Kalkwasser - Dose Slurry or clear supernatant (top solution)?

JCOLE

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Hello everyone,

I used to dose Kalkwasser a year ago and had great results from it. I was tired of mixing up buckets and also wanted a little more precise levels. I switched to 2-part a year ago and have had great results with keeping my alk and calcium stable. However, I have really low pH compared to when I used to dose kalkwasser. I tried putting my skimmer tube outside and did not get a pH increase. I want to start dosing kalkwasser again along with 2-part for the added pH boost.

I use Seachem Kalkwasser and have always mixed with vinegar and let sit for a day or two. This allows everything to settle to the bottom and I used the clear top solution. However, I have heard of reefers using the mixture right after mixing, dosing the slurry and all. I imagine this is the same point with a kalk stirrer as well.

Should I wait to dose the clear top solution or dose the slurry? This is just a boost for pH and to supplement my 2-part so I wont be using a lot like with my ATO.
 

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If you want to have a higher ph, you probably need to use kalk as the main calcium/alkalinity addition and supplement with 2 part after that. If you are very content with 2 part, try installing a co2 scrubber on your protein skimmers air inlet. However, since you ran the skimmer line to outdoor air, im wondering if you will get any results.
 
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If you want to have a higher ph, you probably need to use kalk as the main calcium/alkalinity addition and supplement with 2 part after that. If you are very content with 2 part, try installing a co2 scrubber on your protein skimmers air inlet. However, since you ran the skimmer line to outdoor air, im wondering if you will get any results.

I ordered a CO2 scrubber and it'll be here this week. I am thinking the same thing as well since I ran it outside. When I dosed Kalk before my pH was higher. The issue I had is I used to use it with my ATO and my alk and calcium wasn't as consistent as it is now. I was just thinking of putting it on my BRS 1.1ml doser and dose 5ml an hour and bump up from there. I don't mind backing off 2 part if I get the results I am looking for.

Just curious on the slurry versus the clear top solution.
 

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@JCOLE if you want to dose slurry for big pH gains you will need a container with a pump that is constantly stirring the slurry keeping it suspended. You will also want a doser that doses at a certain rate (ie not too slow but can't remember the flow rate). I would recommend checking out telegraham and mahina_corals on insta. If not, I would just do saturated.
 

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@JCOLE Have you read this thread?
 
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@JCOLE if you want to dose slurry for big pH gains you will need a container with a pump that is constantly stirring the slurry keeping it suspended. You will also want a doser that doses at a certain rate (ie not too slow but can't remember the flow rate). I would recommend checking out telegraham and mahina_corals on insta. If not, I would just do saturated.

Thanks Tim. After doing some reading, I think I will just stick to saturated. Its what I know and am used to. I am dosing it along side 2 part so it won't be my main form of supplementation anyways. Just looking to not use so much 2 part while gaining a pH boost.
 
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JCOLE

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@JCOLE Have you read this thread?

I did after posting this. I see where Randy likes saturated and I agree. I will just go that route. If I need more then I will look at maybe going the slurry route.
 
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@Greg P Currently I try to keep my Alk around 8 and would like my pH around 8.3-8.5.

When dosing with Kalk my pH was 8.3-8.5 and growth was great. I switched to 2 part a year ago for better stability. I fluctuate on average less than .20 a day between alk and calcium.

I had a crash a year ago as well and just now recovering. I haven't calibrated my pH probe in over 6 months and it has been reading high. 8.5-8.6. I calibrated it last week and now its 7.8-8.15.

Over the last couple weeks I have done a couple things and my alk consumption has doubled. I am using Seachems Reef Fusion 1 and 2 which isn't cheap. At this rate it's going to start to get pricey.

Anyways the last thing to get back on track is pH. I feel if I can get my pH back up to what it used to be then my growth will accelerate back to what it used to be.
 

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Couple things;
My best growth/balanced color was with a lower Alk of 7.5-8.5, a fluctuating pH of around 8.0, and NO3 and PO4 around the current recommended range of 1-10 and 0.03-0.1 respectively.
My thoughts;
The skeletal growth of your corals needs to match up with the flesh growth, so you need nutrients to keep the polyps happy and thriving.

For now, I'd recommend you focus on the N and P parts of your water tests to ensure you have enough nutrients to feed your corals the food they need to grow flesh, then later you can worry later about how fast the skeletons grow with your 2-part tests.

Hope this makes sense

Give me some feedback if not
 

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This would be a good option if you want to stay with 2 part but get the kalk ph boost. Just be careful handling it.

 
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Couple things;
My best growth/balanced color was with a lower Alk of 7.5-8.5, a fluctuating pH of around 8.0, and NO3 and PO4 around the current recommended range of 1-10 and 0.03-0.1 respectively.
My thoughts;
The skeletal growth of your corals needs to match up with the flesh growth, so you need nutrients to keep the polyps happy and thriving.

For now, I'd recommend you focus on the N and P parts of your water tests to ensure you have enough nutrients to feed your corals the food they need to grow flesh, then later you can worry later about how fast the skeletons grow with your 2-part tests.

Hope this makes sense

Give me some feedback if not

Appreciate the feedback.

If anything I need to raise my Alk right now. My NO3 and PO4 are elevated and the added Alk would be good. I feel they are stunted at the moment and I think it's due to the lower pH and higher nutrients. This is why I want to go with the kalk addition. Get the added pH boost along with additional alk supplementation.
 

