Low dkh ......q's

twintrades · Apr 2, 2013

Hey there found out my Dkh is at 7 and cal is at 450. Ph is 7.8
Why would i have a low dkh? I figured i should start dosing again. I use a 2 part til i run out of it (have quite a bit:tongue

then ill switch to a drip. so for tonight i added 30 ml of each

So in theory i could just add some of the part b to raise my alk right?
Ive been reading about baking soda and Baked baking soda. Could i or should i add any of this instead ?

Im still reading on it. Do i add in powder form or should i mix in cup and add ?

Downbeach · Apr 2, 2013

All your numbers are fine, see here. You can add just the alk part to get that up a little, your Ca is a toward the upper limit, so just let it come down on its own. You can use simple baking soda, but I'd suggest you make it into a solution(1 1/8 cup to 1 gal. of RO/DI water) and dose it that way.
As long as your Alk and Ca are within normal ranges, I wouldn't worry about the pH. This time of year with the windows and doors all closed up there will be elevated levels of CO2 in the household atmosphere, which is depressing it. You could add some kalkwasser to your top off(up to 2 tsp. per gal. of RO/DI), which will utilize some of the CO2, and help to elevate it.
I would make up the two part solutions by using calcium chloride for my Ca supplement, and either baking soda, or soda ash(baked baking soda), for my alk supplement, it really isn't hard to do, and is a major savings.
Here is a copy/paste of a cost analysis, I just did on another forum:

1 gallon of Calcium Chloride is $17.09 @ BRS. Using recipe #2 it yields about 14 gallons of solution which works out to $1.20 per gallon.

12 lbs of A&H Baking Soda is $7.57 @ Walmart. Using recipe #2 it yields about 14 gallons of solution which works out to $ .54 per gallon.

So, Sea**** - buy both for $ 55.38

DIY both for $ 1.74

Recipe #1 might be twice as expensive, so say at most $ 3.48.