Dosing Kalkwasser

robinmprn

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I was getting ready to dose Kalkwasser and did Intial parameters. Alkalinity 7.0 PH 8.0 calcium 492. Would appreciate suggestions on where to go from here
 

marcus aurelius

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I have been dosing Kalk for over a year now. On my 125. Full of corals. I dose just over 1700 ml a day.
1703107115930.png
 

Beefyreefy

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I do 2 teaspoons per gallon in my top of water. I have pretty high demand and that seems to work fine for me. Don’t overthink it.
 

aSaltyKlown

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What corals do you have in your tank? How will you dose it, ATO or doser?
 

Beefyreefy

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What corals do you have in your tank? How will you dose it, ATO or doser?
Mixed reef, Acros, montis, shrooms, euphyllia and chalices. I dose it via ATO. I’ve done it through a doser but it seems to kill the dosing heads quicker that it kills my ato pumps. I’ll add that it doesn’t keep my alkalinity crazy high, just adequate, but my PH is constantly high and I’m starting to think that high ph is the most important metric.
 

fishyjoes

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You have to figure out your consumption rate for alkalinity and calcium - test every day for a week and see how the numbers change (how much they go down).
Then use a calculator to see how much saturated kalk it takes to match that rate
I use the one from hamzasreef
https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/KalkContribution.php

There are lots of guides and videos to show you all the details, but the main thing is to start by knowing your current consumption.
 

am3gross

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I only dose at night time when the Ph tends to drop. I dose the BRS cal, alk and mag the rest of the time. If there is no need to dose then I wouldn't. Just one more thing that could go wrong if something fails. Until there is an actual need for it, do your research and see what the best method would be for you.
 

exnisstech

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It was trail an error for me. Took a month or so ans I supplemented with 2 part to keep alk levels from dropping too low. I tried ato but evap rates vary too much here. I use an brs 50ml a minutes dosing pump on a cheap digital timer for on/off cycles . I'm dripping 24/7 for a total of 7200ml a day and my alk and calcium has been more stable than it ever has now that I have the amount dialed in.
I don't monitor pH but have tested and the kalk has no effect on pH in my tank. Compared to a tank 10ft away that gets 2part they are both identical.
 

tzabor10

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Mixed reef, Acros, montis, shrooms, euphyllia and chalices. I dose it via ATO. I’ve done it through a doser but it seems to kill the dosing heads quicker that it kills my ato pumps. I’ll add that it doesn’t keep my alkalinity crazy high, just adequate, but my PH is constantly high and I’m starting to think that high ph is the most important metric.
Kalk is extremely harsh. Best bet is to go ahead and get a Kalkwasser reactor. Keeps the chemical away from the pumps. Good luck.
 

Beefyreefy

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Kalk is extremely harsh. Best bet is to go ahead and get a Kalkwasser reactor. Keeps the chemical away from the pumps. Good luck.
I’ve done that too, but like every kalk reactor I’ve tried sucks too; I just buy a replacement tunze ATO pump as necassary, they last a decent while if I clean them every so often. I’ve come back to this after trying all sorts of things. I may create my own diy kalk stirrer, but I want to make it indestructible lol, I like the stirrer plate designs and might make one like that.
 

Midrats

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It always surprises how long those little Tunze pumps last in the hostile environment of a kalk reservoir.
 

tzabor10

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I’ve done that too, but like every kalk reactor I’ve tried sucks too; I just buy a replacement tunze ATO pump as necassary, they last a decent while if I clean them every so often. I’ve come back to this after trying all sorts of things. I may create my own diy kalk stirrer, but I want to make it indestructible lol, I like the stirrer plate designs and might make one like that.
I’ll keep that in mind. Just installed an Icecap I’m-150. Hope it holds up. What Kalk reactors have you used?
 

lrlivingston

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Question: I run kalkwasser in my ATO but somehow my alk got up to 14. If I switch to regular RO water for top off and dose mag and cal will my alk decline?
 

dangles

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I’ve done that too, but like every kalk reactor I’ve tried sucks too; I just buy a replacement tunze ATO pump as necassary, they last a decent while if I clean them every so often. I’ve come back to this after trying all sorts of things. I may create my own diy kalk stirrer, but I want to make it indestructible lol, I like the stirrer plate designs and might make one like that.

Have you tried the Avast kalk stirrer?
 

workhz

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why not just get a cheap doser if you're worried about pumps?
 

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