New to Kalkwasser

[Cscultho]

As the title says, Im new to Kalk dosing but not new to reefing. Ive been very nervous about taking this step if im being honest but i want to have nice and health corals.

My setup:
32g Bio
NICREW light
Mostly bare bottom (little bit of sand)
4-fish (2-clowns, yellow tail damsel, 6-line)
light coral load

Numbers:
Kalk- Before After
pH - 7.8 8.2 (
dKH - 8.6 10.1 (Hanna)
Calcium- 400 400

I dose Kalk in my top off water -- 2 teaspoons / gallon

Thoughts? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the guidance.....

 

[cdemoss01]

As the title says, Im new to Kalk dosing but not new to reefing. Ive been very nervous about taking this step if im being honest but i want to have nice and health corals.

My setup:
32g Bio
NICREW light
Mostly bare bottom (little bit of sand)
4-fish (2-clowns, yellow tail damsel, 6-line)
light coral load

Numbers:
Kalk- Before After
pH - 7.8 8.2 (
dKH - 8.6 10.1 (Hanna)
Calcium- 400 400

I dose Kalk in my top off water -- 2 teaspoons / gallon

Thoughts? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the guidance.....

#reefsquad

 

[dwest]

As the title says, Im new to Kalk dosing but not new to reefing. Ive been very nervous about taking this step if im being honest but i want to have nice and health corals.

My setup:
32g Bio
NICREW light
Mostly bare bottom (little bit of sand)
4-fish (2-clowns, yellow tail damsel, 6-line)
light coral load

Numbers:
Kalk- Before After
pH - 7.8 8.2 (
dKH - 8.6 10.1 (Hanna)
Calcium- 400 400

I dose Kalk in my top off water -- 2 teaspoons / gallon

Thoughts? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the guidance.....

It looks to me that you should add less kalk. Use enough kalk to stabilize alkalinity. Pick an alkalinity target ( I would do 8 dKH) and add enough kalk in your ATO to keep alkalinity stable near your target. So, in your case I might back down to 1/2 tsp per gallon and monitor. You might need no kalk or very little until your corals are growing and coralline algae has taken off.

I personally would not try to control pH with kalk. Some others do, but I don’t.

 

[nereefpat]

Keep in my that kalk is an alkalinity supplement.

I see that your alk went from 8.6 to 10.1 dKH. How long did that take? Where do you want your alk to be?

You might start with 1/2 strength (1 tsp instead of 2) and track your dKH.

 

[nereefpat]

It looks to me that you should add less kalk. Use enough kalk to stabilize alkalinity. Pick an alkalinity target ( I would do 8 dKH) and add enough kalk in your ATO to keep alkalinity stable near your target. So, in your case I might back down to 1/2 tsp per gallon and monitor. You might need no kalk or very little until your corals are growing and coralline algae has taken off.

I personally would not try to control pH with kalk. Some others do, but I don’t.

Great minds think alike, or at least like minds think alike

 

[TheSheff]

I didn't know people still dose kalk through there ATO, if you want to keep your alk stable just use a doser.

 

[Cscultho]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I will add some RODI water to my current batch of Kalk water to lessen the potency. My target is for alk is between 8.5-9.

 

[Cscultho]

Keep in my that kalk is an alkalinity supplement.

I see that your alk went from 8.6 to 10.1 dKH. How long did that take? Where do you want your alk to be?

You might start with 1/2 strength (1 tsp instead of 2) and track your dKH.

8.6 to 10 was over 4 days.

 

[Midrats]

I didn't know people still dose kalk through there ATO, if you want to keep your alk stable just use a doser.

Agreed, an ATO isn't ideal for kalkwasser delivery. I dose kalk with a Litermeter. It adds a little every 9.6 minutes.

 

[namegoeshere]

I tried half tsp of kalk in my ato water and it spiked my alkalinity too high on a day where evaporation was high. I switched to a dosing pump and it works perfect now. The thing is evaporation changes and using it in a ato can cause a spike like what happened to me.

 

[jason2459]

I dose through my ATO. I control my ATO so it will not run for more then a few seconds at a time every 10 minutes. This runs consistently 24/7. I used to make it not run during peak day time. Didn't seem to make a difference. Maximum alk/calcium supplementation with evaporation. If I ever need more then I'd add my vinegar to my Top off and if I needed even more I'd supplement with a 2 part.