IO + Kalk dose question

[mujtba]

i just had to switch to IO salt from SERA, cuz sera is no longer available to me..

I have been adding half teaspoon of kalk to half gallon of top off water before.

how much kalk do you guys normally put in 1 gallon of top off water??

 

[cristhiam]

Kalk is used to keep levels in check. I top off the same on my 55 I use IO too. Just check your PH that is not going to high.

 

[jarhed]

Hi mujtba,

Just checking here, your not using IO mix for topoff, are you?

 

[mujtba]

no, IO is my new salt..

I use kalk in my top off water.. i just want to know if I should stick to the same amount as before, since IO i believe has LESS calcium than sera.

so kalk just MAINTAINS what I have? how do I RAISE calcium and ALK?

please explain this kalk issue.. im confused.

 

[cristhiam]

using baking soda to raise alk and calcium chloride for the calcium like dowflake. In the Chemistry forum you can learn how much to use of each. You have to be carefull not to overdose any of those. A little at a time. Randy Holmes is very good explaining how things work.

 

[yama63]

I dose EVS kalk and the recommedation is 2 tablespoons to 1 gal

 

[mujtba]

hmmm... okay so if my calcium is low, should i do 2teaspoon/gallon? i dont know what brand kalk i use... if others can post what they do too, id appreciate it

 

[Agu]

Only a set amount of kalk will dissolve in water no matter how much you add. You might want to check out this article,


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

 

[cristhiam]

Use the calculator from the Chemistry forum, don't add it all at once. If your calcium is low just by adding kalk is not going to raise it much. You should drip at nights only when they ph gets low a PH monitor is very helpful. PH on kalk is about 12 or higher. I bet your alk is low too. You need to check alk, calcium and magnesium because these are tight together. To make a major correction use calcium chloride (dowflake) or turbo calcium and get the alk right, then use kalk to maintain. Check every week and see how much your system uses. Some times using kalk is not enough to keep up with the demand of the system. If you can find Pickling lime a the grocery store get that it's a lot cheaper than buying kalk and it's the same thing.

 

[nepuck]

I recently tested my I.O. water change mix. FWIW here's the results:

salin. = .0255
temp = 77.6
PH = 8.1
Alk = 10.92 dKH or 3.9 meq/L
Calc = 355 ppm
Mag = 1388

 

[cristhiam]

You get higher numbers at higher salinity. I run my tank at 34ppt or 1.025 my calc 390, mg almost 1400