Kalk to reduce the cost of 2 part

[reefteaser]

I've had my 115 mixed reef up for over 4 years. After various configurations, I'm using a Trigger 39 sump with an algae scrubber, protein skimmer, 2 large blocks of Marine Pure, and some carbon right before the return section. Approx. 100 gal of system water.
I'm dosing 85ml of ESV parts 1&2 daily, 3ml amino acid daily, and 12ml Magnesium every 3 days.
Cal 420-460, Alk 8-9, Mag 1290-1330, and ph 8-8.2. No measurable phosphate, nitrate stays under 1.
Everything in the tank doing very well, I even had to frag an acro that was almost at the top of the water and take it to my favorite LFS for some credit.
So, with all that said, my latest idea is to start dosing kalk to lower the cost of using the ESV. I'm not sure of how much to start with, or how much to decrease my 2 part without risking any shock to my corals or fish.
Of course, I could leave well enough alone. I already lowered the cost by purchasing the large 4 gallon concentrate.
I'm already using kalk with a small supplement of 2 part on a Nuvo30L AIO in my office. Mostly softies and LPS, but a couple of SPS as well. Super easy to maintain. I went from just water changes, then using kalk, then supplementing 2 part, so figuring out the dosing was pretty easy. On the larger tank, I feel as if I'm kind of working backwards.
Any suggestions or advise would be appreciated.

 

[outssider]

If you want to lower costs, you can use backing soda for your alkalinity and a bulk calcium chloride.....backing soda is available at any grocery store and calcium chloride is available many places (brs , live aquaria, amazon , ebay, and many more)

 

[bertoni]

I agree that bulk chemicals are fine, but Kalk can work well, too. It is a very dilute supplement. 1 gallon of saturated Kalk is equivalent to about 58 ml of the ESV, very roughly. The actual ratio used by the tank can differ because the high pH of Kalk can encourage more growth.

 

[ThRoewer]

On my anemonefish system I only use kalkwasser to replace evaporation (around 5 gallon a day) and the Alk, Ca, and Mg levels are are actually better balanced than in the "coral" system where I use 2 part.

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[ostrow]

I used to use Kalk for my topoff. 7gal a day on average. For years.

The stuff is murder on equipment. Heaters, pumps, the buildup of calcium on them was insane. Lots of ussues. You have to clean everything like monthly using acid.

CaRx. High startup cost, lowest running cost.

 

[reefteaser]

I agree that bulk chemicals are fine, but Kalk can work well, too. It is a very dilute supplement. 1 gallon of saturated Kalk is equivalent to about 58 ml of the ESV, very roughly. The actual ratio used by the tank can differ because the high pH of Kalk can encourage more growth.

Thank you! This is what I was looking for, at least as a starting point. Is the 58ml a total for both parts, or for each part. It does sound like a LOT of kalk to add every day if I wanted say to reduce the 2 part by half. I don't want my ph to spike.

 

[bertoni]

It's equivalent to 58 ml of alkalinity and 58 ml of calcium.

I dosed Kalk as ATO, but the evaporation rate on my tanks was very constant. Dosing via a controller can keep the Kalk addition more stable. In either case, watching the pH for the first day or so might be useful, but tanks with good aeration seldom seem to have pH problems. I would watch, just in case, and also to make sure that the dosing approach doesn't have some sort of problem. A runaway ATO can be an issue.

 

[reefteaser]

Thanks for the clarification. I plan to add kalk as I do on my smaller tank, with a doser. Much easier to clean or replace a dosing head than an ATO pump, and I can dose an exact amount.
I already use a Kamoer doser on each tank and I like them. I thought about trying their newer single head X1.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Years back I was told by a well respected reefer to use Kalwasser for all my top off water.

 

[ThRoewer]

Years back I was told by a well respected reefer to use Kalwasser for all my top off water.

That's pretty much what I do with most of my tanks. It's the cheapest and most foolproof solution. Though it alone might not be enough for tanks with extreme coral growth.

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