Looking at the GHL KH Director - thoughts?

[arking_mark]

I personally love it. I haven't thought about Alk in months. It's been great!

As I have been transitioning to a new build, I have slowly converted everything to ULM. I picked Triton Method to supplementing my tank as it only requires monitoring ALK and reduces water changes. Hence using KH Director. The main issue with the KH Director is initial calibration and then practical application of the device. The later is where many people "fail". There is no best practice for using the device and many people just end up using it to measure ALK. If setup as I described, it will maintain your ALK in a safe way.

 

[Dr. Jim]

As I have been transitioning to a new build, I have slowly converted everything to ULM. I picked Triton Method to supplementing my tank as it only requires monitoring ALK and reduces water changes. Hence using KH Director. The main issue with the KH Director is initial calibration and then practical application of the device. The later is where many people "fail". There is no best practice for using the device and many people just end up using it to measure ALK. If setup as I described, it will maintain your ALK in a safe way.

I don't know that I would just test the Alk with the Triton 4-Part and assume that the Ca and Mg will be adjusted to just where you want them to be. This idea sounds nice in theory, but after using Triton for several years, I have always had to add additional buffer. I would bet that if you just let the KH Director control the Triton Ca and Mg based on the Alk volume dosed (where all 3 are dosed at equal volumes), your Ca and Mg will raise way above where you want them to be. At least that is what I've noticed after years of using Triton. Because Triton adds trace elements to each component it is essential to use the same volume of each of the parts (as I'm sure you know). So that meant, at least for me, that I had to have a separate buffer to add once the Ca and/or Mg reached their upper limits because the Alk rarely would reach it's proper level at the same time as the Ca and Mg. So that would require additional, and separate, dosing of a buffer (without added elements).
I've switched from Triton to a 3-Part that does not add trace elements to their components so I can use different dosages (ml) of Ca, Mg, and Alk without worrying about throwing off the trace elements.

 

[esther]

I don't know that I would just test the Alk with the Triton 4-Part and assume that the Ca and Mg will be adjusted to just where you want them to be. This idea sounds nice in theory, but after using Triton for several years, I have always had to add additional buffer. I would bet that if you just let the KH Director control the Triton Ca and Mg based on the Alk volume dosed (where all 3 are dosed at equal volumes), your Ca and Mg will raise way above where you want them to be. At least that is what I've noticed after years of using Triton. Because Triton adds trace elements to each component it is essential to use the same volume of each of the parts (as I'm sure you know). So that meant, at least for me, that I had to have a separate buffer to add once the Ca and/or Mg reached their upper limits because the Alk rarely would reach it's proper level at the same time as the Ca and Mg. So that would require additional, and separate, dosing of a buffer (without added elements).
I've switched from Triton to a 3-Part that does not add trace elements to their components so I can use different dosages (ml) of Ca, Mg, and Alk without worrying about throwing off the trace elements.

I use Triton Core-7 and have never dosed anything additional than equal parts. I maintain my alk at about 8.5 and my calcium is at 450. Consistently. Thought I would share an instance in where Triton does what it says it’s gonna do as well as with the KH Director.

Every tank is different, so it’s nice to see how it’s working for lots of people.

 

[arking_mark]

@esther @Dr. Jim Very good information. I won't be doing the full Triton Method as the Red Sea Reefer 525xl cannot achieve 10x turn over...it gets to 2-3x for me (probably a little due to my custom plumbing...but for sure stock maxes out at 4x). I also plan daily 1 gal AWC. On my 34 gal, I've actually had difficulty getting my ALK to 8dKH...I switched salts about 1 month or so ago from IO Reef Crystals (13dKH) to Brightwell Neomarine which is at 7ish dKH. It's a mystery to me why my tank continues to fight getting down to 8dKH...but when it does, the auto-dosing kicks in... Tank has never been nicer.