What are you dosing? Sps keepers.

[bubbgee]

I thought this may be a good question to ask here, hopefully not too much off topic.

I’m currently dosing kalk through my ato, but want to switch to a continuous drip. I was previously sold on the hydros sole as it is continuous duty and works with my hydros ecosystem and could be controlled easily by my pH input (eg. turn off if pH great than 8.4). I’ve also been looking at the Kamoer continuous use dosing pump It’s much less costly and would likely get the job done but would not be able to have the redundancy of pH control like the sole.
These are the two pumps I’m between:
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/h...sing-pump/?searchid=7329426&search_query=Solehttps://www.saltwateraquarium.com/x...kamoer/?searchid=7329460&search_query=StepperAny input appreciated!

I currently use the Kamoer. But instead of doing continuous dosing, I dose 100ml per hour at the top of the hour to bump pH through my Avast K1. I use a DoS for Alk and Ammonia (or Calcium when I am on trips).

 

[areefer01]

including the old school pink lemonade it wouldn’t grow under halides and in the 2 months it’s had LED’s over it, it has taken off..

Hey pal, way to stir the pot!

 

[skey44]

I’ve never personally played with kalk this way but this is pretty much what @Sisterlimonpot designed for his tank and epics.. his is more complicated than that but I’m sure he could chime in as he most likely started out this way.

I think I understand the advantages the Sole has over the Kamoer (controllability, compatibility with hydros ecosystem, and heavy duty industrial design that uses 1/4” RO tubing). I’m just having a hard time pulling the trigger on a $300 dosing pump for kalkwasser (albeit a very “nice” one). Likely way overthinking this.
I’m feeling it’s time to just buy once and cry once here. I’ve been planning to do this for months! ATO kalkwasser addition is working ok(corals responding positively vs A4R alone). It just worries me that my ato pump will foul and fail and seeing the spikes in the pH (ph probe downstream from ato kalk effluent in sump) with each top off addition makes my eye twitch!
This is one of those posts I’ll look back on in 6 months with some wisdom. I’ll try and report what I learn back here!

 

[wickedxreef]

Curious if anyone has ever switched from BRS two part (soda ash and calcium chloride) to all for reef? If so, did the dose stay roughly the same? Right now I’m dosing 225ml of each. Also, will all for reef help buffer the ph at all or have folks noticed it helps with ph? I dose KW at night to help with PH as well. TIA

 

[Red_Beard]

I did, the initial dose if i recall correctly, was actually less afr than soda ash, to keep the alk the same. Cant speak to the pH though but i think it has about the same buffer as sodium bicarbonate, which is to say, not as much. Kalk at night though will help if you have issues with low pH.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I did, the initial dose if i recall correctly, was actually less afr than soda ash, to keep the alk the same. Cant speak to the pH though but i think it has about the same buffer as sodium bicarbonate, which is to say, not as much. Kalk at night though will help if you have issues with low pH.

I had an issue dosing kalk at night and all for reef during the day. My calcium just kept increasing. It got over 500 and I went back to kalk and 2 part.

 

[bubbgee]

I had an issue dosing kalk at night and all for reef during the day. My calcium just kept increasing. It got over 500 and I went back to kalk and 2 part.

That makes sense. The dosing for AFR is based on Cal. Kalk dosing is based on Alk. Alk is consumed by corals faster than Cal.

What would work is AFR and just soda ash/sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydroxide or the one part you were using for Alk.

 

[rtparty]

All For Reef and Kalkwasser both add more calcium than alkalinity. This is why it was raising. With a normal water change schedule, this effect will be mitigated.

You should dose both AFR and kalk based off alkalinity usage. Calcium test kits are not precise enough to pick up the low levels of change

 

[reefpanda]

I supplement with Red Sea KH if my AFR can’t keep up with the alk consumed

 

[bobnicaragua]

That makes sense. The dosing for AFR is based on Cal. Kalk dosing is based on Alk. Alk is consumed by corals faster than Cal.

What would work is AFR and just soda ash/sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydroxide or the one part you were using for Alk.

My tank is all acros and there’s no way I’m giving up the night time PH boost from kalkwasser.

I add Tropic Marine part A and K trace elements to my 2 part, so I’m not missing anything that All For Reef offers.

 

[bubbgee]

My tank is all acros and there’s no way I’m giving up the night time PH boost from kalkwasser.

I add Tropic Marine part A and K trace elements to my 2 part, so I’m not missing anything that All For Reef offers.

I agree. That's why I went away from AFR and switched to 2-part and Kalk as well.

How do you like the trace from TM? I was thinking about that instead of dosing individually..

 

[FishTacos2]

I think I understand the advantages the Sole has over the Kamoer (controllability, compatibility with hydros ecosystem, and heavy duty industrial design that uses 1/4” RO tubing). I’m just having a hard time pulling the trigger on a $300 dosing pump for kalkwasser (albeit a very “nice” one). Likely way overthinking this.
I’m feeling it’s time to just buy once and cry once here. I’ve been planning to do this for months! ATO kalkwasser addition is working ok(corals responding positively vs A4R alone). It just worries me that my ato pump will foul and fail and seeing the spikes in the pH (ph probe downstream from ato kalk effluent in sump) with each top off addition makes my eye twitch!
This is one of those posts I’ll look back on in 6 months with some wisdom. I’ll try and report what I learn back here!

May be a dumb question. But how do you mix/store your Kalk in this situation? Just a reservoir with its own pump/slurry?

 

[bobnicaragua]

I agree. That's why I went away from AFR and switched to 2-part and Kalk as well.

How do you like the trace from TM? I was thinking about that instead of dosing individually..

