Polyp Lab ONE

[justjes45]

Is anyone familiar with this product?
I use it an absolutely love it. Haven’t had ONE problem in about a year! Thanks @Polyplab !
Now I am looking to raise my Ph. It is consistently on the lower side, and I want to increase coral growth.
Also, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, I live in Vermont, and when we shut our windows and doors for 6 months, my tank plummets into carbon dioxide overload.
I have heard dosing Kalkwasser with an auto top off unit is a great way to raise the Ph and keep my tank balanced.
So my question is this... ( finally) can I use BOTH the Polyp Lab ONE AND Kalkwasser? With this OVER dose anything?

I am having troubles”Google-ing” this specific answer...

Thanks!

 

[Hitman]

Yes you can use them both. I wouldn’t use and don’t use kalk with my ato as there’s 2 issues with that.
1 kalk is really hard on pumps
2 you have little to no control over the dosing of kalk with a ato.

I suggest one of these two ways to dose kalk. I also suggest testing Alk and PH often while starting to dose at least until you find your happy spot.

1 The simplest and cheapest way is a very slow drip. A drip every few seconds to start.

2 Using a dosing pump. I had 2 pump heads not in use so I chose to go this way. I dose a lot do to the size of my tank so I’ll just give you numbers I use. Pump head 1 doses 30 ml of kalk every hour on the hour. Pump head 2 doses 30 ml of kalk every hour on the half hour. I also dose ESV 2 part at 36 ml of each broken up over 24 hours 30 minutes separated on the 15 and 45 minute past the hour intervals.
Long story short yes it works great, helps keep your parameters stable, and helps keep your ph up and stable 24/7.

 

[justjes45]

Yes you can use them both. I wouldn’t use and don’t use kalk with my ato as there’s 2 issues with that.
1 kalk is really hard on pumps
2 you have little to no control over the dosing of kalk with a ato.

I suggest one of these two ways to dose kalk. I also suggest testing Alk and PH often while starting to dose at least until you find your happy spot.

1 The simplest and cheapest way is a very slow drip. A drip every few seconds to start.

2 Using a dosing pump. I had 2 pump heads not in use so I chose to go this way. I dose a lot do to the size of my tank so I’ll just give you numbers I use. Pump head 1 doses 30 ml of kalk every hour on the hour. Pump head 2 doses 30 ml of kalk every hour on the half hour. I also dose ESV 2 part at 36 ml of each broken up over 24 hours 30 minutes separated on the 15 and 45 minute past the hour intervals.
Long story short yes it works great, helps keep your parameters stable, and helps keep your ph up and stable 24/7.

Holy cow... that is super advanced for me! Lol so much to learn, but I DO love it! Thanks so much!!

 

[Hitman]

Via dosing pump sounds a lot harder then it is and it is the most controlled way. There are hundreds of us on these forms that do it this way and there’s no secret to it. We all do it the same just different timings and amounts and all willing to walk you through it. Depending on the size of your tank you could make a gallon mix and it last a year or a bigger tank it would only last a day lol. I go through about 5 gallons a week ish. And use only use up to table spoons of the powder per gallon of rodi water max so the purchase of kalk powder vs cost of use is super cheap.

 

[justjes45]

Via dosing pump sounds a lot harder then it is and it is the most controlled way. There are hundreds of us on these forms that do it this way and there’s no secret to it. We all do it the same just different timings and amounts and all willing to walk you through it. Depending on the size of your tank you could make a gallon mix and it last a year or a bigger tank it would only last a day lol. I go through about 5 gallons a week ish. And use only use up to table spoons of the powder per gallon of rodi water max so the purchase of kalk powder vs cost of use is super cheap.

Yes. I have a 40 gal tank, I have a 5 gal for my ATO, but could definitely get another bucket for the Kalk...
What dosing unit do you all use/ trust?

 

[Hitman]

I personally use the CoralBox WiFi I feel it’s the best bang for your buck. I got mine from reefbreeders for $190 shipped I believe. GHL are also awesome but 3x the cost.
I had a jabeo and it about crashed my tank as they are not accurate or dependable, there’s 5 bad stories to every 1 good on them.
With that size tank a gallon jug could last you a few days depending on your coral uptake.
Are you dosing Ca and Alk now?

 

[justjes45]

I personally use the CoralBox WiFi I feel it’s the best bang for your buck. I got mine from reefbreeders for $190 shipped I believe. GHL are also awesome but 3x the cost.
I had a jabeo and it about crashed my tank as they are not accurate or dependable, there’s 5 bad stories to every 1 good on them.
With that size tank a gallon jug could last you a few days depending on your coral uptake.
Are you dosing Ca and Alk now?

I don’t auto dose anything at this time.
I just use a capful of the Polyp ONE every morning pre coffee... [emoji13]

 

[Hitman]

What corals do you have SPS, LPS ?
Have you tested your CA, ALK, MG? If so what are your numbers as well as where you want them to be if different.

 

[justjes45]

What corals do you have? SPS, LPS ?

Yup. Both. And fish...
Tank is almost 4 years old.
LOONNGGGG trail of ups and downs. Learning every day. Totally hooked.

 

[Hitman]

Have you tested your CA, ALK, MG? If so what are your numbers as well as where you want them to be if different.

 

[justjes45]

Have you tested your CA, ALK, MG? If so what are your numbers as well as where you want them to be if different.

Honestly, it has been a while. Things are super happy so I was trying to not stress out about it.
Mostly trying to get ready for winter and prevent my annual crash...
I will test tomorrow and get back to here!

 

[Hitman]

Depending on your results the kalk very well with your corals could be the best answer.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Kalk is a great way to dose both cal and alk all in one and has the bonus of increasing ph as well. I do not recommend kalk just to increase ph though, if too much is dosed cal and alk will increase and can crash your tank. Running your skimmer intake outside, opening a window, co2 scrubber, reverse light fuge are all good ways to increase ph. I personally dont worry to much about chasing ph. If my tank wants to run at 7.8 I just let it and keep alk stable. My tank currently runs at 8.09-8.15 ish and I dose nothing right now.

 

[lafayettereefer]

Ph and alk go hand in hand so I would see where your alk is at before chasing ph. I wouldn't dose anything into my tank without testing before and after. How would you know if consumption increases or if you're over dosing?