i know sps need "stable" alk, but what is considered stable.

[mos90]

what do u guys consider stable for alk?

i know it is difficult to keep my calcium reactor to maintain a consistent drip. i find myself counting drip rate every night and readjusting. i try to keep my alk between a .5 dkh range over a weeks period but sometime it doesnt work.

im thinking of losing the calcium reactor and going back to 2 part dosing.

maybe my calcium reactor is just to big for my 28g nano. rated for 250gal from lifereef.

 

[BowieReefer84]

I was seeing a .2 drop in ALK daily on my 29gal biocube. I was manually dosing two part, but have since automated my system. I strive to keep ALK around 8.2, and Calc around 420.

Here is a quick overview for ya, and I hope it helps:

I am using esvbioinc. I added 600ml water to 300ml bioinic. I was dosing 4ml a day straight bionic. With it mixed less potent I will be dosing 12ml a day each part. I have two digital timers set to run 12 minutes a day. I split the 12 minutes to (3) 4 minute intervals throughout the day to really keep things balanced exact. My top of water is pure h20 without any kalk added. I know it would look better to put the ato container and top off pumps inside the stand, but I really want to keep the moisture on the outside for durability issues. Plus, it reminds me to look when to add more water or two part.

Pictures

P1010033 by mteske1, on Flickr

P1010032 by mteske1, on Flickr

P1010035 by mteske1, on Flickr

Hope this helps. Seems like your reactor is going to be hard to tune for such a small system. You could also dose Kalk via a top off system.

 

[Dog boy Dave]

.5 swing over a week is nothing to worry about. A swing of 1 or 2 over a day doesnt bother my guys at all. Without the ca reactor on line my system will drop from 10 to 7 by dark. I try not to let that happen but it does happen occationally. Even with the reactor running, mine swings from 10 to 9 in a day or so occationally and they dont even notice that. They notice if i push it over two units or so in a couple of hours. The corals dont like it but its no big deal occationally.
Its not unusual to adjust ca reactors constantly. Its the nature of the beast. I know some may be stable for a while, even a month or so if your lucky but over the years you learn that you just gotta mess with it.

All that said , in a smaller system there are other options to maintain ca and alk levels.

I measure alkalinity several times a day. You should try to keep it stable. However, I have measured these changes and i have seen these alk swings often and i know they dont cause undue distress to healthy corals in my system. That doesnt mean that an alk swing in a tank with a different cycle established wont react differently. Corals that are already stressed from something else may react differently as well. However, I measure these alk changes as well as a daily temp swing of about 6 degrees. I know these changes dont kill healthy corals in my system. If i have an issue with a coral i look elsewhere for the cause.

 

[mos90]

good info..

here is what i could do. im in the process of converting my 125 to salt from fresh. i could move the calcium reactor over to that tank and either dose kalk or 2 part with some sort of automation. what do u think about that idea?

ive never dosed kalk, how would u set it up in a ato so the everything remains stable?

would the kalk replace the 2 part?

i love that top off container, where did u get it?

 

[oscarslr]

BowieReefer, where did you get those timers? do they go in one minute intervals?

 

[BowieReefer84]

good info..

here is what i could do. im in the process of converting my 125 to salt from fresh. i could move the calcium reactor over to that tank and either dose kalk or 2 part with some sort of automation. what do u think about that idea?

ive never dosed kalk, how would u set it up in a ato so the everything remains stable?

would the kalk replace the 2 part?

i love that top off container, where did u get it?

I am not familiar with toping off with Kalk, and don't want to give you any false statements. I know people do it, and hear it works well when the demand is low. I think the progression people take is top off with kalk, then move to two part AND kalk, then switch to reactors if they choose? Not sure, but I like two part personally.

The top off container was made by a local guy who works with acrylic. A bucket would do the same thing. I like how this looks though, and seeing through when I need to add more water is nice.

 

[BowieReefer84]

BowieReefer, where did you get those timers? do they go in one minute intervals?

Yes, they go in one minute intervals. They also let you set on/off functions up to 21 times a day. They can do everyday of the week, or specific days. Also, they have a battery backup so when you do a waterchange or unplug something you don't lose the settings.

Lowes had them for $16 each. They are pretty new, so I can't speak on long term reliability. Hope they last...

 

[mos90]

decieded to go with 2 part dosing. i purchaced a bubble magus electronic doser and the water holders to go with them. now to figure out how much i need to dose.

do u guys dose calcium and alk equally?

 

[BowieReefer84]

decieded to go with 2 part dosing. i purchaced a bubble magus electronic doser and the water holders to go with them. now to figure out how much i need to dose.

do u guys dose calcium and alk equally?

Yes, but you need to get them where you want them first. Then measure how much they drop, and you can get to the amount you need to dose. Alk drops faster than Calc. I check Alk weekly now, and Calc monthly. More often is better of course.

 

[mos90]

i have them where i want them for the most part. now i will need to see how much they drop in a day.

 

[dixiedog]

Yes, they go in one minute intervals. They also let you set on/off functions up to 21 times a day. They can do everyday of the week, or specific days. Also, they have a battery backup so when you do a waterchange or unplug something you don't lose the settings.

Lowes had them for $16 each. They are pretty new, so I can't speak on long term reliability. Hope they last...

Digital timers are horribly unreliable, in my painful experience. I sincerely urge people to save up and invest in a controller. If that $16 timer controlling your Alk sticks 'on', everything you've worked for can be literally destroyed overnight.

I was lucky, for me it was my calcium that got jacked to 750 before I realized the Ca dosing pump was running continuously.


A little off topic, sorry.

 

[BowieReefer84]

Digital timers are horribly unreliable, in my painful experience. I sincerely urge people to save up and invest in a controller. If that $16 timer controlling your Alk sticks 'on', everything you've worked for can be literally destroyed overnight.

I was lucky, for me it was my calcium that got jacked to 750 before I realized the Ca dosing pump was running continuously.


A little off topic, sorry.

Yea, I am in the market for a controller, and realize this is a much better option. Not sure which one to go with, as I have no idea how to program them. I see all this code in the Neptune forum, and feel I would mess that up...

 

[mos90]

i have a neptune controller that i plan u use on my 125. i will use it for ato and the calcium reactor ph control, pumps, lights etc.. im not sure if the apex would be as accurate as an electronic dosing pump but u could try it. basically it would be used like a digital timer with ph limits but u will take up 2 outlets at $20 each.:eek1:

what i would do is use a dosing pump like the bubble magus and have the apex set to shut it off if the ph rises over 8.4. i still think on a larger system a calcium reactor might be easier.