Kalk or 2 part?

[lost4ever]

Im looking to start dosing my tank because of the increase in SPS, and LPS corals my water changes are not keeping up with the trace elements these corals demand.

I top off my tank with a gravity feed float switch. It would be super easy to just add kalk to my top off water, but would it be as good as dosing 2-part additive?

what are the pros and cons of just using Kalk?

 

[frankpayne32]

I recommend use the two part. Kalk is good up to a certain point but if you plan on adding more and more calcifying organisms I would go with two-part. Go to the reef chemistry sub forum and their is an excellent article by Randy Holmes Farly explaining the pros and cons of all the different supplementation schemes.

 

[Chris27]

Start with Kalk and keep testing frequently, if it's not working out for you move on to 2-part or a Calcium reactor. Kalk is so damn cheap - everyone should give it a try before they go out and drop $500 on a reactor or dosing setup.

 

[thegrun]

Start with Kalk and keep testing frequently, if it's not working out for you move on to 2-part or a Calcium reactor. Kalk is so damn cheap - everyone should give it a try before they go out and drop $500 on a reactor or dosing setup.

+1, you may reach a point where Kalk does not keep up, but it works great while your calcium demand is lower for both Ca and alkalinity.

 

[seapug]

Kalkwasser is okay for tanks with small numbers of stony corals and/or clams, but the two part products really are much more "complete" because they usually include magnesium and a variety of other trace elements in the buffer component that are missing from Kalkwasser. In fact, long term Kalkwasser use can actually deplete magnesium which can cause Alkalinity problems.

Yes, the two part mixtures are a little more expensive but they are much less labor intensive, less risky to use and you don't have to have an expensive automatic dosing system to use them. I use a small 100ml plastic medical peepee cup type thing with marks on the side I got from Walgreens for .99 cents. I add around 20 ml/day of each to my 100 gallon system (which is quite a lot). Two of the big jugs of Brightwell A-B costs about $50 from the LFS and usually lasts me a good 8-10 weeks. That's less than what I spend on salt for water changes. A smaller tank or tank with fewer stony corals could make it last two or three times longer.

 

[lost4ever]

My tank is only 25g, and i already have an ATO, so adding Kalk would cost me less than $10.

I think im going to give Kalk a try and keep testing, and possibly dose Mag if needed.