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Hello everyone,

I used to dose Kalkwasser a year ago and had great results from it. I was tired of mixing up buckets and also wanted a little more precise levels. I switched to 2-part a year ago and have had great results with keeping my alk and calcium stable. However, I have really low pH compared to when I used to dose kalkwasser. I tried putting my skimmer tube outside and did not get a pH increase. I want to start dosing kalkwasser again along with 2-part for the added pH boost.

I use Seachem Kalkwasser and have always mixed with vinegar and let sit for a day or two. This allows everything to settle to the bottom and I used the clear top solution. However, I have heard of reefers using the mixture right after mixing, dosing the slurry and all. I imagine this is the same point with a kalk stirrer as well.

Should I wait to dose the clear top solution or dose the slurry? This is just a boost for pH and to supplement my 2-part so I wont be using a lot like with my ATO.
I got to about 2 years of waiting for the solution to clear up for me to not even care anymore. I mix 30 gallons at a time and just use a dosing pump. If some cloudy solution or slurry gets in, it's fine. Lines clog a bit more prematurely
 

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I ordered a CO2 scrubber and it'll be here this week. I am thinking the same thing as well since I ran it outside. When I dosed Kalk before my pH was higher. The issue I had is I used to use it with my ATO and my alk and calcium wasn't as consistent as it is now. I was just thinking of putting it on my BRS 1.1ml doser and dose 5ml an hour and bump up from there. I don't mind backing off 2 part if I get the results I am looking for.

Just curious on the slurry versus the clear top solution.
After alot of years of reefing, I think that nothing beats kalk.... However ive never had a tank busting out with Acropora. I just never wanted wall to wall fuzzy sticks. So, if thats your goal maybe listen to someone else. But, even the pros use kalk in conjunction with a calcium reactor if they need more juice.

I like the brs doser idea Jcole. I hope you get your tank dialed in how you want it
 
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JCOLE

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I got to about 2 years of waiting for the solution to clear up for me to not even care anymore. I mix 30 gallons at a time and just use a dosing pump. If some cloudy solution or slurry gets in, it's fine. Lines clog a bit more prematurely

Thank you. I did the same for a couple years. I mixed up a second 5 gallon bucket while my other was on the ATO. When it was time to change, the other bucket was clear. Rotation worked well.

I don't mind doing that again. I have read that the slurry can give a littlw extra bump in pH and alk. I also read the downside to the slurry as well which is inconsistent dosing, hard on pumps, and can solidify my sand bed.

Have you seen anything of those things in your tank?
 
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JCOLE

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After alot of years of reefing, I think that nothing beats kalk.... However ive never had a tank busting out with Acropora. I just never wanted wall to wall fuzzy sticks. So, if thats your goal maybe listen to someone else. But, even the pros use kalk in conjunction with a calcium reactor if they need more juice.

I like the brs doser idea Jcole. I hope you get your tank dialed in how you want it

Thank you. I 100% agree. I took a year break from kalk but want to come back. It wasn't as consistent as I am with 2-part. However, I felt my tank was doing better with growth while using kalk. I am thinking that I can get more consistency down by putting it on a doser instead of using my ATO. I will start low and work my way up as needed. If anything, I will work my way down with the 2-part. The 2 part is much more expensive but I like the Reef Fusion line as it doses other elements as well.
 
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When I mix up a new batch of kalkwasser, I add more kalk to the tank (without cleaning), pump in RO?DI water and then wait 1-2 hours for the sediment (Ca precipitated by CO2 from the air) to settle. If you use before settling, it doesn't seem to hurt anything, but does make the tank cloudy for hours.
 

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After alot of years of reefing, I think that nothing beats kalk.... However ive never had a tank busting out with Acropora. I just never wanted wall to wall fuzzy sticks. So, if thats your goal maybe listen to someone else. But, even the pros use kalk in conjunction with a calcium reactor if they need more juice.

I like the brs doser idea Jcole. I hope you get your tank dialed in how you want it
I'll never ever not use kalk. Has to be one of the best supplements to an aquarium.

Wether it's cycling a tank or full stoneys. The benefits like precipitating phosphate and stable ph are well worth the time into kalk dosing. I use two part kalk and calcium reactor. Always started with kalk until I was capped.
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When I mix up a new batch of kalkwasser, I add more kalk to the tank (without cleaning), pump in RO?DI water and then wait 1-2 hours for the sediment (Ca precipitated by CO2 from the air) to settle. If you use before settling, it doesn't seem to hurt anything, but does make the tank cloudy for hours.

Perfect. Do you seal the top off after mixing over leave it exposed for a couple hours? When I put a lid on my 5 gallon bucket it takes 2-3 days for it settle to the bottom and run clear at the top. Is yours completely clear before dosing?
 

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Thank you. I did the same for a couple years. I mixed up a second 5 gallon bucket while my other was on the ATO. When it was time to change, the other bucket was clear. Rotation worked well.

I don't mind doing that again. I have read that the slurry can give a littlw extra bump in pH and alk. I also read the downside to the slurry as well which is inconsistent dosing, hard on pumps, and can solidify my sand bed.

Have you seen anything of those things in your tank?
So the inconsistent dosing yes it happens. My alk will spike up for a day or so untill i guess the slurry settled out. I monitored all of that when I stopped caring about the liquid being clear. My sand was already solidified so I'm not really sure if it was the kalk that did it or something else. I also started getting a sludge buildup on the area of where it was being dosed into. But no ill effects. Clean my equipment pretty frequently, so I guess it doesn't even reach the time period to cake the pumps otherwise theres probably some risk that it would.
 

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