how do you handle ca/alk/mg?

[porthios]

i'm curious how the rest of the large tank community is handling ca/alk/mg in their systems and was hoping we might chronicle our solutions here. the higher demand for large systems can present some interesting challenges for reservoirs, dosing pumps, media reactors, etc..

if you dose two part please list what you're dosing, what you're dosing with, how much you're dosing and what you're using for a reservoir. 'by hand' is a great answer too of course. though you're clearly a masochist..

if you're using a ca reactor, please detail reactor, regulator, media, controller and depletion rates.

any details you'd like to share about your kalk dosing methods would be great as well.

i'd like to learn about everyone's setup and also provide an easy reference for someone considering setting up a larger system. i've seen some great ideas in our threads so please.. share

 

[Leonardo_]

I use a two part system with 8 gallon jerrycans. Dosing is controlled by a Grotech TEC III dosing computer.
Besides that I use Schuran Kalkwasser reactor at night to keep the pH up. That also contributes a little to the Ca/Alk maintaining.

Leonardo

 

[porthios]

setup
my system is about 750g total. i dose two part (arm and hammer baking soda and calcium chloride from BRS) with a litermeter3 from 5g buckets. each bucket last me ~1wk.

i dose mg (BRS as well) manually every couple of weeks or so.

i also dose kalk from a 55g hdpe barrel that lasts around a week as well.

pros
it's quite simple. 4cups of each chemical in each container (easy to mix and i don't get confused).

cons
my setup only allows me to ignore the tank for a week at a time. a longer trip away from home becomes difficult. 5g buckets of chems from BRS are expensive to ship and i've not had good luck finding satisfactory sources locally.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Changing directions...

Changing directions...

I tried a CA reactor in my 500G system, but found myself still having to dose MG and CA to keep it up to the levels I desired... I discovered that a CA reactor is incorrectly named; it should be called an ALK reactor. My ALK would shoot up to 12-15 in order for me to maintain CA at 420-450. So I sold the reactor and installed a three part dosing system based on Randy Holmes-Farley's Improved Recipe #2:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#4

I use three of the Bulk Reef Supply 1.6ml dosing pumps and 2.5G containers for the solutions:

I used the Chemistry calculator to determine the dosing needed to maintain my desired levels:
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

After dialing in the tank's demand, it has become a set it and forget it system. I test ALK, CA and MG weekly and the parameters have been solid as a rock. ALK is 10.6; CA is 450; MG is 1350.

JME.

LL

 

[Nanook]

1200 gallon system with acros, softies, and lps. My custom built GEO reactor keeps alkalinity and calcium levels spot on, no need to dose ever.

 

[porthios]

leonardo and ll, how long do your reservoirs last before they need refilling?

i've seen nanook's ca reactor. he'll die of old age before needing to refill i'm sure..

 

[Znut Reefer]

650 gal total system, mainly sps, some lps and a few soties. I use a MTC ProCal reactor. Never have to dose anything either. But still test weekly.

 

[sfsuphysics]

200g system, 99.9% stonies (I tossed some zoas in the back to keep them out of another tank with a zoa muncher), and heavily populated with stonies too, colonies not frags all over the place.

I use a 2 part solution, randy's mix, well half of his amounts due to precipitation issues when mixed at full strength (unknown why). I use old 5g salt buckets to hold about 4 gallons of mixture, peristaltic pumps every morning to keep things happy.

However, I have run into issues, first being laziness in looking inside the buckets to see if I need to refill, second being one instance the tubing in both pumps got a crack and I didn't realize it for a while, so I was basically dosing to the lid of the bucket but the hole for those hose let it drip back into the bucket so no evidence it wasn't dosing at all! Calc dropped to 340ppm Alk to 3.5 dKh.. what eventually clued me off was my pH was dropping lower and lower each day, montis didn't like it much either but no deaths.

 

[Lightsluvr]

leonardo and ll, how long do your reservoirs last before they need refilling?

i've seen nanook's ca reactor. he'll die of old age before needing to refill i'm sure..

