it out across multiple dosings, don't dump it in all at once.

also... try NOT to raise the ALK using kalkwasser, it's better to maintain it at the levels you have, once you use something like a two part to bump your levels to where you need them, use the kalswasser to keep 'em there.


J.

 

[CourtNjoeZreef]

it sounds like you were dosing a gallon of kalkwasseer with your ATO previously.

switching that to 10 ml per day would explain the drop, and sounds fairly safe to bump that up until you reach stable numbers. just make sure to spread it out across multiple dosings, don't dump it in all at once.

also... try NOT to raise the ALK using kalkwasser, it's better to maintain it at the levels you have, once you use something like a two part to bump your levels to where you need them, use the kalswasser to keep 'em there.


J.

I use the Soda Ash from BRS for the alkalinity additive.

I was using All-for-reef in the beginning. but i cant buy it now so i am having to relearn the whole darn thing. yes it was like 5 scoops of kalk to a 5g bucket. my ato is a 5g bucket with a tunez pump.

I am going to stabilize the alk with the soda ash daily and bump up 10 ML a week and see when everything levels off again

 

[Gtinnel]

If your alk isn't as high as you want it just increase the amount you are dosing slightly. If you are dosing 10ml now try adding a few ml to the amount you are dosing. The key is to increase the amount in small steps until you get to where you want.

 

[jurgenph]

i'm getting confused on what you're actually dosing now...

your first post only mentioned kalkwasser, and switching from ato to dosing pump.

were you actually asking how to switch from kalkwasser to two-part?

J.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It's always necessary to state exactly what you are dosing when asking dosing questions.

That said, I will guess that you are using my DIY (which BRS mimics) where 10 mL of the alk part is equivalent to 0.12 gallons of saturated limewater (kalkwasser).

You likely need to start a lot higher.

 

[Gtinnel]

They stated they're using soda ash for alk, so I'm assuming they're using a 2 part and no longer using kalkwasser.
Also, just knowing how much liquid their ATO was "dosing" isn't much help in figuring out a 2 part starting point if we don't know whether it was saturated or not.

 

[CourtNjoeZreef]

ATO was not an accurate way to dose it. so im switching to a dedicated kalk dosing system with which i can measure what is going in.

For alkalinity i use the soda ash
calcium i use the Calcium chloride

(my understanding is that these interact with each other and make lots of changes chemically so i do this over the course of a week. measure saturday then adjust as the week progresses if over 1.0 change is needed)

Daily i was using 15ml of all-for-reef
feeding with red sea amino acids

i cant seem to buy the all for reef anymore so now i am relying on the above mentioned items for my dosing. When i had the all for reef it was small adjustments each week. 10-30 ML to keep things even. without it the swings are more drastic. I believe Kalk is more for stabilization rather then the fix.

My question is if i am making a dent in keeping things even keel with 10 ML for a 70g system or do i need to just start higher. i understand that i need to monitor levels as i go but i would like to get in the ball park and not just the parking lot.

sorry for the confusion

 

[CourtNjoeZreef]

They stated they're using soda ash for alk, so I'm assuming they're using a 2 part and no longer using kalkwasser.
Also, just knowing how much liquid their ATO was "dosing" isn't much help in figuring out a 2 part starting point if we don't know whether it was saturated or not.

ATO was inaccurate and was more using the slurry. i dumped it and while i still had all for reef i had no issues. when i ran out the swings started. so i am trying to go back to kalk to stop/slow the swings

 

[CourtNjoeZreef]

It's always necessary to state exactly what you are dosing when asking dosing questions.

That said, I will guess that you are using my DIY (which BRS mimics) where 10 mL of the alk part is equivalent to 0.12 gallons of saturated limewater (kalkwasser).

You likely need to start a lot higher.

I figured i was in the way to low range with 10ML over the course of 12 hours. not all at once so i dont get nasty ph spikes. im going to bump up and continue to monitor. THank you for the response

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Use this calculator and Randy's Recipe #1 for dosing calculations to compare the sodium carbonate (BRS likes to call this soda ash lol) recipe to other recipes:

Reef Chemistry Calculator