Treefer32
Valuable Member
I think this is a good problem to have with my 340 gallon display. I've got a Chalice that's probably 2-3 foot in diameter and continues to add close to a half inch a week across all of it's exterior. It's highly invasive. My hammers continuing to grow new heads - from 1 to 7 in 6 months. Duncans and other corals continuously growing. So I expect alk and calcium consumption to rise.
That topped by a drop in alk due to a plugged dosing line. That's resolved got dosing back on schedule and manually dosed to gradually raise alk for 6.2 to 7.0 to hopefully 8 today.
The question is I'm also not dosing enough. It slowly drops over a week. As much as 1dkh from 8 to 7 despite dosing:
192 ml of alk over a 24 hour period- baked baking soda and calcium chloride (separate containers but equal amounts of each and mixed at the same ratios.)
I also have a standard BRS doser running 24 hours a day dosing maximum saturated Kalkwasser - which I've calculated it's dosing amount to be around 1.5 liters per day or about 5 gallon bucket 7 days.
Between the two the alk continues to drop throughout the week. I'm raising my dosing to 240 ml per day. (10 ml per hour). Plus the kalkwasser on top of it. MG usually tests out at 1500, but I am dosing a maintenance dosage of MgCL and MG sulfate at a much lower rate, around 32 ml per day.
I could increase my container and dosing amount of baked baking soda and CACL. using gallon buckets or 5 gallon buckets instead of 1.5 L dosing containers. I'm at a cup per day of liquid and probably increasing.
The other option would be to save up for a Calcium reactor.
Comparing options:
Scenario 1: increase Kalkwasser dosing
Pros: Raises ph, Ph might hit 8.0 if Kalkwasser is dosed more frequently and at higher rates
Cons: Costs more time, how How much of this would be needed to maintain if it exceeds evaporation rates?
= $200 and more time maintaining buckets of kalkwasser + $50 a month in trace elements and core 2 part chemicals
= Some type of ATO for kalkwasser $100-$200 (to reduce self maintenance time)
Scenario 2: continue to increase Baked baking soda and CaCL
Pros: Raises PH with this method raises ph to 7.8 during the day
Costs more time: How much dosing of 2 part is simply too much to keep up (e.g. exceeding evaporation rates).
Increase baked baking soda and cacl increased dosing: cost of chemicals and use a larger container to dose from
Increase cost of dosed materials from $50 - 75 a month
Scenario 3: Implement Calcium reactor
Cost: $210 plus media (onsale now)
Pros: Near no maintenance once dialed in
Cons: complex to install, and lowers PH (PH is typically 7.8 at the highest and frequently 7.6 at night - lowering ph would be detrimental to organisms.)
I'm looking for short and long term low cost, high stability, and low maintenance options?
That topped by a drop in alk due to a plugged dosing line. That's resolved got dosing back on schedule and manually dosed to gradually raise alk for 6.2 to 7.0 to hopefully 8 today.
The question is I'm also not dosing enough. It slowly drops over a week. As much as 1dkh from 8 to 7 despite dosing:
192 ml of alk over a 24 hour period- baked baking soda and calcium chloride (separate containers but equal amounts of each and mixed at the same ratios.)
I also have a standard BRS doser running 24 hours a day dosing maximum saturated Kalkwasser - which I've calculated it's dosing amount to be around 1.5 liters per day or about 5 gallon bucket 7 days.
Between the two the alk continues to drop throughout the week. I'm raising my dosing to 240 ml per day. (10 ml per hour). Plus the kalkwasser on top of it. MG usually tests out at 1500, but I am dosing a maintenance dosage of MgCL and MG sulfate at a much lower rate, around 32 ml per day.
I could increase my container and dosing amount of baked baking soda and CACL. using gallon buckets or 5 gallon buckets instead of 1.5 L dosing containers. I'm at a cup per day of liquid and probably increasing.
The other option would be to save up for a Calcium reactor.
Comparing options:
Scenario 1: increase Kalkwasser dosing
Pros: Raises ph, Ph might hit 8.0 if Kalkwasser is dosed more frequently and at higher rates
Cons: Costs more time, how How much of this would be needed to maintain if it exceeds evaporation rates?
= $200 and more time maintaining buckets of kalkwasser + $50 a month in trace elements and core 2 part chemicals
= Some type of ATO for kalkwasser $100-$200 (to reduce self maintenance time)
Scenario 2: continue to increase Baked baking soda and CaCL
Pros: Raises PH with this method raises ph to 7.8 during the day
Costs more time: How much dosing of 2 part is simply too much to keep up (e.g. exceeding evaporation rates).
Increase baked baking soda and cacl increased dosing: cost of chemicals and use a larger container to dose from
Increase cost of dosed materials from $50 - 75 a month
Scenario 3: Implement Calcium reactor
Cost: $210 plus media (onsale now)
Pros: Near no maintenance once dialed in
Cons: complex to install, and lowers PH (PH is typically 7.8 at the highest and frequently 7.6 at night - lowering ph would be detrimental to organisms.)
I'm looking for short and long term low cost, high stability, and low maintenance options?
