Need to understand dosing Kalk

[Rctreece]

I currently dose Red Sea Cal and Alk using a Apex DOS. I have the ability to dose Mag but never have needed to. I want to increase my PH and read where I can use Kalkwasser to handle the daily alk and cal requirements along with a Ph boost. My question is can I use my DOS or should I do I manually or my ATO?

 

[Sabellafella]

I currently dose Red Sea Cal and Alk using a Apex DOS. I have the ability to dose Mag but never have needed to. I want to increase my PH and read where I can use Kalkwasser to handle the daily alk and cal requirements along with a Ph boost. My question is can I use my DOS or should I do I manually or my ATO?

In a more "controlled manor" I'd use the dos to dose the kalk. Kalk has the tendency to clog basically anything it comes in contact with Lol! Every 5 6 months i have to pull the dos tubing out, so i can kink all the precipitate out. Fortunantly my dos pump head tubing has stayed clean. Most likely due to the rollers on the tubing-witch inturn keeps it clean.

With dosing, you can fully saturate the kalk solution(greatly improving kalk benefits like precipitating metals and phosphate) and dos ALOT less then your typical evaporation. You'll need to adjust the concentration in your top off reservoir based on your tanks needs, also you may evaporate more/less water resulting in very very minor fluctuations. The math is slipping my mind, but I think every 800ml if fully saturated kalk on a 100 gallon tank should raise your kalk somewhere between .1 and .3 dkh. I may be wrong, ill have to check. But untill then it's a good baseline to follow if your dosing.

 

[Sabellafella]

I dos kalk with 2 part as well, to save money on b ionic 2part, and for the kalk benefits. I'll never run a tank without kalk, it's litterally a superior supplement in my eyes. Ontop of that it's cheap, just have to be ontop of maintenance.

 

[Montiman]

I use kalk in a diy kalk stirrer. I am very happy. I would recommend this set up if possible. Keeping the kalk in the reactor allows your dos and ato pump to take less ware and you don’t have to constantly mix new batches or clean your ato container.

I have seen many issues that have come from linking your kalk to your ATO so it is not for me.

 

[Sabellafella]

This is the absolute best article on kalkwasser if you got some time to read up on all of it.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php#5

 

[Greybeard]

I used ATO based Kalkwasser dosing for years. Switched to a measured dose from a dosing pump a year ago. Love it. Most stable Calc/Alk I've _ever_ had in one of my tanks. I'm still using ESV B-Ionic Calc/Alk and Mag, the Kalkwasser just lets me reduce the quantity. Substantially. My pH varies from 8.0 to 8.3 daily.

A few points: Kalkwasser must be made with fresh water. Preferably, RO/DI. You can't make it with salt. So... it's not going to raise your sodium, like your red sea Calc/Alk does. It's a very natural, balanced method of maintaining Calc/Alk, as long as your tank usage doesn't outstrip what Kalk is capable of. You can only put as much Kalk in as your system evaporates. That's why ATO kalk systems are so common.

Dosing outside of the ATO: Pick a starting point. Something _less_ than what your ATO uses in a day, and dose that amount of Kalk. On my 140g system, I started with 250ml per day. Watch your Calc/Alk closely, and see if you need to reduce (or even eliminate) your red sea Calk/Alk dosing. At this point, I'm dosing 1000ML Kalk daily, and have reduced my B-Ionic Calc and Alk dosing by half. I mix up a 2g container of Kalk every other week, and I'm good.

Oh, what Sabellafella said about Kalk crusting up pipes is correct. I drop my Kalk dosing pickup tube into the sump while I'm waiting for the Kalk to settle. Let the pump run a few ounces of clean saltwater through it. It's enough to keep the tubes clear.

 

[Rctreece]

So all I need is like brs Kalk and rodi water?

 

[jimk60]

I use Mrs.Wages pickling lime. It's 100% calcium hydroxide. You can buy it at Walmart for about 3$ a pound. Lots of people use this mixed with rodi.

 

[FLAdaboy]

First, what are your current levels? The last thing you want to do is add something you may not need to in the first place. If you’re dosing two part, try calibrating your Ph probe to see if your ph is low. You can simply check with a reputable test kit. Something else to look at is your CO2 levels. Maybe drop an air stone to see if you ph bumps up and that will let you know what the issue is. At the end of the day, I would avoid chasing a number and focus on the tank as a whole. If you have polyp extension and everything appears healthy, then focus on other areas. Good luck.

 

[leepink23]

So all I need is like brs Kalk and rodi water?

Yes, BRS just did a video comparing different kalkwasser, it’s worth watching

 

[Rctreece]

First, what are your current levels? The last thing you want to do is add something you may not need to in the first place. If you’re dosing two part, try calibrating your Ph probe to see if your ph is low. You can simply check with a reputable test kit. Something else to look at is your CO2 levels. Maybe drop an air stone to see if you ph bumps up and that will let you know what the issue is. At the end of the day, I would avoid chasing a number and focus on the tank as a whole. If you have polyp extension and everything appears healthy, then focus on other areas. Good luck.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phos .01
Cal 511
Alk 7.2
Ph low of 7.4 high of 8.02
Mag 1500

I did all that airstone open windows stuff made zero difference. I am not chasing a number but I would like higher ph

 

[RobMay]

I dos kalk with 2 part as well, to save money on b ionic 2part, and for the kalk benefits. I'll never run a tank without kalk, it's litterally a superior supplement in my eyes. Ontop of that it's cheap, just have to be ontop of maintenance.

