HELP: Kalk help... Coralline turning white within a few days

[lukinrats]

Ok, I recently took the advice of someone about dosing Kalk... My aquarium is not one that uses calcium or alkalinity in a huge amount... I was inquiring about whether or not delivering 2 part with pumps to my tank was something that I could accomplish... The person I was asking said that since my cal and alk depletion was slow, that I would be better off using Kalk in my topoff water... So i decided that I would do this

I went and got a aqualifter pump, and some Kalkwasser... I have not added float switches to my system yet, so I just used a timer... I rigged everything up, and then timed how long it took the pump to deliver 1/4 gallon, 1/2 gallon, 3/4 gallons, and 1 gallon... It took 18 minutes to deliver a gallon, and half that for 1 half gallon... My tank evaporates 1 gallon per day, so I set up 6 x 3 minute intervals on the timer... So it should have been adding .15 gallons, six times per day

My calcium was 430, and my Dkh was 8.5 when this started... I added 1 teaspoon per gallon of fresh water to my top off container, and then turned on the cycle listed above... the next time I checked my Dkh, it was @ 6, and a lot of the coralline in my tank had turned white

I just want to make sure that the Kalk addition is what caused my coralline to do this, or if it is something else... Recently I have not changed much besides the Kalk, and I also lowered my lighting unit inside my canopy

Can anyone think of anything else?

 

[Pbrown3701]

lowering your lighting in the canopy could drastically increase the amount of light the tank is getting (depending on how far it was lowered). This could explain the bleached coraline algae. I'm not saying this is definately what caused it, but definately a possibility.

I use Kalk for 100% of my top off water on my ATO system. I then suppliment the additional Alk and Cal needs to the tank using dosing pumps and 2 part.

You might try to add more Kalk powder to your reservoir and also try mixing it up for a minute or 2 throughout the day. This will encourage saturation. Just don't set it to mix right before dosing the tank or some of the impurities may get dosed into the main tank.

good luck

 

[lukinrats]

So it does not sound like the Kalk caused a precipitation?

 

[JRechcygl]

I had something like that happen when I first started but that's because, I believe, my Ca was somewhere in the 600's
I don't believe coralline bleaches but I could be wrong.

 

[Pbrown3701]

the coraline in my tank all bleached out when i switched from PC lighting to halides. So it can bleach. It is also sensitive to swings in alkalinity from my experience. I doubt it is a precipitation that is causing it to look white.

 

[JRechcygl]

So the coralline bleached but the corals did not?

 

[Pbrown3701]

when i switched, yes, that was the case.

 

[Pbrown3701]

oh, and the coraline near the top of the tank bleached more so than that at the bottom (as you would expect since the top is closer to the lights)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the limewater caused enough precipitation to turn the coralline white, then the water would look like milk. Assuming that is not the case, I'd look to other causes first.

 

[lukinrats]

Thanks Randy!! This would be the first time I have ever gotten a post from you... I think!! That's Awesome

I am going to have to go with the lighting then... Let me tell you guys why though

I recently switched to T5... I knew I needed to acclimate things, so I put them up 13" above the surface... They have been like this for about 1 month, and I am sure that a lot of that coralline had grown in under that situation
So, on Sunday June 29th, I lowered the lights to 9" above the surface... I guess it just could not handle that

I really cant think of anything else, but maybe you guys can.

Randy, My Cal and Alk depletion is pretty small right now... I would say 15ppm or so on Cal, and 1 Dkh every few days... Do you know about how much Kalkwasser per gallon I should use... Also what would be a good amount, of that mix, to add to the tank each time... Let's say I wanted to set my timer to add this 6 times per day

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[Pbrown3701]

coraline doesn't grow in my tank as well now with the brighter lighting. My guess is that it doesn't like that much. You may just not be able to grow it as quickly (or at all) with your increased lighting.

 

[lukinrats]

Well that really sux... I love my coralline!!! Especially since I dont have much coral... What really makes this so bad is that I have had most of my rock for years, and they are soooo beautiful with all that coralline... My rock has had so much time to become encrusted
I guess since it all going to possibly die, then I should ask if there is anything to worry about... I really have a lot of it

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Do you know about how much Kalkwasser per gallon I should use

Limewater (if saturated) has about 800 ppm calcium and 40 meq/L (112 dKH) of alkalinity. So adding 1% of the tank volume (1 gallon in 100 gallons total system water volume) will boost calcium by 8 ppm and alkalinity by 1.1 dKH. So adding 1% over a few days seem suitable for you.

This would be the first time I have ever gotten a post from you... I think!! That's Awesome

Let's hope I can live up to that.

 

[totalfreedom]

Hey Nathen for whatever its worth, i have had my Randys two part alk solution completely bleach my coraline algae when i add the alk additive into my overflow which was covered with coraline, and now it will not grow in there anymore, im sure its different from kalk but in my case the end result was the same, except it did not bleach anything in the tank. Maybe the high ph of the kalk touching the coraline causes damage to it, dont know.

