Advice on getting Kalkwasser to be more stable on DKH?

[Reef Puncher]

Hey guys. I currently have a 65g dosing 15mL AFR and 600mL kalkwasser. I don’t touch these settings I leave them as is. But my Alk fluctuates more than I’d like it to. I know some people say 1 point fluctuation throughout the day is okay but I’ve seen reefers have like .2 fluctuation and I’d like to get as close as I can to that type of swing. Is it possible with kalkwasser or is there just too many variables? (Evaporation from reservoir or concentration in mix)? I do 2tbs per gallon everytime in a 5 gallon reservoir. Idk why but my alk swings a lot. Would it make a difference if I just dosed at night? I just recently got acros and I’m scared to experiment and cause a big swing. Any advice is much appreciated!

dude!! i have a 65 gallon and i dose both too!
i dose 15ml's of AFR all in morning. Then for next 24 hours i dose about 350mls a day of kalk. with most of it going at night. i only dose about 50mls from 2pm to 8pm (my light cycle) mainly because ph is already high during day. but my kalk is on a doser though. with water top reservoir dosing, you will also get some variance due to evaporation rate changing throughout the day. i personally just prefer a doser.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Are you dosing the AFR all at once or throughout the day.. I dose my AFR split into 3 times a day. AFr is pretty potent. Also, what are you using to test? Testing same time of day? Etc…

ive been told to dose it in morning, Lou said the alk is slow compared to other additives and he said morning dosing is best but i dont think there is any problem with splitting it up either.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ive been told to dose it in morning, Lou said the alk is slow compared to other additives and he said morning dosing is best but i dont think there is any problem with splitting it up either.

Either way is ok.

 

[Acro76]

I have my Kalk dosing with a Kamoer fix-stp continuous duty pump connected to and Apex outlet. I have it coded to shut off if the alk gets above 8.5 with 4 test a day. This keeps my alk between 8.3 and 8.6 or so.

Have you ever had any trouble with this pump not pumping when the apex turns it on? I had to quit using them, they were too unreliable. I did have it tied to the pH, maybe it was too many on and off cycles for it. Was a great dosing pump otherwise.

 

[jayteerq]

So I put my sample line in the chamber that comes before my kalk and AFR dose line chamber and readings are looking much better! Can’t believe I didn’t think of this when I originally set it up

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So I put my sample line in the chamber that comes before my kalk and AFR dose line chamber and readings are looking much better! Can’t believe I didn’t think of this when I originally set it up

Good to hear!

Happy Reefing!

 

[jayteerq]

Good to hear!

Happy Reefing!

Never mind ): the confusion continues… lol no changes in dosing yet cal and mag still all over the place

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

I'll chime in based on my personal experience. I used the avast marine kalk stir with kamoer constant drip and had very stable alkalinity for a few weeks then would start to swing down needing to be constantly cleanned and refilled with new kalk. I then switched to just mixing a large trash can with RO then fully saturating with kalk to constantly drip and that would last a week before having to refill and mix. This had horrible swings for me like you are having. I ended up getting a Calcium reactor and now have extremely stable calcium, Alk, Mag. I did sacrifice PH being much lower than it was with kalk but the stability has made my corals much more happy and growing well.

I never had stability like this with using 2 part or kalk, I will always run a calcium reactor on my tanks based on the results

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Never mind ): the confusion continues… lol no changes in dosing yet cal and mag still all over the place

It must be test error for some reason.

 

[Acro76]

I'll chime in based on my personal experience. I used the avast marine kalk stir with kamoer constant drip and had very stable alkalinity for a few weeks then would start to swing down needing to be constantly cleanned and refilled with new kalk. I then switched to just mixing a large trash can with RO then fully saturating with kalk to constantly drip and that would last a week before having to refill and mix. This had horrible swings for me like you are having. I ended up getting a Calcium reactor and now have extremely stable calcium, Alk, Mag. I did sacrifice PH being much lower than it was with kalk but the stability has made my corals much more happy and growing well.

I never had stability like this with using 2 part or kalk, I will always run a calcium reactor on my tanks based on the results

I used to have swings with the avast, and cleaned it out every two weeks. The key for me was to add about 1/2 cup of Kalk daily. If the kalk is very low in the tube, you're not dosing much, if its right around the middle usually the concentration is good, very high in the tube means the concentration is too low. Now I clean it every 2-3 months. I have the dosing tied to a pH of 8.5, with a shutoff on the low end of 8.4. That used to be enough to keep my alk at 8, but now I also need to add a cup of ESV B-ionic just about everyday. I still use a 3 pound container of kalkwasser every 6-8 weeks.

I'm prioritizing pH stability over alkalinity stabilty. Alk is usually 7.4 to 8.0 in a 24 hour period. Might get the two part on a doser as well.

 

[bubbgee]

I used to have swings with the avast, and cleaned it out every two weeks. The key for me was to add about 1/2 cup of Kalk daily. If the kalk is very low in the tube, you're not dosing much, if its right around the middle usually the concentration is good, very high in the tube means the concentration is too low. Now I clean it every 2-3 months. I have the dosing tied to a pH of 8.5, with a shutoff on the low end of 8.4. That used to be enough to keep my alk at 8, but now I also need to add a cup of ESV B-ionic just about everyday. I still use a 3 pound container of kalkwasser every 6-8 weeks.

I'm prioritizing pH stability over alkalinity stabilty. Alk is usually 7.4 to 8.0 in a 24 hour period. Might get the two part on a doser as well.

I'm trying to figure this out as well. Are you using DoS or Versa for dosing through the Avast stirrer? I'm using a Kamoer and I can't seem to get the dosing right using continuous dosing (tried 1.5 to 2.5ml per min after calibration). Any tips?