Kalk is low cost, keeps Alkalinity & Calcium in check and helps PH. Do you use it?

Do you dose Kalk (kalkwasser) in your reef aquarium?

  • YES

    Votes: 243 42.3%
  • NO I use other methods

    Votes: 198 34.4%
  • NO but I'm looking into it now

    Votes: 127 22.1%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 7 1.2%

  • Total voters
    575

revhtree

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"Kalkwasser is the easiest method to maintain calcium and alkalinity levels in a reef aquarium not to mention low cost. With a few different methods to implement it, if your corals are growing and you need to add calcium and alkalinity, you will more than likely find multiple benefits from using kalkwasser. Being the only way to add calcium and alkalinity from a single solution along with helping elevate the pH of your aquarium to helping purify your ATO water even further, there are plenty of reasons to add kalkwasser to your ATO reservoir or set up a Kalk reactor or drip system. By far the most common application for kalkwasser is by adding it to your tanks top off reservoir and then relying on the auto top off system to deliver small amounts of saturated kalkwasser solution throughout the day." - Bulk Reef Supply

1. Do you dose Kalk in your reef aquarium and what's the main reason as to why or why not?

2. What are your favorite kalk brands or kalkwasser sources?
exb-brs-210813-kalkwasser-4lb-an_1.jpg

 

Sunny in Miami

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Never use this either. I currently use natural sea water from LFS and My aquarium calcium and alkalinity fluctuate a little. By fluctuations I'm saying one week calcium is at 440ppm and another 425 or 415. Alkalinity usually around 9 and 10 ppm. The corals growth is kind of slow so maybe I should be using kalk.or 2 part.
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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I use 2 part on 1 tank and kalk on another. I've been thinking about switching to kalk on the other tank because it's so easy. The corals are doing better and my alk has never been more stable.

Reasons I'll probably use it on every tank I'll ever have:

1. You don't need to worry about one of the dosers not dosing at the same rate as the other, eventually causing a drift.

2. My auto top off bucket lasts forever now because a good chunk of the evaporation is being dealt with from the kalk.

3. I dose saturated kalkwasser because it's the best way to do it. You don't have to worry about varying evaporation rates and subsequently varying alk/calcium readings. Nor do you worry about not being able to switch dosing amounts because the amount you'd need to dose is higher than your evaporation because it's not saturated.

4. It also doesn't increase your salinity like conventional 2 part does,K so there's no need to remove saltwater and replace it with freshwater; therefore, you don't need to worry about lowering every element in your tank or dosing something like Tropic Marin's Trace A- and K+.

5. Kalkwasser also removes phosphates because it precipitates out as calcium phosphate, which isn't biologically available for algae.

6. It can also be used in conjunction with every dosing method and still retain all of it's benefits. Because there is a limit to how much you can dose (although that limit is higher than one would think), you don't have to worry about replacing it with something, but in conjunction with it.

7. In that same spirit, kalkwasser can also be combined with vinegar to increase its potency, so you can continue to use it as demand gets higher. This also has a slight carbon dosing effect, which should be monitored if you're running a low nutrient tank. You're likely already monitoring if you have a low nutrient tank anyways, so it's no extra work.







Oh, and it increases pH. ;)
 

rtparty

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Tried it in a kalk reactor and had constant pump clogging issues with it. The pumps would be coated in a pure white buildup. Got sick of constantly cleaning them and sold the kalk reactor off.

Looking back, I would like to have planned using a kalk reactor from day one and and had it drip into a filter sock or a sponge of some kind. Definitely in a high flow area if possible.

I am thinking of using it on my new tank. 2 part and Tropic Marin Part C is working wonders for me right now though.
 

Oregon Grown Reef

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Kalk is inconsistent and makes a heck of a mess of your ATO. Might be useful for smaller tanks but 2 part is the way to go for me.
You should consider dosing it instead of putting in the ato. If you're dosing 2 part, then you could easily replace it with 1 solution and use another head for ab+ or amino acids or whatever you'd like. Instead of putting it in your ato, put a saturated solution in a container of your choosing and dose it from there. It's like having 2 ato containers, but one takes out an exact amount every day based on your corals usage. Pretty nifty imo.
 

Ocelaris

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It's great for a pH bump. I use a measured amount every day with a dosing pump. I use an ATO to fill in missing evaporation. That way it's a measured amount of Alk/Ca from the Kalk. I use a calcium reactor to fill in the rest. That way I can use a smaller calcium reactor and CO2. Outside line to skimmer and I maintain a pH of 8.2 to 8.4 with Alk at roughly 8.0 dKh. Never had so much success with sticks and the CAOH plays a big part in that.
 

Fishingandreefing

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Been using it since the beginning of this hobby. I am dosing vis ato but you do need to monitor your level at least once every two weeks. Down side is messy. It’s ups are keeping higher ph and cheap. During weather changes is a pain since winter evaporate more mean you have to dose less
 

BigSkyRich

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"Kalkwasser is the easiest method to maintain calcium and alkalinity levels in a reef aquarium not to mention low cost. With a few different methods to implement it, if your corals are growing and you need to add calcium and alkalinity, you will more than likely find multiple benefits from using kalkwasser. Being the only way to add calcium and alkalinity from a single solution along with helping elevate the pH of your aquarium to helping purify your ATO water even further, there are plenty of reasons to add kalkwasser to your ATO reservoir or set up a Kalk reactor or drip system. By far the most common application for kalkwasser is by adding it to your tanks top off reservoir and then relying on the auto top off system to deliver small amounts of saturated kalkwasser solution throughout the day." - Bulk Reef Supply

1. Do you dose Kalk in your reef aquarium and what's the main reason as to why or why not?

2. What are your favorite kalk brands or kalkwasser sources?
exb-brs-210813-kalkwasser-4lb-an_1.jpg
Using BRS kalk since I started dosing. Just switched to an automated doser v manual. My dk parameters are staying pretty consistent now that I figured out solution and dosing schedule. My ph had always been pretty consistent even prior to dosing....water changes every 7-10 days. My calcium has always been on the upper end of the desired range
 

Rocketfish

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I have a 30 gallon nano tank with a radion gen 5 xr15 over it running 10 hours a day. My KH requirements using soda ash went from 5ml a day to like 16ml per day!

I was recently on vacation for 6 days and when I left the KH was at 8.9. The auto doser must have not been adding BRS Soda Ash mix or something because when I got back KH was at 5.9!

My PH also seems to fluctuate more using Calcium Cloride and Soda Ash.

What I wonder is, would the system be more stable if I went to Kalkwasser and sodium bicarbonate?

I am tempted to go back to the original Red Sea foundation additives, it seemed like less.work, but things have changed since then. Much more sps and lps corals and a much brighter light.

Any advice from the larger system guys? Btw, my growth rates are quite good, and I run relatively low nutrient and dose nopox and AB+ regularly.
 
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Panama Brown

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Using a Calcium Reactor right now, but would like to boost tank pH so may use a weak solution in my evaporation water.
You could also try a Co2 scrubber to raise your ph without messing with the chemistry of your tank / calcium reactor. IceCap makes a really good scrubber Ive found works better than competitors :) Just my 2 cents
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

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    Votes: 26 25.2%
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