kalk question

[rustyjames]

I think I've got things in line;
SG 1.025

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
calcium 380 (have to dose after water change)
API tests

alk 8
mag 1500
Salifert tests

I've been using Seachem Reef Complete, Reef Carbonate and mag for dosing. Was wondering if Kalkwasser was a better/easier way of maintaining calc/alk (it dose both, right?) or if I should just stick to what I'm doing.
Tank seems healthy, fish breed, zoas have babies, I'm just not getting any corraline growth. Thanks for any advice.

 

[rustyjames]

Forgot, I drip about a quart of topoff fw via gallon jug and airline tubing every night anyway, that's why I am considering kalk.

 

[rustyjames]

Nothing?

 

[XflatZ22]

kalk would be good to maintain and raise your cal and alk levels. I personally dose with 2 part since i have a nano reef. Good luck though, once you see that purple growing in, its worth the wait. btw, you use R/O for topoff right?

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Cd,

KW is probably less expensive than the Reef Complete, especially if you make it yourself form pickling lime.

See-What your Grandma Never Told You About Lime for details.

 

[rustyjames]

xflat, I use distilled. WaterKeeper, thanks for the link, I've read that and anything eles I could find. Just wondering what people preferred. I guess if it ain't broke.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

It's personal preference, up to a point.

IMHO kalk is the "best" method, since it kills several birds with one stone - topoff, calcium, and alkalinity. By virtue of dosing carbonate, it also helps stabilize your pH. It's cheap and easy, and you don't have to worry about the ratio of Ca to alkalinity, since it's pretty much perfect.

The only caveat is that with any dosing scheme, you need to separate fixing problems from long-term maintenance. In other words, get your calcium, pH, and alkalinity up to snuff BEFORE you try to train yourself on a particular "maintenance" dosing scheme.

For an example of that, if my calcium and alkalinity were way low, I wouldn't just start dosing kalk for topoff - I'd fix the parameters manually over a few days/weeks, then figure out how much kalk I needed to dose to keep things constant.

 

[rustyjames]

Thanks der_wille, that's what I've been trying to do. After monday water change and dosing calc/alk is at 420/8, is alk at 8 low? Wanted to get things stable before dosing somthing eles. The three things you mentioned are the exact reasons why I'd like to use kalk

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

I take it you mean 8 dKH? That's not critically low, but you might want it up around 10 dKH. IMHO an acceptable range is 8 - 12 or so. What's your pH like? I bet it's a hair on the lower side.

When dosing kalk, IMHO it's best to target to your tank's uptake. Many people are stocked densly enough (with corals and other calcifying livestock) that they can dose to match evaporation at full strength, but if you have a lot of evap and not much of a coral load, you might want to start at half strength or less, and monitor your Ca, alk, and pH for a week or two - then adjust the concentration up or down as required.

 

[rustyjames]

Yes, sorry dkh. My ph has always been between 8.2 and 8.4. I have a light load so I would start with about 1/2 t. per gallon, test and evaulate.

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15162600#post15162600 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by der_wille_zur_macht
It's personal preference, up to a point.

IMHO kalk is the "best" method, since it kills several birds with one stone - topoff, calcium, and alkalinity. By virtue of dosing carbonate, it also helps stabilize your pH. It's cheap and easy, and you don't have to worry about the ratio of Ca to alkalinity, since it's pretty much perfect.

yep i have to agree, i must admit i do run a calcium reactor but agree with der_wille, kalk is a great method to keep the params in check and is pretty cheap and almost perfect to maintain the params.