Hello all,
just wanted to share some experience I been going through over the past 9months.
I have always heard in the past how important it is to have a stable KH, especially in zeovit system given the system is run on a tight and UNLS parameters.
I used to measure alk once a week, and adjust my dosing accordingly. but every now and then I would have SPS stressed out for no reason especially during water change day.
then I started measuring alk daily, and what I noticed is that there are days KH consumption is low and days high. so what I concluded is that some days when the KH consumption is low (coral is not going through calcification), though my tank need less KH dosing, my doser will dose the fixed amount which bring the KH value to above 8, then on days when my KH consumption is high, my fixed dosing is not enough and my KH drop to 6.3.
such fluctuation stressed my coral and caused a lot of the issues. usually the WC days are the worst cause when I do 20% WC my KH actually spike, then my doer add more KH which bring the KH value to high values.
Enter KH guardian. I got myself a KH guardian and had it set to measure my KH 8 times a day. and what was revealed during my usage is amazing. during the day my coral KH consumption actually vary quite a lot, and if I have fixed dosing quantity, my LKH value in the tank can vary from 8.3 to 7. and after WC my KH would spike up to 8.3.
further more, it was amazing seeing the KH consumption trend where i have more consumption during peak photo period (coral growing) and low KH consumption during night.
using KHG I regulated my Alk value (KHG measure and control the doser to add KH as needed only).
this made my tank KH super stable with range of 7~7.3. over 9 months, my growth improved significantly, I never lost a coral or got RTN/STN and coral coloration improved.
all data indicate that this improvement was mainly from the stable KH i was able to maintain thanks to KHG.
that's why now i am a big supporter of at least daily KH measurements, regardless of how stable your system is, it is hard to predict the calcification process trend over couple of days.
before i got KHG i did a lot of research on the market to invest in the right equipment, and KHG was a clear winner.
other kits (released and yet to be released) missing features KHG offer for free
1- KHG do not need extra dosers to control ALK. most of what was in the market at the time, do measurement only, to control you need extra doser. which if you aggregate total cost it comes way higher than the KHG. if we look at some of whats coming soon, we see measurement only devices, then marketing campaign asking us to buy expensive dosers (the claim usually is, if you want reliability buy our doser), some even ask for full controller upgrades. such solutions cost more than $1300 if you compare apple to apple(measure device+doser+controller..etc).
2- KHG was small footprint which was very important. such equipment need to be inside the cabinet, for reef systems real-estate is important. i did not have enough space under my tank.
3- KH offered control and monitor only solution, i ended up going with the control, but i know couple of reefers who have monitor only KHG and all what they do is control a cheap doser based on the KH values by the KHG using any controller (GHL, Apex..etc)
4- KHG was compatible with all common controller. i hooked it up to my old Apex and its working like a charm
5- customer support by KHG team was world class
6- reagent is relatively cheap, one reagent packet last 2 to 4 months (depend on how often you test) this was important, as you do not want to change reagent often
7- KHG use a reagent that can be dumped back in the tank, i was very sceptic of this at first, but i sent a test water sample to ICP test and all parameters came back within the recommended values, i did not see harmful sustains. that being said i am not doing that and instead dumping my KHG test water in my skimmer waste container[IMG]
8- finally, KHG performance was very stable. for 6 months, i cross correlated KH measurement values to common kits like salifert, and every single time the values are matched. some times when values do not match, i use brand new salifert kit, and realize that KH is giving the correct value while the older kit values where shifted which BTW is common complaint from reefers where they see the accuracy of the kit shift by time.
i will conclude by say: test your ALK daily if you can at least for couple of months to understand your system trend, get yourself a KHG if possible and enjoy your reefing[IMG]
just wanted to share some experience I been going through over the past 9months.
I have always heard in the past how important it is to have a stable KH, especially in zeovit system given the system is run on a tight and UNLS parameters.
I used to measure alk once a week, and adjust my dosing accordingly. but every now and then I would have SPS stressed out for no reason especially during water change day.
then I started measuring alk daily, and what I noticed is that there are days KH consumption is low and days high. so what I concluded is that some days when the KH consumption is low (coral is not going through calcification), though my tank need less KH dosing, my doser will dose the fixed amount which bring the KH value to above 8, then on days when my KH consumption is high, my fixed dosing is not enough and my KH drop to 6.3.
such fluctuation stressed my coral and caused a lot of the issues. usually the WC days are the worst cause when I do 20% WC my KH actually spike, then my doer add more KH which bring the KH value to high values.
Enter KH guardian. I got myself a KH guardian and had it set to measure my KH 8 times a day. and what was revealed during my usage is amazing. during the day my coral KH consumption actually vary quite a lot, and if I have fixed dosing quantity, my LKH value in the tank can vary from 8.3 to 7. and after WC my KH would spike up to 8.3.
further more, it was amazing seeing the KH consumption trend where i have more consumption during peak photo period (coral growing) and low KH consumption during night.
using KHG I regulated my Alk value (KHG measure and control the doser to add KH as needed only).
this made my tank KH super stable with range of 7~7.3. over 9 months, my growth improved significantly, I never lost a coral or got RTN/STN and coral coloration improved.
all data indicate that this improvement was mainly from the stable KH i was able to maintain thanks to KHG.
that's why now i am a big supporter of at least daily KH measurements, regardless of how stable your system is, it is hard to predict the calcification process trend over couple of days.
before i got KHG i did a lot of research on the market to invest in the right equipment, and KHG was a clear winner.
other kits (released and yet to be released) missing features KHG offer for free
1- KHG do not need extra dosers to control ALK. most of what was in the market at the time, do measurement only, to control you need extra doser. which if you aggregate total cost it comes way higher than the KHG. if we look at some of whats coming soon, we see measurement only devices, then marketing campaign asking us to buy expensive dosers (the claim usually is, if you want reliability buy our doser), some even ask for full controller upgrades. such solutions cost more than $1300 if you compare apple to apple(measure device+doser+controller..etc).
2- KHG was small footprint which was very important. such equipment need to be inside the cabinet, for reef systems real-estate is important. i did not have enough space under my tank.
3- KH offered control and monitor only solution, i ended up going with the control, but i know couple of reefers who have monitor only KHG and all what they do is control a cheap doser based on the KH values by the KHG using any controller (GHL, Apex..etc)
4- KHG was compatible with all common controller. i hooked it up to my old Apex and its working like a charm
5- customer support by KHG team was world class
6- reagent is relatively cheap, one reagent packet last 2 to 4 months (depend on how often you test) this was important, as you do not want to change reagent often
7- KHG use a reagent that can be dumped back in the tank, i was very sceptic of this at first, but i sent a test water sample to ICP test and all parameters came back within the recommended values, i did not see harmful sustains. that being said i am not doing that and instead dumping my KHG test water in my skimmer waste container[IMG]
8- finally, KHG performance was very stable. for 6 months, i cross correlated KH measurement values to common kits like salifert, and every single time the values are matched. some times when values do not match, i use brand new salifert kit, and realize that KH is giving the correct value while the older kit values where shifted which BTW is common complaint from reefers where they see the accuracy of the kit shift by time.
i will conclude by say: test your ALK daily if you can at least for couple of months to understand your system trend, get yourself a KHG if possible and enjoy your reefing[IMG]
