Dosing kalk with coral pro salt?

[Jdavis8824]

I have a 20g innovative marine reef. I use Red Sea coral pro salt and my cal and alk are a little low, 400 cal. I have an ATO and I was thinking of adding kalkwasser to it but the problem is the salt mix I use. I change the water once a week, 2.5g. My question is how to figure out how much to use? After I do a water change will the levels go up by adding the pro salt or will they just stay the same since the salt is usually somewhere around 420-430. And what levels should I maintain to get maximum growth, and what is the formula to get the levels to where I want using this method? Thanks!

 

[Jdavis8824]

Also I have the nano tunze osmolater 3152. It comes with only one float switch. What can I do to make it better in case of a failure? Since I'm adding kalkwasser that raises ph is there a cheaper option out there that will turn the ATO off if ph gets to high other then the apex Jr that will cost 250+? Or any other way to add some protection if the switch gets stuck?

 

[Sk8r]

If you want to grow clams or stony corals (or coralline)---get a proper supplement, dose your tank according to instructions on the supplements to the right level, and weekly test your levels. To do this, I hand-dose Kent Turbo Calcium, Kent DKH Alkalinity buffer, and Kent Tech-M, to 420, 8.3, and 1300 respectively. I then put kalk in the topoff fresh water, and test weekly. The mg isn't consumed rapidly, but if there's kalk in the topoff, it will hold everything as it should be.

 

[Jdavis8824]

Will kalk not do that? I have mostly LPS but do want coralline

 

[Sk8r]

Kalk cannot raise the levels appreciably. Dose supplements to achieve the balance, THEN start the kalk.

 

[Jdavis8824]

Ok. What about a fail safe system for my ATO, any suggestions?