Kalkwasser and high KH bad for acropora coloration?

[dwillingm]

I was looking into Zeovit, and entered my tank parameters on the zeovit.com forum.

I got some advice that I am unsure about. I was told Kalkwasser is not a good idea becasue it binds the phosphates, and keeps them trapped in the tank. Then under certain conditions (ie ph changes from dripping kalk), these trapped phosphates can be released, resulting in brown acropora. Right now my phosphates are testing at zero, and I have been dripping kalk for 1.5 years.

Has anyone had long term success with dripping kalk in an acropora dominated tank, as far as color retention?

I was also advised that my KH was too high (12 KH), and that I should bring it down to NSW levels: 6-7 KH. I have always kept it high becasue of the added buffering capacity, and a safety net for if it drops. Does anyone have experience with high KH levels negatively impacting acropora coloration?

I know a Ca Reactor would be better then dripping kalk, but I cant quite afford one just yet. I have decent coloration in my acropora, but there is alot of room for improvement.

 

[creepereefer]

Yes I do I lost my entire tank 200 sps over 7yrs gone do to high alk thats no joke had thread going few months ago really considering giving it up going to cost to much to get back where I was once at.

 

[PrangeWay]

NSW KH

NSW KH

It is my understanding that with Zeovit (which I currently am trying) you want to keep a KH more near NSW because the higher non-natural KH artificially inflates the cacification rate, but since you're aiming at a nutrient poor system, the protein and other "heaveir" buildings blocks (which corals dont' get from photosynthesis) aren't present and can cause problems.

And I was in your boat to, I used Kalk only for maybe 9 months, but recently switched to using a 2-channel dosing pump I had leftover for doing Randy 2-part additive instead. I believe Randy in Chemist forum had a threat with someone asking the Kalk / Phosphate question, maybe someone with a premium sub can find it (as us regulars bascially can't use search).


PW

 

[creepereefer]

I do not beleive fully in the zoevit system to me it comes down to good old fashion taking care of your tank paying attention makeing water changes, carbons etc.

 

[RichConley]

Re: Kalkwasser and high KH bad for acropora coloration?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7442340#post7442340 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dwillingm
I was looking into Zeovit, and entered my tank parameters on the zeovit.com forum.

I got some advice that I am unsure about. I was told Kalkwasser is not a good idea becasue it binds the phosphates, and keeps them trapped in the tank. Then under certain conditions (ie ph changes from dripping kalk), these trapped phosphates can be released, resulting in brown acropora.

THats probably the biggest bunch of crap I've ever heard.

 

[PITSTOP]

I use a Ca reactor AND drip kalk - stopped dripping kalk due to fading coloration, colors came back within a few days...

 

[thereefgeek]

From what I've heard speaking to Calfo and tried in my old system re: Phosphate and nusiance algae.

Elevated levels of PO4 can be "bound" or "locked up" by temporarily raising the tank pH to somewhere around 8.5-8.6 for a 24 hr period, then let it gradually decline down to normal levels (8.2-8.3). The PO4 is no longer available as a fuel for algae and you can literally watch it waste away (as long as you don't continue to contribute to the problem w/overfeeding, etc.). Supposedly the phosphate can only be released from it's magical state of flux by a drastic reduction in the tank's pH (around 7.6).

I'm not to sure about the Zeo method, or their recommendations for use, but I've used kalk for years and haven't had a problem with brown-outs or pH spikes from it.

As far as high KH from dripping kalk, I experienced the opposite and have switched to using sodium bicarbonate to buffer the alkalinity along with calcium chloride additions ala: Randy's 2-Part.

 

[dwillingm]

creeperreefer: what KH level caused your sps tank to crash?

Isnt there in issue of sodium and chloride buildup when only sodium bicarbonate and calcium chloride are used? Can anyone point me to a thread addressing this?

 

[RichConley]

Sodium and Chloride is salt, so salinity. Generally it seems to balance out with the salt you're losing due to skimming. Just watch your salinity.

Thats the great thing about Kalk. Its nothing but Ca, and Alk. So it doesnt effect salinity too much.

 

[dwillingm]

Does anyone know if the bound up Phosphate is exported through the skimmer?

 

[RichConley]

It seems to be. My skimmer definitely works better when dosing.

 

[shelburn61]

if youre dosing kalk the increased skimmer performance is probably due more to saponification (lime binds with oils allowing them to be skimmed and preventing them from killing the foam column) than PO4 precipitation.

Some of the PO4 precipitate is probably skimmed out like any other solid particle, but I think a lot of it probably just settles out. Shouldn't really matter though if you keep pH up.

 

[mikekman]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=853103

Randy-Holmes Farley cleared up some stuff about the PO4 and kalk in the link above.