I’ve been doing moonshiners for years, but I decided to try Tropic Marine Trace and do more water changes. It may be just vacuuming the substrate, but I find water changes tend to keep the acros happy. It’s more work, so I’m not sure if I’m going to stay with this method or go back to regular moonshiners.

I do ICPs every quarter or so now and make moonshiner adjustments then.
I can’t really tell a difference with this method and regular moonshiners.

Obviously your acros go through good and bad times regardless of trace dosing.

The thing that makes the biggest difference for me is PH. Unless the AC is running all the time CO2 builds up in my house. If the weather is nice and I can leave the windows cracked for a few days, the acros look noticeably better and alk consumption goes up.

I focus on PH, flow, nutrients, alkalinity, and minimizing shadowing. Trace elements are less important in my experience.

 

[wickedxreef]

I’ve been doing moonshiners for years, but I decided to try Tropic Marine Trace and do more water changes. It may be just vacuuming the substrate, but I find water changes tend to keep the acros happy. It’s more work, so I’m not sure if I’m going to stay with this method or go back to regular moonshiners.

I do ICPs every quarter or so now and make moonshiner adjustments then.
I can’t really tell a difference with this method and regular moonshiners.

Obviously your acros go through good and bad times regardless of trace dosing.

The thing that makes the biggest difference for me is PH. Unless the AC is running all the time CO2 builds up in my house. If the weather is nice and I can leave the windows cracked for a few days, the acros look noticeably better and alk consumption goes up.

I focus on PH, flow, nutrients, alkalinity, and minimizing shadowing. Trace elements are less important in my experience.

I wanted to share my initial observations since switching from Moonshine to the Tropic Marin (TM) Traces A/K. Although it hasn't been a long period, I haven't noticed any significant changes in my tank yet.

One of the aspects I appreciate about the TM products is the convenience of being able to dose them through my BRS 2 Part system. This has definitely simplified my routine and ensures I don't forget to dose.

It's worth noting that I'm currently not performing regular water changes as part of the TM program, based on the theory that the trace elements should replenish what water changes typically provide. While I understand the other benefits of water changes, I've also seen instances where they have caused issues. Additionally, minimizing water changes would certainly make things easier when it comes to tank maintenance during vacations.

 

[skey44]

May be a dumb question. But how do you mix/store your Kalk in this situation? Just a reservoir with its own pump/slurry?

I bought a 5 gallon carboy where I plan to store saturated kalkwasser to dose from. The hydros sole is a hybrid peristaltic dosing pump/controller that will pull the saturated Kalk out of the carboy and dose to the tank.
I’m going to get another carboy so I can always have one at the ready. The 5 gallons should last me at least a week as I’m using A4R as the primary ca/alk/mg/trace dosing source right now. I’m mainly adding Kalk for its almost magical growth effect on corals (pH increase) . This setup will just give me a lot more control and monitoring of its dosage vs just running non dilute Kalk in the ato (what I’m currently doing).

A professional diagram for you

 

[Troylee]

Curious if anyone has ever switched from BRS two part (soda ash and calcium chloride) to all for reef? If so, did the dose stay roughly the same? Right now I’m dosing 225ml of each. Also, will all for reef help buffer the ph at all or have folks noticed it helps with ph? I dose KW at night to help with PH as well. TIA

It won’t take nearly as much afr… afr does not help with a ph boost that’s why I run kalk for the bulk of my lifting and afr to make up the rest. Basically I dose 4 gallons of fully saturated kalk a day and 115ml of all for reef.. my calcium does creep up over time and I’ve had it up to 550 and zero issues! If you use afr dose it based off alk not calcium like the label reads… also the calcium creep is easily fixed with a water change!

 

[areefer01]

It won’t take nearly as much afr… afr does not help with a ph boost that’s why I run kalk for the bulk of my lifting and afr to make up the rest. Basically I dose 4 gallons of fully saturated kalk a day and 115ml of all for reef.. my calcium does creep up over time and I’ve had it up to 550 and zero issues! If you use afr dose it based off alk not calcium like the label reads… also the calcium creep is easily fixed with a water change!

You evaporate 4 gallons a day?

 

[skey44]

You evaporate 4 gallons a day?

Wondering same thing. I’m not trying to increase evaporation in any way but my no-lid high surface area 80 gallons evaporates about 1.5 gallons a day. If I added fans I’m sure it would be more.

Funny how all this dosing talk has led to one thing in my mind… Kalk is magic for stony corals :) all this fancy ICP stuff and the OG will outgrow them all. Bacteria, aminos, and coral foods are just window dressing

 

[bubbgee]

I’ve been doing moonshiners for years, but I decided to try Tropic Marine Trace and do more water changes. It may be just vacuuming the substrate, but I find water changes tend to keep the acros happy. It’s more work, so I’m not sure if I’m going to stay with this method or go back to regular moonshiners.

I do ICPs every quarter or so now and make moonshiner adjustments then.
I can’t really tell a difference with this method and regular moonshiners.

Obviously your acros go through good and bad times regardless of trace dosing.

The thing that makes the biggest difference for me is PH. Unless the AC is running all the time CO2 builds up in my house. If the weather is nice and I can leave the windows cracked for a few days, the acros look noticeably better and alk consumption goes up.

I focus on PH, flow, nutrients, alkalinity, and minimizing shadowing. Trace elements are less important in my experience.

I am with you on this. This is how I want to run the tank long term like you are doing.

Water changes do seem to upset the LPS and softies I have. SPS are grateful for that. Such is the life for a mixed reef. pH is definitely what I am chasing. Tank looks so much better at higher pH.

 

[Troylee]

You evaporate 4 gallons a day?

I do! I use fans cause my skimmer draws 100° hot air all day from outside lol..