Started Dosing Kalkwasser, Now What?

PatMayo

PatMayo

New member
I started dosing kalkwasser today. I started at 1 teaspoon per gallon of water. Do I continue dosing your 2 part Randy or stop that with the kalkwasser addition?

I have been dosing your 2 part , number one formula for about 2 1/2 months now. My tank is 92 days old. No corals yet just lots of coralline algae.

Or do I keep measuring and then adjust the 2 part formula dosing?

Regards,

Pat
 
I'd track the alkalinity and pH. If you want, try starting to add less and less of the two part over time and see if the alkalinity stays adequately high or not. :)
 
I am dosing the 2 part along with kalk water.I have found that dosing kalk alone was not enough once I started buying more sps corals.I found when I had only 3 to 4 sps and the rest were diff types of corals My calcium was stable,my alk was 7 but when my tunze unit ran low It dropped(auto top off container with kalk)then as I was buying more and more sps the calcium was a yoyo.I couldn't keep up with it and my alk was dropping to 6 dkh.I then started to use a dosing unit.Before I was using kant liquid calcium and a liquid buffer.This was starting to become very costly.I found Randys formula used it and then about 3 months later I bought a dosing unit.This was the best money I have spent for the corals.With a constant level of calcium and alk the corals took off.I still dose kalk for top off but for me I find its more to raise my ph.I always had a low ph of 7.98.With kalk its at 8.2-8.3 with the addition of the baking soda(dose it very 1 1/2 hrs) it helps maintain that ph aswell.I have never seen such good results before.My calcium was like a yoyo before when my tank was in the 6 month to a year stage.Coraline algea grows like crazy in my tank VS my friends tank yet we both have pretty much the same equepment.My tank is larger and I have more fish.He has bb I have crushed coral wich I know is a know know.
 
The first night dosing at 1 teaspoon per gallon did not yield good results. Last night at about 6 pm I dosed the normal amount of your 2 part, 60 ml of Alkalinity and Calcium before starting the Kalk drip. (Normally dose 120 ml per day, 60 of each in the am and the balance in the evening.)

This morning at 5:30 am I tested the Alkalinity and it was 2.97 meq/l. The ph was 7.99. Of course no lights were on in the tank but the lights are lit 24/7 in the sump on the cheato. I have both glass tops taken off the tank.

I will test the alkalinity tonight and see where it is at. I suspect that the alkalinity will be around 3 or so maybe a little greater. I also suspect that the ph will be around 8.08 or so just because the MH lights will be on.

If the numbers turn out to be close to what I think they will be I would suspect that I can go to 2 teaspoons of Kalk per gallon with no harm. This then may cause the daily dosing of your 2 part to be reduced somewhat. Right now I see no reduction in the current dosing scheme.

Am I on the right track here Randy or is there a better way? My goal is to have the doser resupply the water that is evaporated but at the same time I would like to have reduced dosing of your 2 part in the hopes that tank will stay more stable with smaller variations in ph and alkalinity swings.

Regards,

Pat
 
yes tablespoon buy the mrs wages it ends up being a lot cheaper and they won't rape you on shipping and handeling I paid $10 for ship for a case.It ends up being like $4.50 for a pound and it works fine
 
Pat your tank is still new wait till it start to produce and the coraline starts to grow.You will find it start to suck up the calcium.Then when you start to buy sps or other corals it will soak it up.You are doing the best thing by starting the tank of right.You at least are going threw the ups and downs of the early stages of the tank cycling.Once all that is past you will have the best enviornment for the corals.Get yourself a dosing unit you will need one.This way you will have the most stable levels and once you add the corals t have corals dying on you and then have to woder what went wrong.I have lost corals in the past due to bad lighting,bad advice and shear stupidity on my part.Read Read Read and ask question.That was my worst error I did in the past.This forum has helped me so much its amazing.
 
Hey Steve, I am actually using this product.

http://www.innovativeaquatics.com/Pages/products.html

The model I am using is the Chaplin. It's extremely quiet so I have it right in my family room. I just set the liters per hour I want it to dose and off it goes. I am going to buy a float switch as a failsafe device.

I have only had it one day but so far it is easy to set and has run flawlessly. I am dosing 24 hours per day.

The only hazard I see is the evaporation rate can fluctuate which will change the liters per hour to dose. Hence the float switch as a failsafe. (Jonathan gave me that idea.) Since my house has AC I'm thinking the evap rate should change minimally and be fairly consistent. I may have to adjust the dose rate on a weekly basis but that's ok.

Is this the type of thing you are talking about? Once I get the amount of Kalk dialed in (Randy helped me with that.) it should be a piece of cake. No more filling the tank manually and no more dosing manually. At least for awhile that is, once I start adding corals all bets are off.

Thanks for the help and advice Steve I appreciate it.

Regards,

Pat
 
yes I have something similar.I have the reef doser twin.Its basicaly the same thing.I use it to dose randys 2 part.I am using half a gal per week of the two part.I use an auto top off unit to dose the kalk so it mixes in with the r/o water.What you are using is the same thing but you have to calculate how much to drip in oreder to top of your tank.Its same results similar method.You may find out that later on you might need to dose randys two part with a dosing unit.This will depend on what kind have corals and the amount of corals you have.Randys 2 part replaces a calcium reactor.Its very safe and cheap.Those dosers are very reasonably priced they have good prices on there units I have something like the 2 channel doser.The prices are very competitive infact they are cheap.If I need to get another doser I would look at these models they are worth it for the money.
 
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