High Tide Aquatics

BOLUS vs. Kalkwasser

Alexander1312

Alexander1312

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So this is now partially addressing/articulating some of the Kalkwasser concerns, while primarily introducing a new Alkalinity dosing method, i.e. BOLUS (single dose of medicine taken all at once). (fun fact, Fauna Marin will be releasing Kalkwasser for the US market due to popular demand from their US vendors, but not in Europe).

They are still working on the exact instructions which I assume will come out in a formal paper next week. The most basic idea is to dose all the alkalinity before the start of the photoperiod to achieve a consistently high PH over the course of the day. Lighting will need to be adjusted too and will start with higher intensity. They have been testing this method for a year with their European based Reefers club members before rolling this out most likely next week.

Although Fauna Marin is rolling this out, it is not linked to their products as long as alkalinity is dosed in connection with the holgens.

 
Their rather lengthy paper including instructions has now been published in English. I have not seen an English version of their video but this should come out shortly. This includes criticism for Kalkwasser.


I have started doing this now for a few days and the effect is exactly as they say, even though I have not adjusted my lights yet, still waiting for someone to create a template for the Reefis for that. Apparently, it should also eliminate the need for a CO2 scrubber, but this I will need to investigate further. I have asked Doug from Frag Farm UK, who ‘co-invented’ this together with Claude, to be my consultant. Not really a new concept but rather going back to the old days where there were no dosing pumps. Will ask him more questions.

I am sure lots of skepticism about this in the beginning, but my uninformed guess is that this will be eventually best practice for alkalinity dosing. Fun fact - I am very keen on getting an automated alk tester now LOL.
 
@ReeFi - Daniel, if you have a chance, could you check what I have posted on facebook to adjust the settings to reflect this light schedule in the Reefis?

IMG_1613.jpeg
 
Alexander1312 said:
@ReeFi - Daniel, if you have a chance, could you check what I have posted on facebook to adjust the settings to reflect this light schedule in the Reefis?

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It should ramp just by having different profiles for each column. Basically have your night column go from 19:35 until 8:24 then have a "sunrise" profile start at 8:25 with like 1% of what you want. Then the next column at 8:30 is your target color mix but set the master slider to 120%. Next column copy the previous but start at 10:30 set master to 120%. 10:35 copy the previous but set to 100% master. Next column copy the previous and set to 13:35. Next column set to 0% and set to 19:35.
 
Darkxerox said:
It should ramp just by having different profiles for each column. Basically have your night column go from 19:35 until 8:24 then have a "sunrise" profile start at 8:25 with like 1% of what you want. Then the next column at 8:30 is your target color mix but set the master slider to 120%. Next column copy the previous but start at 10:30 set master to 120%. 10:35 copy the previous but set to 100% master. Next column copy the previous and set to 13:35. Next column set to 0% and set to 19:35.
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I do not believe it let me do so many columns, for some odd reason. I did this:

IMG_1615.jpeg
 
OG RHF heard of this now and is not happy at all with what is stated as the reasons for its benefits LOL, but at the end of the thread seemed to agree that it might have benefits. Still, seems pretty much disagreeing with all scientific explanations.

www.reef2reef.com

Bolus dosing

Dear all, I saw a video about bolus dosing by Fauna Marin (in german). The idea there is to dose the whole dose of KH in the morning 30mins before lights on and then start the light directly at 120% to then decrease throughout the day. The idea is to get a pH boost right at the beginning of the...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
 
Alexander1312 said:
OG RHF heard of this now and is not happy at all with what is stated as the reasons for its benefits LOL, but at the end of the thread seemed to agree that it might have benefits. Still, seems pretty much disagreeing with all scientific explanations.

www.reef2reef.com

Bolus dosing

Dear all, I saw a video about bolus dosing by Fauna Marin (in german). The idea there is to dose the whole dose of KH in the morning 30mins before lights on and then start the light directly at 120% to then decrease throughout the day. The idea is to get a pH boost right at the beginning of the...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
Click to expand...

His last post was pretty clear, no "seems" about it.

It’s not ANY sort of real thing. Old tank syndrome may or may not be real, but the idea the buffer system is messed up is just plain misinformation.

And of course they are pushing their own product.

That said, bolus dosing itself may be fine. Pushing up alk can enhance coral growth and may have other benefits.

But the statements and reasons are not accurate.
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There is a live stream right now where he is addressing this
BAYMAC said:
Yeah, bogus claims tend to do that. Claude has been known to make those over the years.
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What was a recent example? I would like to catch up with history. I know Dino X was not popular and killed peoples tanks, and I did not like their calibration solution as it gave misleading results.
 
About every 5-8 years there’s something new. It’s just a modified version of the old zeovit , triton, blah blah blah. If you want tried and true. Study what people were doing in the late 90’s to 2005ish. Basics. That’s what works. All these extras are only for the 1% people that are trying to get the last bit of color.
Stability, Flow, Lighting. Spend your time there. Your reef will grow beyond your imagination.
 
Folks, I will try it out, have been for a few days without the light adjustment, and adjusted the light now (hopefully with the correct settings).

Lot‘s of experience here with new things being hyped up and later turn out to be not a good idea so the idea of this being just another one of these is understandable. Continuing doing what has been working well in the past seems also a better approach long term. And being sceptical in general appears to be better risk management strategy.

My goal was to find an alternative way to Kalkwasser, and this was one path to potentially apply three part dosing more effectively.

Will report on the failure (or success) in applying this approach.
 
I’m still at a loss as to why you want to stop using kalk. I think I read somewhere in another thread you mentioned that it can lead to phosphate buildup and subsequent release of phosphate at a later time, but it’s never been proven that that actually happens.

For kalk to bind and form calcium phosphate it requires a high pH which supposedly can happen to a limited extent in our tanks. And to actually dissolve the calcium phosphate that was formed to release phosphate back into the tank requires an acidic environment which normally does not occur in a reef tank.

Is there source material that your referencing to come to the decision that kalk is detrimental to long term reefing? I’d like to read up on it if there is any material.
 
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