How to dose kalk?

Ok i am scheduled to do a 5g water change tomorrow and going out if town for the weekend i will test when i get back on sunday!
 
Randy today alk is down to 8.3 how would you suggest I adjust to get back up and stay at 9? I am currently adding 3tsp per 5g. Would going to 4 or maybe even 5tsp be to much? I am going to mix up another 5g in the am so it sits all day tomorrow before getting used
 
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today I am down to 8.0 so the tank is using .3 a day. I went ahead and added 5tps to 5g of water this morning. I am also adding a little at a time to bring it to around 9. I added 1/2tsp of Seachem Reef Builder and will add a little each day to bring it back up. I will test again tomorrow and see where it is
 
looks like I have settled in at 4tsp per 5g of water. I am still watching every few days but it seems like its staying steady between 9.3 and 9.6dKh. Still no changes in tank as far as coraline algae goes. Which Randy said he didnt think there would be. Not that I don't trust him, I really do. But this was something I wanted to try and have been thinking about it for a year now. But its still early only a few weeks in, I will keep posting and take another pic on June 27th which will be one month. Much easier than 2 part!
 
Is there any way to bring Mag down other than just water changes and waiting it out? My Mag is at 1600 been there for awhile several weeks, I know why its that high was my mistake. Does not seem to have any effect on anything. Just want it to be normal at 1350 or 3x Ca level which would actually be 1320.

Another question if i am supposed to adjust my kalk by testing alk do i really need a calcium test kit? I am getting low on my salifert and trying to decide if i should even buy another kit?
 
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Only water changes and time can reduce the magnesium level. 1600 ppm likely is safe, though. Calcium testing is useful to do now and then since the alkalinity and calcium levels can drift apart over time, for various reasons. Every few months was good enough for me.
 
Calcium is up to 480 from 430 alk has stayed the same 9.3 should I cut back on kalk or should I just let it go and let it come down on its own? I do have coralline spots everyday now.
 
That's a fairly big change in the calcium level. What is the resolution of the test kit? Is anything else being added?
 
Its a Salifert kit i wad using the 2mL resolution. The only other thing i have been adding is 1 cap of purple up a few days a week mon-thur i am usually gone most weekends. Been adding that for about 3 weeks. I am at the bottom of the test kit so i do need to get another kit i have maybe 1 test left
 
I was keeping my alk at 9dkh now I am having trouble keeping it above 8.3dkh. I was using 4tsp per 5 gallons of kalk. I have since gone to 5tsp per 5 gallons of ATO. I know that 8.3dkh is fine but with caclium staying at 480-500 shouldn't the alk be higher to help balance them out? Should I just leave well enough alone and let it balance its self out? or should I continue to add alk every day to get to 9dkh? Should I try 6tsp of kalk per 5 gallons? The only reason I am worried about doing that is I would hate for the calcium to continue to rise. I have not tested Mag in 2 weeks. The last time I etsted it it was like 1500ppm. I was planning on testing it tomorrow which was my schedule for that testing every 2 weeks. I test alk every 3 days to make sure my kalk is set up right, and calcium every week.
 
There's really no "balance" relationship between calcium and alkalinity. I'd likely just leave well enough alone. The Purple Up might be part of the problem. It has a bit of calcium in it, but no alkalinity, so it'd cause this sort of problem. Most of it is just fine sand.
 
bertoni said:
There's really no "balance" relationship between calcium and alkalinity. I'd likely just leave well enough alone. The Purple Up might be part of the problem. It has a bit of calcium in it, but no alkalinity, so it'd cause this sort of problem. Most of it is just fine sand.
Click to expand...

I got the "balance" from the reef calculator when you put in an amount it shows a balance of calcium or alk depending on what you are calculating. I have not added any purple up since 7/5. All corals are looking good my new Pink Birdsnest has 5-6 new tips of growth on it so things are good. Green is fine and Orange and Green tip is good. Can't really see any growth on them but all have great polyp extension. I just wanna keep the growth coming and start adding more SPS they are like Crack for Reef keepers!
 
Yes, that's not a useful part of the calculator. I wish I could remove it. It just relates back to someone's personal opinion of the optimal reef parameters.
 
so yesterday I noticed my alk has falling to 7.3dkh i had been keeping it at 9.3dkh. I used BRS alk to raise it to 7.8 plus at night i run my ato with the kalk. I have been using 3tsp per 5g i added a 4th tsp and today alk levels are 7.4 i added enough brs alk to bring it up .5dkh and added 2 more tsp to my 5g make up is this a safe way to raise alk?
 
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