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12905511#post12905511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Limewater (if saturated) has about 800 ppm calcium and 40 meq/L (112 dKH) of alkalinity. So adding 1% of the tank volume (1 gallon in 100 gallons total system water volume) will boost calcium by 8 ppm and alkalinity by 1.1 dKH. So adding 1% over a few days seem suitable for you.

So by (if saturated) you mean 2 tsp per gallon, right? If that is right then what may have happened before... I had my levels right, and added 1 tsp per gallon... With this, my Alk dropped from 8.5 to 6... Should my Alk have dropped that much?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12905511#post12905511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Let's hope I can live up to that.

Well, let's just say that I have already seen you do just that... In other threads in this forum!!!

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[lukinrats]

Ok, since I obviously did not know enough the first time, how about I take some opinions on how I should go about using Kalk

1st... My system currently uses about 15ppm, and .5 Dkh per day
Give or take I am sure

2nd... My top off container will hold about 5 gallons

3rd... I evaporate 1 gallon in 24 hour period

4th... I am currently using an aqualifter on a timer, but I have an
auto top off system on the way... the timer allows for 6
settings per day... If I run it 3 minutes @ 6 times per day
that equals 1 gallon... So if I figure right, I am adding .15
gallons of top off water/Kalk 6 times in 24 hours

My questions are:
1..first of all does this sound right to everyone... 2..should I go ahead and add 2 tsp of Kalk per gallon of top off water to keep up with my demands... 3..instead of adding it in these small amounts during the day and night, should I only add my gallon of top off @ night

Anything else I may have forgotten to ask?

Thanks,
nathan

 

[Pbrown3701]

i presume this is the 90gal tank in your signature?

If so, to raise calc by 15ppm, it requires about 1.65gal of SATURATED limewater (kalk water). to raise your alk by .5 Dkh, it only requires .4gal saturated limewater.

The first thing i notice is that your tank is using an unbalanced calcium and alkalinity. This isn't natural so be sure that you have determined your daily consumption correctly.

If it is correct, you will not be able to keep up with your calcium demands with limewater alone and dosing 2 part may be necessary. Since you only evap 1 gal a day, then you can't dose 1.65gal of limewater (obviously).

So i would just use saturated limewater for your entire top off supply. Then, test and see if your Ca level is still falling.

JMO for what it's worth.

Oh, and if you use a Nielsen reactor (kalk reactor) to dose the kalk, then you can dump in a load of kalk powder and not worry about it for a while. I dump in about 2-3 cups of powder and this lasts me about 6 weeks before i have to add more.

good luck

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Maybe the high ph of the kalk touching the coraline causes damage to it, dont know.

If the pH spiked in the overflow every day then yes, the high pH could kill organisms in it.

So by (if saturated) you mean 2 tsp per gallon, right? If that is right then what may have happened before... I had my levels right, and added 1 tsp per gallon... With this, my Alk dropped from 8.5 to 6... Should my Alk have dropped that much?

Yes, that may be why it dropped. Alkalinity can drop fairly fast if you are not adding enough, up to a few dKH per day in a high demand tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The first thing i notice is that your tank is using an unbalanced calcium and alkalinity. This isn't natural so be sure that you have determined your daily consumption correctly.

I expect it is just some uncertainty/inaccuracy in the measurements.

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12906419#post12906419 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pbrown3701
i presume this is the 90gal tank in your signature?

Well, that was my problem, I presumed that too... I need to change that, but let me tell you the story as well... My wife purchased that aquarium for me back in 2004 @ X-Mas... I went and looked at it before she got it, and approved it... The LFS was selling it as a 90 gallon, and therefore I never questioned it... I have always thought it was a 90... So the other day I go in there, and the guy has the same tank, but selling it as a 75... So I asked WTH the deal was... He said, OH!!! OceanView used to sell me those as a 90, but recently I figured out that it was only a 75... Boy, was I mad!!! I have always been aggrivated by it when I started wanting to keep a reef, because I thought it was small...Anyway, it is a 75, and I have around another 25 gallons in the sump... The tank is 48" x 12" x 30" deep

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12906419#post12906419 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pbrown3701
If so, to raise calc by 15ppm, it requires about 1.65gal of SATURATED limewater (kalk water). to raise your alk by .5 Dkh, it only requires .4gal saturated limewater.

The first thing i notice is that your tank is using an unbalanced calcium and alkalinity. This isn't natural so be sure that you have determined your daily consumption correctly.

If it is correct, you will not be able to keep up with your calcium demands with limewater alone and dosing 2 part may be necessary. Since you only evap 1 gal a day, then you can't dose 1.65gal of limewater (obviously).

Ok.. I will re- check everything, and then double check... I really think that @ this point, I may be better off just dosing 2 part... Seems to have worked a lot better... then when my demands pick up I can move on to the more complicated things

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12906419#post12906419 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pbrown3701
Oh, and if you use a Nielsen reactor (kalk reactor) to dose the kalk, then you can dump in a load of kalk powder and not worry about it for a while. I dump in about 2-3 cups of powder and this lasts me about 6 weeks before i have to add more.

Yes, I have been looking at them... I am going to keep my eye out for a used one... maybe someone will need to get rid of one soon

Thanks
Nathan