tyler1503
2500 Club Member
Hello R2R!!!
I've never been one for fancy gadgets and chemicals going into the tank. I like to keep things as simple and natural as possible. That being said, I think I'm ready to set some of those ideas aside take the plunge into dosing properly.
I have a 20gal DT, approximately 8gal sump and I'll eventually be adding another 20 gallons for an external fuge. I'll possibly be adding a frag tank too which will be about 10-15 gallons. So total water volume may be around 60 gallons give or take, but for now it's approximately 30.
I have only LPS at the moment, but will be testing out some SPS in the next few weeks. Most likely poccilopora and birdsnests. I'm not after anything too demanding just yet
I've done some reading into dosing kalkwasser from the ATO. I've read quite a lot of contradicting info about this though and I'm a little confused. I don't know much about chemistry, so a lot of what I read goes in one ear and out the other.
My questions are:
Is it best to use other supplements to raise alk and cal to the levels I'm happy with, then use kalk to maintain those levels, or can I just use kalk right from the start?
I know this varies from tank to tank, but as a general consensus, are alk and cal consumption fairly balanced? If I get my parameters to the numbers I'm aiming for, will kalk maintain them there, or will I have to dose extra of cal or alk to keep them stable?
Are there cheaper options than kalk supplements which are specifically designed for marine tanks? A homemade option perhaps?
Evaporation isn't consistent, I may lose more water one day and less the next day.
I usually use about 3/4-1 whole Red Sea salt bucket (which mixes 55 gallons of salt water) of top off water per day with the ATO but that varies day to day. With the weather cooling down quite quickly, I'm expecting to have less evaporation over the next few months. Plus when I eventually get my external fuge and frag tank up and running, I'll most likely lose more.
This means I'll be dosing different amounts daily from the ATO. Are these different amounts of dosing going to be an issue, or should it remain consistent enough?
I know changing one parameter may effect others, will dosing kalk have effects on other parameters besides alk, cal and PH that I'll need to keep an eye on? I've read it may help in reducing PO4, but I don't know how.
Does it matter when I dose? I've read night time is better than day time, but I can't really control that with my ATO. Why would the time of day make a difference? Some people suggest corals consume more alk and cal when the lights are on, so dosing at night will keep things more stable. But whatever alk and cal they don't consume during the night would be used up the next day, so does it really matter?
Kalk will raise PH too, so will the increase in PH eventually lead to a higher consumption of alk? When I get things going, will I eventually have to up the dose to keep things stable?
That's all the questions I have for now, but I bet there will be more
Thanks!!
I've never been one for fancy gadgets and chemicals going into the tank. I like to keep things as simple and natural as possible. That being said, I think I'm ready to set some of those ideas aside take the plunge into dosing properly.
I have a 20gal DT, approximately 8gal sump and I'll eventually be adding another 20 gallons for an external fuge. I'll possibly be adding a frag tank too which will be about 10-15 gallons. So total water volume may be around 60 gallons give or take, but for now it's approximately 30.
I have only LPS at the moment, but will be testing out some SPS in the next few weeks. Most likely poccilopora and birdsnests. I'm not after anything too demanding just yet
I've done some reading into dosing kalkwasser from the ATO. I've read quite a lot of contradicting info about this though and I'm a little confused. I don't know much about chemistry, so a lot of what I read goes in one ear and out the other.
My questions are:
Is it best to use other supplements to raise alk and cal to the levels I'm happy with, then use kalk to maintain those levels, or can I just use kalk right from the start?
I know this varies from tank to tank, but as a general consensus, are alk and cal consumption fairly balanced? If I get my parameters to the numbers I'm aiming for, will kalk maintain them there, or will I have to dose extra of cal or alk to keep them stable?
Are there cheaper options than kalk supplements which are specifically designed for marine tanks? A homemade option perhaps?
Evaporation isn't consistent, I may lose more water one day and less the next day.
I usually use about 3/4-1 whole Red Sea salt bucket (which mixes 55 gallons of salt water) of top off water per day with the ATO but that varies day to day. With the weather cooling down quite quickly, I'm expecting to have less evaporation over the next few months. Plus when I eventually get my external fuge and frag tank up and running, I'll most likely lose more.
This means I'll be dosing different amounts daily from the ATO. Are these different amounts of dosing going to be an issue, or should it remain consistent enough?
I know changing one parameter may effect others, will dosing kalk have effects on other parameters besides alk, cal and PH that I'll need to keep an eye on? I've read it may help in reducing PO4, but I don't know how.
Does it matter when I dose? I've read night time is better than day time, but I can't really control that with my ATO. Why would the time of day make a difference? Some people suggest corals consume more alk and cal when the lights are on, so dosing at night will keep things more stable. But whatever alk and cal they don't consume during the night would be used up the next day, so does it really matter?
Kalk will raise PH too, so will the increase in PH eventually lead to a higher consumption of alk? When I get things going, will I eventually have to up the dose to keep things stable?
That's all the questions I have for now, but I bet there will be more
Thanks!!
