People are making Chris’ method harder to understand than it needs to be. I’ve been doing it with good results and haven’t lost any acropora. Granted, they’re in frag stage but I’m actually seeing improvements and better growth and color than previously.Any update since employing the updated method? Curious how your alk has been. How are you supposed to keep alk stable if consumption doesn't match how much dosing is needed to raise pH?
ive bensAny update since employing the updated method? Curious how your alk has been. How are you supposed to keep alk stable if consumption doesn't match how much dosing is needed to raise pH?
I’ve spoken to Chris personally about the method when my alkalinty spiked to 13.4 dkh. So he asked “how do your corals look?” “Amazing I said”. So he said leave it be and it’ll come down after in due time. Currently sitting at 11.2 with absolutely no issues whatsoever. Now, I think it’s important to take into consideration that a higher alkalinty does better in a nutrient rich environment with good lighting and lots of flow. So that’s what I’ve got. Nutrients are currently 10ppm NO3 and .1 PO4 (a 100:1 ratio which I shoot for).
Now, as for his method, it’s basically using a large sealed container that can hold about 7 days worth of saturated kalk solution. You figure out how much you evaporate and dose 100% of that amount during your reverse light cycle period. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. It’s not complicated and mystical. I turned off my ati and started dripping kalk until I figured out how much I was evaporating and slowly reached my full top off. Once my dkh starts to level out around 8.5-9 dkh where I like to keep it I’ll bring a calcium reactor online to come on when needed.
And so far I’ve noticed that Chris is correct in chasing PH. As long as your ph is suppressed and you’re able to raise it and keep it steadily elevated I’ve witnessed no losses, no paling in SPS and much better coloration regardless of the high alkalinty. I’ve come to believe that ph swings can affect corals as much as alkalinty swings.