Dosing schedule with 2 part and Kalk?

aaron186 · Jan 6, 2024

I was hoping someone could give some insight/advice on how to best implement 2 part and kalk on my 100 gal tank.

I currently dose 2 part triton flex with my alk going in from 7p to 12a and my calcium dosed 1pm to 6pm. My alk stays at about 7.9 to 8.1 throughout the day. I have pH issues (7.9 with a co2 scrubber) so figured Kalk would be a good way to boost my pH without adding too much trace elements from triton.

I added a kalk reactor (my ato res is remote so don’t want to dose directly from there). I set it up to dose a half gallon of Kalk from 1a to 12p when my 2 part isn’t dosing.

I’m dosing 0.5 gal of kalk over that 11 hour time. My pH looks good at 8.1 and my alk is 8.4, but I don’t evaporate as much at night apparently as my water level is above my ATO slightly. I evaporate 1-2 gal per day.

Should I swap my 2 part and my kalk dosing times? Should I just dose Kalk 24/7? Is there any issue with Kalk going in at same time as 2 part? They dose into different sections of sump.

Thanks all for the advice

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 6, 2024

How much two part are you dosing?

aaron186 · Jan 6, 2024

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
How much two part are you dosing?

25mL of triton flex mixed as a 2 part. I think it’s double concentrated compared to BRS soda ash so it’s probably 50ml equivalent which I believe was my daily dose before swapping to triton

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 6, 2024

Assuming the 2x potency is correct, that still a fairly small dose, only 0.7 dKH per day.

I'd probably dose the alk from ~10 am to ~6 pm, the kalk at night (midnight to 7 or 8 am seems good), and the calcium most any time if it is not physically right next to the others.

The rationale is that most alk is depleted during the peak of the day, so the two part is dosed then, and the kalk helps offset the daily pH low.

You could also consider a two part made from hydroxide if you want more pH boost from it.