Sorry, I have to disagree. I'll never run another tank with kalk. IMO, the risks FAR exceed the benefits.

 

[RobMay]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phos .01
Cal 511
Alk 7.2
Ph low of 7.4 high of 8.02
Mag 1500

I did all that airstone open windows stuff made zero difference. I am not chasing a number but I would like higher ph

Running a tube from my skimmer to a window helped a little (raised pH .1 to .2). I'm going to try CO2 media...it arrives on Fri. I tried using kalk in my topoff, but found very little benefit in terms of maintaining alk levels. Perhaps a doser would work better. It just seems like way too much trouble and mess to deal with.

 

[Montiman]

Sorry, I have to disagree. I'll never run another tank with kalk. IMO, the risks FAR exceed the benefits.

I think what you will find is that most of the risks come from having kalk in your ATO. Those of us who have used kalk for years almost always switch to using a peristaltic pump.

If you overdose 2 part everything can die, if the solenoid on your calcium reactor gets stuck open everything can die. If you overdose kalk everything can die. Just don’t over dose.

The problem most people have with kalk is if you dose through your ATO many things can cause an overdose.
1. If the ATO fails Overdose.
2.If a reactor leaks a gallon or two on the floor Overdose.
3.If you bag up some frags for a buddie and don’t manually top off Overdose
4. If you take out a bit more water than you add back during your water change Overdose.

If you use a peristaltic pump all of these failure points go away and you have the same chance of failure as with 2 part on a dosing pump. If you use a pH controller then possibly even less risk than 2 part since the controller will sense an over dose faster.

 

[Sabellafella]

Sorry, I have to disagree. I'll never run another tank with kalk. IMO, the risks FAR exceed the benefits.

Well I guess its how you look at it. The risk does not far exceed its benefits when theres the same risk involved with other options. I absolutely disagree with you, two part and a calcium reactor both share the same risk as using kalkwasser. Kalkwasser shares the same benefit of standard calcium reactor media. Along with precipitate of heavy metals, phosphate and a raise in ph. A very good friend of mine just had an overdose of Kalk. It's important for everyone to understand the risks involved with any additive. They all carry a burden when improperly used.

In my case, I dose kalkwasser fully saturated over a gallon daily. Every 4 days I swap out to a new 5 gallon container. I made sure to have my controller settings fulfill every point of redundancy, in order to keep my kalk from overdosing. If an overdose were to happen, it will only be a little over 3 gallons. Most likely wouldn't crash my tank thankfully.

Also I totally shy everyone away from a kalk reactor is an absolute nightmare piece of equipment. If they're had to be an extreme risk with kalkwasser. It would be with the use of an ATO failing with a kalk stirrer.

 

[Sabellafella]

 

[RobMay]

Agreed. I should have said I'll never use kalk in topoff water ever again. I think using a pump has a lot of potential.

 

[Sabellafella]

Agreed. I should have said I'll never use kalk in topoff water ever again. I think using a pump has a lot of potential.

Dosing is just more of an sophisticated and controlled option. To get the most efficient benefits from kalkwasser, it will need to be a fully saturated solution(2 tspn per gallon). When using a top off(or kalk stirrer), your tank may not be able to handle a fully saturated solution at your daily evaporation rate.

Ive always used calcium reactors or two part. I never tryed kalk up until about 2 years ago, and it just changed my whole outlook at tank health. Its definitely something worth looking into.

 

[Topreefer92]

I went with a diy dripper like brs in my system to try kalk out for the ph boost and consistency levels. I love the dripper, less space needed for that than a reactor and the ato I tried but did not like the risk. Costs you 25 bucks and you are into kalk! I love it!

 

[drawman]

Dosing is just more of an sophisticated and controlled option. To get the most efficient benefits from kalkwasser, it will need to be a fully saturated solution(2 tspn per gallon). When using a top off(or kalk stirrer), your tank may not be able to handle a fully saturated solution at your daily evaporation rate.

Ive always used calcium reactors or two part. I never tryed kalk up until about 2 years ago, and it just changed my whole outlook at tank health. Its definitely something worth looking into.

I'm curious on a few things as I've thought about using Kalk on a BRS dosing pump in addition to using by B-ionic 2 part. My goal is simply to achieve a pH increase.

I'm curious are you dosing your Kalk with this pump 24/7, only at night, only during the photoperiod during the day? Are you dosing every hour, half hour, etc? I currently dose my Alk and Calcium during the photoperiod during the day.

I only dose about 3.5mL of B-ionic Alk solution per day in my RSR250 tank currently. Makes me think I would start with a very low amount of Alk to account for a small percentage of Alk demand as I still want to use 2 part.