Calcium chloride dosing alongside kalk?

[saj]

After a lot of reading I'm about to dose calcium chloride, here in this forum.
I have one question that I can't figure out.

Question, do I switch off the kalk while I dose the calcium chloride?

kalk 24/7 using a dosing pump.

My current calcium level is 290ppm (salifert test kit)
Alkalinity is at 8 dkh
Ph is 8.5

I want to bring my calcium levels around the 450-480.

 

[rtparty]

I suspect a testing error. Have you confirmed the result with another test kit, hobbyist, or a local store?

If you are maintaining alkalinity with kalk, your calcium won’t drop that low. It will actually rise very slowly since kalk adds just a little more calcium than alkalinity

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree.

Be sure you are not reading the calcium kit backwards (an issue some have with Salifert). More fluid added to get to the color change means higher calcium,.

Try the kit on some new salt water. You'd need to dose a lot of alk and no calcium to drive calcium that low. Kalk actually adds excess calcium, so no amount of time dosing kalk to maintain alk will cause calcium to drop.

If you ultimately do decide you need to add calcium, I would not add them to the same location at exactly the same time, but a few minutes apart is fine.