Adding elements to kalkwasser

[Not an IT guy]

Hi all. Background. Have my 90 gallon tank with sump running for about 3 years. Looking to add elements with either two part or just trace elements. I am currently using BRS kalkwasser with with my 10 ATO. I am seeing a lot of my corals grow but some I know benefit more from trace elements. I’ve read a lot about all for reef which lots of people have had great success with. What are my options since I am already using kalkwasser. I can post lvls

phos. 03
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0.1
Nitrates 25-30
SG 1026
Ph 8.3
Alk 7.5

any advice is appreciated

to clarify not adding it directly to the ATO rather dosing it or manually

thank you.
Jose.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hi all. Background. Have my 90 gallon tank with sump running for about 3 years. Looking to add elements with either two part or just trace elements. I am currently using BRS kalkwasser with with my 10 ATO. I am seeing a lot of my corals grow but some I know benefit more from trace elements. I’ve read a lot about all for reef which lots of people have had great success with. What are my options since I am already using kalkwasser. I can post lvls

phos. 03
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0.1
Nitrates 25-30
SG 1026
Ph 8.3
Alk 7.5

any advice is appreciated

thank you.
Jose.

it is generally not optimal to assume trace metals willb e soluble in limewater. Some may be, especially at the low concentrations likely used, but it would have to be approached on a case by case basis.

 

[Not an IT guy]

it is generally not optimal to assume trace metals willb e soluble in limewater. Some may be, especially at the low concentrations likely used, but it would have to be approached on a case by case basis.

Thank you for the reply. My fault I wasn’t clear but not adding it to my ATO mix. More of dosing it using a pump or by hand.

 

[mdb_talon]

If i were considering it i would first get an icp test and see if anything is really low or if your WC is good enough to keep them in good ranges. Tank is 3 years old so it should tell you a lot. Cheaper and safer than dosing things you may or may not need.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you for the reply. My fault I wasn’t clear but not adding it to my ATO mix. More of dosing it using a pump or by hand.

OK, so in that case, manual dosing is perfectly fine and the best options are:

1. Buy a trace element mix from a company that you trust and try it for a few weeks to see if anything improves
2. Get an ICP test, see what is depleted, and look to only dose those

While 2 may sound "better", it is complicated by the fact that some trace elements (such as iron and manganese) deplete fast and so you may need many ICP tests to see how often you need to dose what elements.

 

[Imaexpat2]

If your using Kalkwasser....I would suggest using Kalk +2! In addition to boosting your Calcium, Ph and Alk, it will add Magnesium and Strontium in the same ratio that is found in aragonite and coral skeletons. This will boost your coralline algae growth and any coral that has a skeleton in your tank. Dosing this in conjunction with water changes I have rarely found a need to dose much else!

 

[Not an IT guy]

If your using Kalkwasser....I would suggest using Kalk +2! In addition to boosting your Calcium, Ph and Alk, it will add Magnesium and Strontium in the same ratio that is found in aragonite and coral skeletons. This will boost your coralline algae growth and any coral that has a skeleton in your tank. Dosing this in conjunction with water changes I have rarely found a need to dose much else!

Would this be in place of kalk or in addition

 

[theMeat]

If your using Kalkwasser....I would suggest using Kalk +2! In addition to boosting your Calcium, Ph and Alk, it will add Magnesium and Strontium in the same ratio that is found in aragonite and coral skeletons. This will boost your coralline algae growth and any coral that has a skeleton in your tank. Dosing this in conjunction with water changes I have rarely found a need to dose much else!

From what I gathered kalk + is pretty useless. Something about how the mag sinks to bottom and doesn’t mix with water or something to that effect. I learned this after I bought some, so if I’m wrong hope someone, cough cough Randy, chimes in

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If your using Kalkwasser....I would suggest using Kalk +2! In addition to boosting your Calcium, Ph and Alk, it will add Magnesium and Strontium in the same ratio that is found in aragonite and coral skeletons. This will boost your coralline algae growth and any coral that has a skeleton in your tank. Dosing this in conjunction with water changes I have rarely found a need to dose much else!

Unfortunately, this product does not add any useful amount of magnesium. So sad that Brightwell does this .

Forget the Brightwell product. Badly designed and doesn't work as described. It has less magnesium than commercial bulk calcium hydroxide (by their own claims lol), not nearly enough to be useful even if it did dissolve, and magnesium is insoluble in kalkwasser.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Would this be in place of kalk or in addition

It would be in place of, if it actually did what it advertises, but is not a useful product for magnesium.

 

[Heabel7]

What about the strontium part? Does that mix into kalk?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What about the strontium part? Does that mix into kalk?

Yes, strontium is kalkwasser is OK, but I also do not think strontium is a useful additive in most reef tanks. The idea that corals need it is based on a misunderstanding of the reasons it gets incorporated into coral skeletons. It gets similarly incorporated into simple abiotic precipitation just because it looks like calcium and gets incorporated "by accident". That's not evidence of utility and more than uranium in natural coral skeletons is evidence of utility.