Kalkwasser and 2 Part Dosing

[LefkoNJ]

I have been doing 2 part dosing for a few years now, really like it. Recently I added a canopy fan to aide with temperature control, and to reduce the usage of my chiller.

As a result the amount of evaporation has increased but my ALK has dropped. I tried to increase the dosing but can't get it back to where it should be. Was thinking of adding Kalkwasser to my ATO reservoir but was not sure this was the best idea.

Any thoughts?

 

[thegrun]

The problem with dosing kalk via your ATO fresh water reservoir is that as the amount of evaporation varies so will the amount of kalk added to your system. If you are keeping sensitive corals like SPS where stable parameters are needed, it becomes difficult to keep your alkalinity and calcium levels from swinging around. Ideally I would use a second reservoir for the kalk that would deliver about 3/4 of your daily evaporation amount and then keep your ATO on line to deliver the rest of the needed fluid.

 

[wcharon]

I am exactly in the same boat as you OP. I really didn't want to use a dosing pump to deliver kalk thru the ATO because in case of failure.

My question is if I use the Dosing Pump how will I configure it to deliver the 3/4 part of Kalk if the ATO has a optic sensor???

Should I lower that level sensor, etc. What is a good starting point (ml) in terms of dosing The benefit that I see with this method is that with the Doser I can avoid delivering Kalk thru the night when PH is the highest.

Thanks in advance...

 

[downbeach]

Just a guess, but it sounds like the addition of the fan gave you a slightly better gas exchange, providing a slight bump in pH, adding a little more calcification, and associated uptake of Alk, Ca, etc. In my case I started using kalk in my ATO, to keep up with my demand between WC's, and went to two part when the kalk by itself was no longer able to keep up. I did however add a dosing pump for the Kalk along with the Ca and Alk, dosing all three 24/7, and went back to plain RO/DI in the ATO.

 

[mattgumaer]

I definitely could be wrong about this but, it doesn't seem like alkalinity should go down because of increased evaporation. When water evaporates, the magnesium, alkalinity and calcium stay behind. If you didn't replace the evaporated water, all of these concentrations would go up. However, since you use an ATO, the amount of water stays consistent and the concentrations of calc, alk and mag should too.

If you're dosing more alk and the levels are staying the same, it would seem like either: 1) the corals, etc., are consuming it; or 2) it is precipitating out because of low mag and/or high calcium. What are your calc, mag and alk levels and what test kits are you using (I had some Salifert kits that seemed to read a little low as they aged).

You definitely can add kalk to your ATO but, because evaporation varies, so to will the amount you're dosing and there is always the risk of overdosing the tank if the ATO runs for an extended period of time (ever start a water change without turning off your ATO or drip acclimate a bunch of stuff at the same time with the ATO on?).

Matt

 

[wcharon]

Thanks.. I will give that a try. In my case I am using saturated kalk thru ATO and also dosing 20ml of ALK and Calc which is not that much. Alk is at 8.0 and Calc at 425.

I have 3 more dosing pumps so I will give that a try but was also thinking to lower the strength of the Kalk thru the ATO and upper the dosing regimen. That way the fluctuations are not that much.

What you guys suggest?

 

[rpc07]

This is a big boat because I'm in the same scenario. Following along.

 

[oseymour]

Kalkwasser and 2 Part Dosing

Just a guess, but it sounds like the addition of the fan gave you a slightly better gas exchange, providing a slight bump in pH, adding a little more calcification, and associated uptake of Alk, Ca, etc. In my case I started using kalk in my ATO, to keep up with my demand between WC's, and went to two part when the kalk by itself was no longer able to keep up. I did however add a dosing pump for the Kalk along with the Ca and Alk, dosing all three 24/7, and went back to plain RO/DI in the ATO.

100% agree.

You can also see an increase in demand when you increase photoperiod or light intensity, your corals are staying in "growth mode" longer each day and they use more Alk, calc and mag to grow.

I use kalk in the winter when my evaporation rate is steady to keep ph higher. In the summer I have the windows open so the ph boost isn't need and it's too hard to hit a moving target with changes in the weather leading to fans/chiller being on and varying evaporation rates.






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