Recent content by PizzaOven

It's been a while since my last tank journal update. Life got in the way, we recently just moved into a new home. The tank was a hassle to move, but it got done, haha. Everything looks OK... I sort of think my tank is appreciating the more hands off approach, just water changes and basic...

Kalkwasser is a balanced additive - equal proportions of calcium and alkalinity supplied in a single solution. 2-part additives have a calcium and alkalinity component that are dosed separately in equal and balanced proportions. You were essentially using the Alk component (Soda Ash) of a...

@Coral reefer pointed out that you were dosing Soda Ash without any balanced calcium component, which seems like the most likely reason Alk/Ca fell out of balance. I see you switched to 100% kalkwasser, but are you planning on raising Ca back up with an additive?

Ah, yeah that's probably more likely the cause. I had overlooked that!

Have you checked Magnesium recently? That might explain why Ca and Alk are out of balance...

For what it's worth, I ran a Jabao doser (4 channel non-wifi version) for 4+ years without any issues. I finally replaced it when I observed what appeared to be a power supply issue, the LED's would flicker when it dosed and the motors seemed underpowered and unable to deliver the full dose. I...

Yep.

@under_water_ninja Per your advice I checked the pH of my freshly mixed Kalkwasser and it came out to 12.1. I was following the 6 grams per gallon recipe, but in my case, it seems like I need more to get up to 12.45 (more like 7g per gallon). I should have been verifying saturation with a pH...

I'm dosing 2.2L of saturated Kalk a day, I could go up to 2.4L maybe? My ATO still adds in a little bit of water every day. A fan seems like a good solution to increase evaporation. Would double as a chiller on the warmer days here in San Jose, score!

Thanks for the tips!

I wish I could come in to your shop more often, but I'm down in SJ so it's a bit of a drive for me. A question: Are you able to maintain Ca and Alk from Kalk alone? I find that I am replacing close to 100% of my tanks evaporation with saturated Kalkwasser through a Kamoer dosing pump, and I...

Yeah, while not ideal, I think for some, its simply a matter of convenience. You don't need any extra equipment to add Kalk to the ATO... When I used this method years ago, I also recall it being really tough on my ATO pump, haha. I had to clean it constantly.

I've noticed that as my Kalk reservoir gets low, the pH boost lessens, probably due to co2 absorption from the air. I have mine sealed, but still need a small hole to allow some air in to get kalk out :) I wonder if taller reservoirs with less surface area might work better?

Kalk + CO2 scrubber is the only way I've found to keep my pH close to natural sea water (8.3). Anecdotally speaking, my corals seem to be healthier and growing faster.

I guess it wouldn't be super difficult to add recessed braces like in the video. It kinda distracts from the rimless look, but safety should come first.