switching from 2 part to kalk.

mjr · Jun 30, 2014

So if I am looking at roughly 2dkh alk and 20 ppm calc consumption per day, is that out of the norm?

like I said, I will take full readings tonight and again tomorrow and see what the difference is. I can tell you that since I added corral to the tank I had high alk consumption. Dosing roughly 30ml per day of 2 part on ~85 gallons of water (29 gallon sump, 65 gallon display, ~100lbs of life rock, ~100lbs life sand).

mjr · Jun 30, 2014

mdbannister said:
Couldn't this happen if we're talking about softies like Z's & P's that don't use much cal? I'm thinking if the tank were zoa dominant, then this could happen.

tank has lots of zoas and palys, half dozen ricorda, LOTS of shrooms, and a few lps and sps.

Pete polyp · Jun 30, 2014

2dkh and 20ppm per day sounds about right. Earlier in the thread you said 50ppm CA per week which is what wasn't making sense.

mjr · Jul 1, 2014

Pete polyp said:
2dkh and 20ppm per day sounds about right. Earlier in the thread you said 50ppm CA per week which is what wasn't making sense.

Its probably closer to 10-15 ppm per day, 70-100 ppm calc per week. Either way, more testing and monitoring is warranted.

Right now I am at 460 ppm calc, 9.5 dkh alk, 9.2 pH, 1400 mg.

Mixing a new batch of kalk with a bit more vinegar (40ml vinegar to 1t kalk powder) and I will test again tomorrow before switching to the new batch.

Pete polyp · Jul 1, 2014

9.2 Ph is a typo?

mjr · Jul 1, 2014

Pete polyp said:
9.2 Ph is a typo?

Lol. Yeah. 8.2

mjr · Jul 1, 2014

http://www.aquaticlog.com/aquariums/mrusso/1

Tonights test look good. PH a little lower, calc a little high. Alk is spot on.

mjr · Jul 3, 2014

Alk is holding between 8.5 and 9 dkh for two going on three days now. I think I have the kalk mixture and dosing dialed in finally.

If I want to keep my alk closer to 10-11 dkh, how much more kalk do I need to add? Can I do it with kalk alone?

mjr · Jul 4, 2014

Happy 4th everyone!

And advice? What's the best way to keep alk on the high end with kalkwasser? Looking to keep it at 10-11 dkh.

b_rad_G · Jul 5, 2014

You need to adjust your alk with some alk supplement. Baking soda or whatever else people use will work. I wouldn't try to adjust any parameters with kalk. Just adjust the alk with the proper amount of additive and continue to dose kalk based on tank consumption.

drumz4wood · Jul 6, 2014

I am actually going FROM Kalk to 2-part on a hybrid dosing setup. The biggest issue I've run into when using Kalk in your ATO is that evaporation rates vary, so therefore the addition of Kalk to that tank via your ATO will vary as well. No bueno. My pH was bouncing all over the place and I would see rises of sometimes +0.7 or more while the ATO compensated for water loss. I was using a diluted Kalk mix as well. SO, I have gone back to RODI in the ATO and adding Kalk via a dosing pump on the Apex. I am setting up 2-part to use with pumps as well. Overkill, perhaps, however evaporation rates were seriously affecting tank stability. Warm days, a lot of Kalk went into the tank, cold days, very little. This, in my opinion, is the Achilles Heel no one talks about when using Kalk in your ATO. Be careful!

mcarroll · Jul 6, 2014

I'm in the mid-atlantic region where it's wet ALL YEAR, we get hot summers, cold winters and very mild weather in between....so I should be getting some good swings in my ATO-based kalk reactor. I haven't had a noticeable problem in the years I've been doing it this way.

Maybe key is that I don't monitor pH....just my corals' growth and color.

I also have never used kalk exclusively since my demand is much higher than plain kalk can provide, but I do run a reactor at maximum saturation almost all the time. (Usually without vinegar these days.) This Spring was much longer, wetter and more mild than most - I was actually able to discern a slowdown in the refill of my ATO reservoir...but still no major difference in the tank as verified by spot checks with Salifert alk and calcium test kits.

Different climates may result in different results to be sure. Due to climate and bugginess we have to use HVAC fairly intensively for 90% of the year and this seems to stabilize evaporation during that time.

My guess is if you are in either cooler or drier than my climate you are in similar conditions and will be fine.

If you are in a climate where you don't use your HVAC much or don't have it, then you will be much more subject to day-to-day humidity levels. Pay attention with a test kit...it's possible you can still get away with making spot adjustments. But if you're in a very exceptional situation where ATO just won't work, a dosing pump isn't too expensive...especially if you DIY. Lamp timer + airline + airline valve + DC transformer + peristaltic dosing pump and DC motor. $50 at most...much less if you reuse an old DC transformer and have a lamp timer and some parts around.

$0.02

-Matt

mcarroll · Jul 7, 2014

mjr said:
Happy 4th everyone!

And advice? What's the best way to keep alk on the high end with kalkwasser? Looking to keep it at 10-11 dkh.

Out of curiosity, what's you goal for keeping it elevated? (There are plenty of reasons...just curious about your case.)

-Matt

mjr · Jul 11, 2014

I'd like to keep the alk in the 10-11 range. I've been able to maintain 8.5-9dkh with kalkwasser and occasional 2 part, but I'd much rather keep at 9 or more with no 2 part buffering.

mcarroll · Jul 11, 2014

Two part is really the only practical/recommended method of doing that. All other ways are going to elevate calcium as well.

I think at 11dKH your balanced calcium is only 435ppm. Why not raise them both?

Still not sure why you want em higher? For the safety margin?

-Matt

mjr · Jul 11, 2014

The sps seems to like the higher alk. I'll keep it at 8.5-9 with kalk for a while.

mjr · Jul 24, 2014

Pete polyp said:
Something isn't right if you're alk consumption is 2dkh per day and CA consumption is 50 per week...

I am starting to think you are right.

I've stopped dosing kalk with vinegar as it was raising my ph too much (it was up to 8.5 when I stopped). I have been dosing baking soda for the past week to get the ph back down. Seems to be working really well, and it seems to be maintaining my alk pretty well. I think the kalk was adding too much calcium causing an imbalance, precipitate , as well as raising the ph. This may have been happening with the 2 part to some degree as well. My calc and alk were not always balanced (often 10dkh alk / 460 ppm calc) when using 2 part. So even though the tank looked happy, I think I was getting a good amount of calc falling out because I maintained elevated levels.

Since things are back to a happy place with my alk and calc ( 10dkh / 440ppm) I am going to stop dosing for a couple days and re-evaluate my consumption.

roomclearer · Jul 24, 2014

Ok I have a question. First I have a 75 gal bowfront about 10 gal in my sump. I'm skimming running bio pellets have chaetomorpha in sump with lighting etc. Alk is 10 to 11 calc is 430 to 450 mag is 1350 or so ammonia 0 nitrite .05 nitrate below 10 and I cannot for the life of me get ph above 7.98 or so. It will still go to 7.83 or .85 at night and not 8.0 or above. I use kalk+2 in my ato.