How much Kalk to dose with a dosing pump?

[Papu]

If the tank is 25g, but assume maybe like 22g of actual water volume after rocks/sand etc... If I fully saturate a 2gallon container (4tsp I believe? being 2tsp per gallon.. and is that pretty much the same for EVERY kalk brand? - the ratio amount)

What would be a good starting point for how much ML to dose? Is there an equation/formula to calculate an estimate? so say if I'm dropping alk .2 dkh/day and that's how much I need to maintain and PH is currently at 8.2 (so I know as long it is .2 or less in a day to hit 8.4 and not go beyond) - I'm safe) Little confused on like how much to start for example like a total of 30ml a day, 50ml a day (ofc will spread it out) or is there a reason to go max saturation or half etc. I'm a noob with this so sorry if the questions are a little confusing or dumb xD

Is there a way to know how much ALK per like certain ML etc? Atm.. I will just take it slow and keep testing often.. unless there's a better way as a "start"

 

[ryanjohn1]

Are you currently test both calc and alk. Also you need to know consumption of alk.

 

[ryanjohn1]

And how stocked full of coral are you.

 

[Papu]

And how stocked full of coral are you.

Are you currently test both calc and alk. Also you need to know consumption of alk.

Sorry, I included it in my post above. Just "hypothetically speaking" saying if like for example .2dkh/day is the consumption rate. The tank isn't ready yet.. but I just wanted to understand this a bit more or at least be prepared ahead.. I understand everyone's tank is different.. so a lot of threads I read.. it's hard to get a rough estimate with what's a good starting point as some are dosing in 100g tanks, some 40g etc and some are doing full saturation or 1/4 etc. So I'm not quite sure what is considered too little.. or too much as a start or if there's an easier better way to get a rough estimate so I'm not sitting all day doing like a total of 5ml increase each time for example. I don't mind testing often, but if there's a better way to save time.. then why not?

 

[ryanjohn1]

Google Kalkwasser calculator. It comes right up. I personally dose 1000 ml daily. Your best bet is knowing your consumption and trying to match.

 

[Papu]

Google Kalkwasser calculator. It comes right up. I personally dose 1000 ml daily. Your best bet is knowing your consumption and trying to match.

Ty. I just used https://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html and chose limewater (saturated) to bring .2 up on a 22g system it's 0.03 gallon which is about 113ML. Does that sound correct? so total to dose in a day should be around 113ml and spreaded out through the hours ofc.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ty. I just used https://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html and chose limewater (saturated) to bring .2 up on a 22g system it's 0.03 gallon which is about 113ML. Does that sound correct? so total to dose in a day should be around 113ml and spreaded out through the hours ofc.

That is a good calculator for that purpose and the value is correct.

 

[Papu]

That is a good calculator for that purpose and the value is correct.

Ok great. This gives me a much easier base to go off of then. I'll probably do just a bit less than recommended just to be safe, but at least I know a range I can pretty much dose up to.

Oh.. would the PH be safe or is there a way to calculate that too? I'd probably just get a PH monitor to know if it rises above.. but it would be cool to know if there's a range of how much alk can be raised without PH being too much in a day.

Randy, if I use BRS Kalk, they say to do max dosage at 1.5 tsp/gallon for saturation on their directions. Is there a difference between that and what I'm seeing about the 2 tsp/gallon?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The pH rise from spread out dosing of 0.2 dKH will be very small. In no tank will it be too much. It cannot readily be calculated.

Puffiness of the powder impacts the amount to saturation. The mass is the same across brands.

 

[Papu]

The pH rise from spread out dosing of 0.2 dKH will be very small. In no tank will it be too much. It cannot readily be calculated.

Puffiness of the powder impacts the amount to saturation. The mass is the same across brands.

So basically I can still do 2 tsp with the BRS for full saturation(or do 1.5 as they recommend?). (anything extra sits at the bottom from what I believe?)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So basically I can still do 2 tsp with the BRS for full saturation(or do 1.5 as they recommend?). (anything extra sits at the bottom from what I believe?)

Yes. :)