My 2.5G reservoirs need filling about once every three weeks... I guess I should mark it on the calendar. I just mix up 2 gallons of solution when the reservoir gets down to about 2 inches remaining.

LL

 

[JonnyD91]

I tried a CA reactor in my 500G system, but found myself still having to dose MG and CA to keep it up to the levels I desired... I discovered that a CA reactor is incorrectly named; it should be called an ALK reactor. My ALK would shoot up to 12-15 in order for me to maintain CA at 420-450. So I sold the reactor and installed a three part dosing system based on Randy Holmes-Farley's Improved Recipe #2:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#4

I use three of the Bulk Reef Supply 1.6ml dosing pumps and 2.5G containers for the solutions:

I used the Chemistry calculator to determine the dosing needed to maintain my desired levels:
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

After dialing in the tank's demand, it has become a set it and forget it system. I test ALK, CA and MG weekly and the parameters have been solid as a rock. ALK is 10.6; CA is 450; MG is 1350.

JME.

LL

Where did you pick up the containers from?

 

[Untamed12]

I run a PM622 Ca Reactor on my 400gallon SPS system. I have a GEO 600 reactor ready to go as I've hit the limit of the PM622 in the past when I had the tank absolutely full of SPS. Like skimmers, size matters when you start running into the limits of any given Ca reactor.

I have to reload my 10lb CO2 cylinder every 6 months, and add about 4" of media to the reactor every 6 months.

I don't do any Mg supplementation. I assume that Mg is being supplied by the reactor and/or water changes (10% per week). Mg is always between 1250 and 1300 when I measure it.

The earlier statement that Ca reactors supply mostly Alk and not Ca is not correct. They always supply both. If you overdrive a Ca reactor, you will see a jump in Alk...but Ca is also being oversupplied.

 

[porthios]

650 gal total system, mainly sps, some lps and a few soties. I use a MTC ProCal reactor. Never have to dose anything either. But still test weekly.

where does it keep your alk and ca at specifically? always thought it was interesting that ca reactors seem to keep alk a bit higher and ca a bit lower than a lot of tanks supplemented with two part. 11dkh/400ppm vs. 8dkh/450ppm kind of thing.

My 2.5G reservoirs need filling about once every three weeks

so you use ~3cups of bs for a 2.5g container and it lasts you that long?

I have to reload my 10lb CO2 cylinder every 6 months, and add about 4" of media to the reactor every 6 months.

i've never run one but is there a problem just topping off the media as it dissolves or do you need to completely replace it once in a while? seems like the oldest media would get too fine eventually..

 

[Lightsluvr]

Where did you pick up the containers from?

Wal-Mart!

Be sure to tighten the screw-on spigot... :bigeyes: ...it will leak if not tightened.

LL

 

[Lightsluvr]

so you use ~3cups of bs for a 2.5g container and it lasts you that long?

QUOTE]

Yes, I don't have to dose much to keep ALK up... Reef Crystals salt mix runs fairly high...

LL

 

[porthios]

kind of surprised those using ca reactors aren't running kalk as well. don't mind the lower ph? or just didn't mention kalk?

 

[FishTruck]

For my 500 gallon system...
1. Geo 618 Calcium Reactor. About half of the media is consumed in 6 mo. and a 20 lb. CO2 tanks lasts for one year. I run a pH of 6.9 and an effluent of about 100 to 200 ml per minute. I tweak this every month or so when I see Alk levels start to rise or fall.
2. PM Kalk Stirrer. I add new Kalk twice per year. This is fed by my ATO.
3. I use bulk reef supply MgCl. I add about 1/2 lbs. Mg Cl plus 12 lbs. of instant Ocean Salt for my weekly 60 gallon water change.

I keep bulk Calcium Chloride and Sodium Bicarbonate from Bulk Reef Supply on hand for tuning up the levels as needed. Once a month or so.