Kh levels

[welshgazz]

Hi all. So my kh was down at 6.4 so I bought a buffer and over few days have raised it to 7.7. my question is how do I keep it there now? Do I just add some buffer once a week or so I buy a liquid doser and use that? Seems a waste of all the buffer I have bought if I do that. I know I have to try and Keep it stable around where it is now. I have a 40g cube tank with 5g sump. It's mixed reef with soft coral few lps and 2 Monti.

 

[EnterName]

Take a reading now, don't dose ANYTHING, and take a reading in 24h or 48h. This way you can calculate the demand per day.

And then you can dose accordingly. If you have LPS you will also have some calcium consumption, so you might need to start with a system that supplements calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, trace elements, etc. All for Reef is easy to use.

If you tell me what product you are planning to use I might be able to help you calculate the required amount each day once you have the readings :)

 

[welshgazz]

Take a reading now, don't dose ANYTHING, and take a reading in 24h or 48h. This way you can calculate the demand per day.

And then you can dose accordingly. If you have LPS you will also have some calcium consumption, so you might need to start with a system that supplements calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, trace elements, etc. All for Reef is easy to use.

If you tell me what product you are planning to use I might be able to help you calculate the required amount each day once you have the readings :)

Thanks for awesome reply much appreciated. I bought microbe-lift kh booster to help get kh back up. I have large tub of the stuff left lol. I was thinking of using All for reef as it seems the easiest to use. I am no expert reefer I have been in and out but this 40g cube is my baby and I want it to flourish. I have attached a pic with only whites on for reference.

 

[EnterName]

According to the instructions "6g of the powder increases alkalinity of 100L by 2.5dKH", but you might want to compare with the instructions on your box to ensure we are talking about the same product.

40gal ≈ 151L (when accounting for substrate and rocks it will be less, maybe 120L or so).

So 6g will probably be more like 2.1dKH in your tank.
If you find out what your daily alkalinity consumption is, you can simply use the following formula to find out how much powder you need to add daily (you should still verify with tests regularly):

[required powder]g = 6g ÷ 2.1dKH ⋅ [daily alkalinity demand]dKH

[daily alkalinity demand]dKH = ([measurement 1]dKH - [measurement 2]dKH) ⋅ (24h ÷ [time between measurements]h)​

But I can help you with the calculations once you have taken the two measurements :)


I'm not really a fan of adding undissolved powder to a tank, especially if I don't know what this powder is, so I suggest you take a look at products that are actually designed to supply a reef tank with all it needs (calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, trace elements). "All for Reef" is only one of many possibilities:

• Original Balling (3 solutions, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium+Trace)
  • DIY Recipe if you don't want to use Tropic Marin or other brands
• ATI Essentials
• BRS 2-Part
• Aquaforest 3-Part
• Reef Zlements
• RedSea (Foundation, 4-part, or 7-part)
• etc.

 

[welshgazz]

According to the instructions "6g of the powder increases alkalinity of 100L by 2.5dKH", but you might want to compare with the instructions on your box to ensure we are talking about the same product.

40gal ≈ 151L (when accounting for substrate and rocks it will be less, maybe 120L or so).

So 6g will probably be more like 2.1dKH in your tank.
If you find out what your daily alkalinity consumption is, you can simply use the following formula to find out how much powder you need to add daily (you should still verify with tests regularly):

[required powder]g = 6g ÷ 2.1dKH ⋅ [daily alkalinity demand]dKH

[daily alkalinity demand]dKH = ([measurement 1]dKH - [measurement 2]dKH) ⋅ (24h ÷ [time between measurements]h)​

But I can help you with the calculations once you have taken the two measurements :)


I'm not really a fan of adding undissolved powder to a tank, especially if I don't know what this powder is, so I suggest you take a look at products that are actually designed to supply a reef tank with all it needs (calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, trace elements). "All for Reef" is only one of many possibilities:

• Original Balling (3 solutions, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium+Trace)
  • DIY Recipe if you don't want to use Tropic Marin or other brands
• ATI Essentials
• BRS 2-Part
• Aquaforest 3-Part
• Reef Zlements
• RedSea (Foundation, 4-part, or 7-part)
• etc.

Took a reading today and it's at 6.7 dkh which makes me think yesterday's wasn't right as my daughter "helped" with adding the drops. Lol
I will add more buffer tonight and start again tomorrow.
Who thought such things can be a pain in the .... Lol.

 

[Maderan]

I agree with the All for Reef recommendation. Get a simple doser if you want or just add it once per day. The doser would be needed as everything grows and if you travel.