Dosing kalk via dosing pump

[merereef]

I was looking at dosing and i have seen a few that are all in ones like calc and alk in equal parts etc... i was wondering if i can dose kalk solution via a dosing pump instead? That way i have a constant stable amount going in every day.. I know you can dose via auto top off but on the red sea reefer 250 the top off reservior isnt that big and mixing solution in the holding container would leave kalk powder in the bottom which would get dosed in to the tank so im thinking of maybe doing it through dosing pump. Is this a good or bad idea?

 

[Fiesty]

I was looking at dosing and i have seen a few that are all in ones like calc and alk in equal parts etc... i was wondering if i can dose kalk solution via a dosing pump instead? That way i have a constant stable amount going in every day.. I know you can dose via auto top off but on the red sea reefer 250 the top off reservior isnt that big and mixing solution in the holding container would leave kalk powder in the bottom which would get dosed in to the tank so im thinking of maybe doing it through dosing pump. Is this a good or bad idea?

I dose kalk via a dosing pump and works great! Much better than in ato IMHO. I have a high needs tank so i dose a full saturation (2 teaspoons per gallon) kalk mix once every hour and just under level of my evaporation. Then I dose in addition 2 part to make uo the difference of additional needs of my tank and that way it easy to adjust. For now i just use a cheap Jaboa 4 head dosing pump i got used and works great. Will upgrade at some point most likely.

This way also will make the needs of your ATO less demanding and i just hooked up a float switch in sump to a line directly from my rodi unit for ease.

 

[merereef]

I dose kalk via a dosing pump and works great! Much better than in ato IMHO. I have a high needs tank so i dose a full saturation (2 teaspoons per gallon) kalk mix once every hour and just under level of my evaporation. Then I dose in addition 2 part to make uo the difference of additional needs of my tank and that way it easy to adjust. For now i just use a cheap Jaboa 4 head dosing pump i got used and works great. Will upgrade at some point most likely.

This way also will make the needs of your ATO less demanding and i just hooked up a float switch in sump to a line directly from my rodi unit for ease.

Thats awesome... i have a new tank so very very low demand and my alk drops by about .2 every 4 days so before i get sps i wana get my dosing strategy perfect before getting any sps. You reckon i can dose JUST kalk for now but less often and then increase the dose daily to keep alk level when corals start to grow?

 

[merereef]

I dose kalk via a dosing pump and works great! Much better than in ato IMHO. I have a high needs tank so i dose a full saturation (2 teaspoons per gallon) kalk mix once every hour and just under level of my evaporation. Then I dose in addition 2 part to make uo the difference of additional needs of my tank and that way it easy to adjust. For now i just use a cheap Jaboa 4 head dosing pump i got used and works great. Will upgrade at some point most likely.

This way also will make the needs of your ATO less demanding and i just hooked up a float switch in sump to a line directly from my rodi unit for ease.

Ohh and do you dose 2 part because kalk cant keep up or because you are dosing enough per day to keep it below evaporation level?

 

[Fiesty]

Thats awesome... i have a new tank so very very low demand and my alk drops by about .2 every 4 days so before i get sps i wana get my dosing strategy perfect before getting any sps. You reckon i can dose JUST kalk for now but less often and then increase the dose daily to keep alk level when corals start to grow?

I have only dosed the kalk my way but i see two distinct ways u could do it with your system. Neither one really better IMHO.

#1. Mix up max / total saturation kalk and dose lesser amounts. As tank needs rise u can bump amount dosed up or frequency up till u reach your evaporation level. Advantage : dont need to mix kalk as much / last longer. Disadvantage: have to reprogram dosing pump and if ever add too much can have large effect on tank.

#2 Set dosing pump to dose just under evaporation level and mix lighter / not as strong kalk mix to your tanks needs. Increase kalk strenght over time as add coral and they grow. Advantage, wont need to reprogram dosing pump and wont use much from ATO. Disadvantage: will be mixing / refilling kalk bucket more often. If u can keep bucket of kalk and maybe even dosing pump in garage / etc. And run line to tank this may actually be easier?

