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Low amount of Kalk in ATO w/o Ph testing dangerous?


burtbollinger

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burtbollinger

Do I need to wait until I have Ph probe before I start dosing even a very small amount of Kalkwasser in my ATO bucket? I was gonna go with the lowest recommended amount and monitor Alk. daily.

 

Will only be 2-3 small LPS frags for a long while. Running a Tunze ATO out of a 5g bucket on a new tank...if probe absolutely necessary, I'll need to buy add on module and the probe...@ 150 bucks.

 

Until then, it sounds like 2 part will be a better solution?

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Why are you wanting to run Kalk? What is your Alk now? I am not a fan of Kalk myself. The stuff is messy and hard as hell on pumps and heaters. 2 Part is the way to go for smaller tanks.

 

I dont believe a Ph probe is necessary to run Kalk in my opinion so long as you arent dumping it in in large quantities.

 

Edit: Oh I see you have a larger tank. Yeah two part could get expensive for a big tank like a 170.

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burtbollinger

its just a 34g + 9 g sump.

 

Main goal...Was just wanting to run to keep Kh stable in between weekly water changes...and as a way to buffer the RO/DI water coming from the top-off.

 

Tank is cycling now for past 7 days...Using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. Initial Alk. was 11.2. It has since dropped to 8.2 with nothing in the tank...again, this is just during cycling so this probably means very little.

 

I dont need it YET as the tank is still cycling...just trying to plan ahead.

 

I've used 2 part in the past and this time I would by a pair of dosers to run the 2 part....if I went that route.

 

Running Kalk in the ATO just was something new to me, and i've been curious about it. Really wanting to do things right the first time and get all my equipment in purchased and in place before I add any livestock. Not wanting to half-ass things this time or play catch up.

 

Frankly, needing to upgrade my Reefkeeper Lite with the Ph probe and all that, seems a pain (if needed) vs. running 2-part in containers by a pair of dosers. Either way, I'll be monitoring and testing obsessively.

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You may find your Alk is fine. Id give it some time after the cycle and test again. If there is no real demand for Alk then I wouldnt bother to be honest so long as your Alk is above 7dKH. I use IO, and freshly mixed SW tests around 11dKH while my tank hovers around 8.9dKH. I dont dose anything currently.

 

Kalk is just such a messy additive IMO. You need to make sure you dont suck the slurry off the bottom of your ATO and your ATO doesnt malfunction and dump the entire contents of the FW/Kalk mix into the tank at once. I use to run it on a 40g years back and I got tired of cleaning the precipitation off all my pumps and heaters weekly. It works fine for most people but it isnt for me.

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burtbollinger

Just to be clear though, If my salt mixes to 11...will want to keep it stable around 11 someway though, right?

 

Lets say I add some LPS and monitor and I find I am dropping from lets say 11 to @ 9 over the course of the week...doing nothing isnt an option, right? Or is that mild a drop over a week a non-issue?

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Just to be clear though, If my salt mixes to 11...will want to keep it stable around 11 someway though, right?

 

Lets say I add some LPS and monitor and I find I am dropping from lets say 11 to @ 9 over the course of the week...doing nothing isnt an option, right? Or is that mild a drop over a week a non-issue?

No, you dont need to keep it that high at all. If you had heavy Alk and Cal demand, like an all SPS tank than you would want to try and run it a bit high. Natural seawater is around 7dKH so that is about as low as you should shoot for. Most reefers like to keep it around 8-9dKH.

 

Running it heavily elevated with cause precipitation to form on your pumps and heaters.

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burtbollinger

So...I am using a salt that mixes at 11.2, let's say the hypothetical water change elevates the Kh to 10. Then it drops to 8 over a week.

 

No need to do anything to keep it at 10?

I was thinking I needed to keep Alk more stable (constant). I was thinking I would be dosing 2 part (or using Kalk) to try to keep the levels somewhat constant.

 

I ask because I was thinking Alk. swings caused me a lot of issues with my last build. I want to be extra sure I am not making that mistake again.

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No need to do that unless you just want to spend money on additives. If you are in the range of 8-11dKH, that is the sweet spot. Keeping it higher just allows you more "lead time" between water changes should you have organisms with large Alk/Cal demands. So over the course of a week, dropping from 10 - 8 dKH is acceptable however dropping from 7 - 6dKH wouldnt be ideal.

 

Read this to get a good handle on Alk:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

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I will say some do dose just to maintain of course. That is the point after all of dosing. So if they determine their tank uses 1dKH per day, that is how much they dose to keep it stable. This is fine if course. But if your starting Alk is 9, dont dose to get it up to 11 and keep it there. This is unnecessary.

 

In a tank that is lightly stocked with LPS or FOWLR, I bet you will have no need to dose at all if you are doing weekly water changes. My $.02 anyway.

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burtbollinger

I will say some do dose just to maintain of course. That is the point after all of dosing. So if they determine their tank uses 1dKH per day, that is how much they dose to keep it stable. This is fine if course. But if your starting Alk is 9, dont dose to get it up to 11 and keep it there. This is unnecessary.

 

In a tank that is lightly stocked with LPS or FOWLR, I bet you will have no need to dose at all if you are doing weekly water changes. My $.02 anyway.

 

this makes sense, much appreciated.

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If your tank water at starting dose(after waterchange) is 9, that is what you want to aim at maintaining it throughout the week. Choose a salt that offers the numbers you want and maintain those numbers.

 

The best way to stabilize things is figuring out what your tank uses(which changes as you add corals and they grow

)

Never dose unless its necessary to dose to maintain parameters that the tank is using.

 

To determine what a tank uses:

Test 2 hrs after water change; alk, ca, mag- document it

Test the next day- document it. If no change then test again the next day.

Test until there is a change. That allows you to know how much the tank is using, how often dosing is needed and how much to maintain original levels. After a week you will have an idea of whats being used.

 

This may need to be repeated as more corals are added.

 

Most new tanks don't require dosing as there isn't much in it to use up the elements.

Tanks with lps and sps often need dosing

 

Stability is the key. You don't want too high of alk nor too low. 8-9 seems to be the sweet spot in my experience. My corals were not happy at 7.

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