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Should I wait until my tank has fully cycled before I start with it or do it from the beginning?
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That’s the goal right thereIf you’re not cycled, you likely don’t need it because nothing is using up your alk and cal, but coraline algae will use it up as it starts to grow.
You absolutely need a alkalinity test so you know where you’re at. If you mix your kalk solution too strong, alkalinity will go up. If your evaporation rate increases, your alkalinity will go up. This is why you need to test you alkalinity each time before you make a new batch of kalk solution. If your tank alkalinity went up since your last batch, mix it up a little weaker and visa Versa
I’m always surprised when people say that kalk couldn’t keep up with demand. I ran it out of my ATO for years with a tank full of SPS and it did the job.
It’s easy and nearly free compared to the alternatives. Here’s my old tank grown purely on Kalk:
I agree, I’m not using anywhere near the saturation point for kalkwasser and it seems so much easier and cheaper than the alternatives. ATO with kalkwasser was easily my best addition to the tank so far.If you’re not cycled, you likely don’t need it because nothing is using up your alk and cal, but coraline algae will use it up as it starts to grow.
You absolutely need a alkalinity test so you know where you’re at. If you mix your kalk solution too strong, alkalinity will go up. If your evaporation rate increases, your alkalinity will go up. This is why you need to test you alkalinity each time before you make a new batch of kalk solution. If your tank alkalinity went up since your last batch, mix it up a little weaker and visa Versa
I’m always surprised when people say that kalk couldn’t keep up with demand. I ran it out of my ATO for years with a tank full of SPS and it did the job.
It’s easy and nearly free compared to the alternatives. Here’s my old tank grown purely on Kalk:
Ironically, I just got ICP results and I’m low on strontium. Will be dosing manually in addition to kalkwasser.Full disclosure....I use a calcium reactor on my current tank, mostly to see if I would get better growth or color. I’m not really seeing a difference and the up front cost of a cal RX is literally about 100X the investment of a simple bag of pickling lime.
I elevated my pump off the bottom of my ATO 5 gallon bucket so it doesn't come into contact with settled sediment,
every few weeks I refill it with water, throw in some fresh kalk and stir it up. and then clean the bucket out every month or so. works like a charm
I ziptied two small pieces of leftover eggcrate from my frag rack to the pump. It's about half inch off the bottom at the momentHow do you have your pump supported off the bottom?