 

[ryeguyy84]

I'm currently using a dosing pump but used Kalk on the past. I prefer the 2 part just because I was using Kalk in my ATO and in the winter my ATO would run more causing overdose. If I were to do it again I'd use Kalk on a dosing pump with one of these

https://clearchoiceaquatics.com/products/icecap-kalk-mixing-reactor-5-inch

Haven't tried it but its one of those things you don't really need but would be cool to have lol

 

[Fiesty]

Ohh and do you dose 2 part because kalk cant keep up or because you are dosing enough per day to keep it below evaporation level?

I do the 2 part also because the kalk cant keep up with my tanks needs

. I really like doing both because of the redundancy. If a line came loose or more likely i even forget to refill something then only has part the effect on tank than otherwise would. Then gives me time to catch it.

For u now it seems dosing the kalk woukd be easiest / safest / and cheapest way for u.

 

[merereef]

I have only dosed the kalk my way but i see two distinct ways u could do it with your system. Neither one really better IMHO.

#1. Mix up max / total saturation kalk and dose lesser amounts. As tank needs rise u can bump amount dosed up or frequency up till u reach your evaporation level. Advantage : dont need to mix kalk as much / last longer. Disadvantage: have to reprogram dosing pump and if ever add too much can have large effect on tank.

#2 Set dosing pump to dose just under evaporation level and mix lighter / not as strong kalk mix to your tanks needs. Increase kalk strenght over time as add coral and they grow. Advantage, wont need to reprogram dosing pump and wont use much from ATO. Disadvantage: will be mixing / refilling kalk bucket more often. If u can keep bucket of kalk and maybe even dosing pump in garage / etc. And run line to tank this may actually be easier?

I think i will most likely go woth option 1 its more in lines of what im after

 

[merereef]

I'm currently using a dosing pump but used Kalk on the past. I prefer the 2 part just because I was using Kalk in my ATO and in the winter my ATO would run more causing overdose. If I were to do it again I'd use Kalk on a dosing pump with one of these

https://clearchoiceaquatics.com/products/icecap-kalk-mixing-reactor-5-inch

Haven't tried it but its one of those things you don't really need but would be cool to have lol

This is exactly another reason i dont want to do ith through auto top off

 

[merereef]

I do the 2 part also because the kalk cant keep up with my tanks needs

. I really like doing both because of the redundancy. If a line came loose or more likely i even forget to refill something then only has part the effect on tank than otherwise would. Then gives me time to catch it.

For u now it seems dosing the kalk woukd be easiest / safest / and cheapest way for u.

Thank you and your tank loook awesomee [emoji1419][emoji1419][emoji1419]

 

[Fiesty]

Thank you and your tank loook awesomee [emoji1419][emoji1419][emoji1419]

Thanks! And post up some pics of your tank please so can see.

A couple other points for u to consider, im actually new to dosing Kalk so take that for what its worth? Tank in my pic I just set up 2 1/2 months ago and transfered stuff from my 93 cube. Before that just hand dosed 2 part (id forget a lot or be gone, sukked) but this "new to me" tank came with a dosing pump. So I did tons of reaseach and how I came up with way I dose now, which has worked amazingly well.

I use a 5 gallon salt bucket that has some hard rodi / fridge-freezer tubing attached to lid with push fittings and doesnt reach bottom. There will be settlement on bottom of mixing bucket and u dont want to suck that up. Also, supposed to be better to keep it covered or i think kalk mix will absorb co2. Also, kalk will raise ph and normally a good thing. If for some reason your ph is too high already (most likely not) that could be a concern.

 

[merereef]

Thanks! And post up some pics of your tank please so can see.

A couple other points for u to consider, im actually new to dosing Kalk so take that for what its worth? Tank in my pic I just set up 2 1/2 months ago and transfered stuff from my 93 cube. Before that just hand dosed 2 part (id forget a lot or be gone, sukked) but this "new to me" tank came with a dosing pump. So I did tons of reaseach and how I came up with way I dose now, which has worked amazingly well.

I use a 5 gallon salt bucket that has some hard rodi / fridge-freezer tubing attached to lid with push fittings and doesnt reach bottom. There will be settlement on bottom of mixing bucket and u dont want to suck that up. Also, supposed to be better to keep it covered or i think kalk mix will absorb co2. Also, kalk will raise ph and normally a good thing. If for some reason your ph is too high already (most likely not) that could be a concern.

Love it!

Red sea reefer 250 build
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Red-sea-reefer-250-build.617439/

This is my current build thread i am also new to this so thank you. Do you have a build thread would love to check it out