Ph Levels

[hllb]

I did use Kalk in combination with fresh air into the skimmer. I've never had Alk at this level so it is a little concerning but from my research it isn't an issue as long as you have slightly higher nutrients. Like I said I'm going to wait to see if things level off in the next couple of days.

Kalk will raise your alk and I think maybe calcium too. I wouldn't expect it to go down if you continue dosing it. 11.5 isn't too bad, but could be an issue for acros I think. I haven't personally used kalk.

 

[arking_mark]

I did use Kalk in combination with fresh air into the skimmer. I've never had Alk at this level so it is a little concerning but from my research it isn't an issue as long as you have slightly higher nutrients. Like I said I'm going to wait to see if things level off in the next couple of days.

You should only be dosing kalkwasser based on consumption of Alk/Ca and not pH. The pH is just a temporary side benefit. This is why many of us use a continuous drip of kalkwasser to level out the pH bumps and get a sustainable pH boost.

Kalk provides balanced Alk/Ca with a pH boost. Getting the most out of Kalkwasser basically requires you to use it to your evaporation limit. Generally speaking, this is usually somewhere around 1% for most aquariums. This amount of Kalkwasser will replace ~1dKH worth of Alk and a comparable amount of Ca. Mature tanks usually consume between 0.5 to 4.5 dKH of Alk per day. This is why most tanks require a supplemental Ca/Kalk dosing in addition to kalkwasser. From a pH perspective, this amount of Kalkwasser will raise pH by about 0.6 NBS. I have found that a continuous drip of Kalkwasser raises my average pH by about 0.1 NBS.

 

[rbourgeois64]

Thanks for all the information.