Hey there,
My 20g tank (1y.o.) has been having low alk issues for a few months. It started when I began dosing kalk via A.T.O. At this time I was hand dosing <1mL 2-part / day, but began ramping it up higher and higher as alkalinity began falling (at one point dosing 20mL/day when alk was 4.5-5.0)
I think the issue was precipitation, possibly due to low mag issues at the time in combination with low flow where the kalk was being dosed.
Several months later, I'm able to keep alk in the 5.5-6.0 range but can't get it higher by dosing either soda ash or bicarbonate solution. My mag is good at 1350, so I think the constant dosing is giving the precipitation a fresh coat and not letting the mag bind and stop the precipitation. I'm not sure why else I can't get alk up with proper mag levels and slow dosing into high flow areas.
Do you recommend switching off of kalk and not dosing for a period of time? If not, is there a better solution?
Thank you for your time.
My 20g tank (1y.o.) has been having low alk issues for a few months. It started when I began dosing kalk via A.T.O. At this time I was hand dosing <1mL 2-part / day, but began ramping it up higher and higher as alkalinity began falling (at one point dosing 20mL/day when alk was 4.5-5.0)
I think the issue was precipitation, possibly due to low mag issues at the time in combination with low flow where the kalk was being dosed.
Several months later, I'm able to keep alk in the 5.5-6.0 range but can't get it higher by dosing either soda ash or bicarbonate solution. My mag is good at 1350, so I think the constant dosing is giving the precipitation a fresh coat and not letting the mag bind and stop the precipitation. I'm not sure why else I can't get alk up with proper mag levels and slow dosing into high flow areas.
Do you recommend switching off of kalk and not dosing for a period of time? If not, is there a better solution?
Thank you for your time.
