Calcium & Alkalinity supplementing methods

[rygh]

FYI:
I use 1.5 gallons to one box of arm and hammer.
I use 1.5 gallons to one cup of BRS calcium.
Easy to measure, easy to mix, easy to remember.

 

[sfsuphysics]

I am wondering why RHF's recipe #2 has to be half strength of recipe #1?

One of my earlier question is whether I can use double strength of Recipe #2 part 2, together with Recipe #1 part 1? In this scenario, both have the same strength.
Julius

The purpose of doing half strength formula is due to possibly precipitation issues when it contacts the water. If you drip it in and you see the water immediately turning cloudy where it hits you maybe should dilute your formula in some way.

That said you can mix and match the recipes you'll just dose in different dilutions, if it's a half strength formula you simply dose twice as much. Personally I like to do half strength formula simply because I always got precipitation regardless of how slow I dripped into my sump.

If you put too much in it won't all dissolve but it will be full strength. Now I'm not sure if the stuff is like kalkwasser in that the undissolved will dissolve at a later time if you add more water, or if it's precipitation, I don't think it's precipitation though because if the solution is fully saturated it won't absorb it in the first place.

 

[Vincerama2]

In my pre-Wifebane tank, I had great "success" with a Calcium reactor, and I used Kalkwasser as my ATO.

Currently, I do nothing because aiptasia don't require much calcium to successfully multiply and grow large and healthy.

V

 

[Squist]

Regarding kalkwasser @sfsuphysics wrote

... you need to make sure you don't use this as your ATO.

I'm doing this. What's the problem with using kalkwasser as ATO? I've been running this for the last month on a new tank that's been up for four months.

I read in a follow-up post a best practice recommendation to replace half of the estimated daily evaporation with kalkwasser and reminder with ATO.

But why? Isn't dosing portion of evaporation with kalkwasser and other portion with RODI the same as a more dilute kalkwasser addition?


For my water changes, I've been running an automated 2.5 L water change every day (850 ml x 3 per day). Topping-off with kalkwasser at a concentration of 1 tsp/gal.

pH: 8.14 (avg.; low: 8.07, high: 8.29)*
Alk: 8.5
Ca: 500

* avg., low, and high over 7 days


UPDATE:
Been thinking about this. Let me guess: rate of evaporation varies throughout the day, week, mo. ... meter your Kalkwasser for greatest consistency.

 

[jccaclimber]

Equating a ratio of ATO volume seems questionable as it varies an awful lot tank to tank. Too much at once resulting in a pH spike is bad, but I’ve seen it at full strength as an ATO in a small tank without issue.

 

[rygh]

Regarding kalkwasser @sfsuphysics wrote

I'm doing this. What's the problem with using kalkwasser as ATO? I've been running this for the last month on a new tank that's been up for four months.

I read in a follow-up post a best practice recommendation to replace half of the estimated daily evaporation with kalkwasser and reminder with ATO.

But why? Isn't dosing portion of evaporation with kalkwasser and other portion with RODI the same as a more dilute kalkwasser addition?


For my water changes, I've been running an automated 2.5 L water change every day (850 ml x 3 per day). Topping-off with kalkwasser at a concentration of 1 tsp/gal.

pH: 8.14 (avg.; low: 8.07, high: 8.29)*
Alk: 8.5
Ca: 500

* avg., low, and high over 7 days


UPDATE:
Been thinking about this. Let me guess: rate of evaporation varies throughout the day, week, mo. ... meter your Kalkwasser for greatest consistency.

The biggest problem is that you often cannot dose enough with Kalkwasser even if diluted to full saturation.

 

[sfsuphysics]

As what JC (and you) mentioned, if your evaporation differs so does your addition of calcium and alkalinity as well. A better plan of action is to top off a consistent amount of kalkwasser each day (adjust as demand grows of course), and then whatever extra evaporation you lost your ATO can top that up, however as Mark mentions there is a hard limit to how much kalkwasser you can add and that's whatever your daily evaporation rate is. However kalkwasser is a great product and I would dose it regardless and then just find some other method to fill in the rest of your calcium and alkalinity needs (2 part or calcium reactor)

 

[Squist]

As what JC (and you) mentioned, if your evaporation differs so does your addition of calcium and alkalinity as well. A better plan of action is to top off a consistent amount of kalkwasser each day (adjust as demand grows of course), and then whatever extra evaporation you lost your ATO can top that up, however as Mark mentions there is a hard limit to how much kalkwasser you can add and that's whatever your daily evaporation rate is.

I understand this now. Thanks.

However kalkwasser is a great product and I would dose it regardless and then just find some other method to fill in the rest of your calcium and alkalinity needs (2 part or calcium reactor)

Okay--got it. Right now, I'm pretty well maxed-out on calcium through kalkwasser ATO and daily water changes. I have a small system, so this should suffice until the tank stabilizes (it's only been up 4 mos.) and I add more significantly sized coral colonies and grow-out what frags I have.

On a different note, I posted a question about addressing zero PO4. Would be great to pick your brain on that if you have a moment.

Gus' leptastria I picked up from you a couple weeks ago, Mike, is looking really nice. That'll be a great addition as it takes hold.

 

[jccaclimber]

I should add to my comment above that while you don't have a good measure on how much kalk you add, it doesn't matter all that much early on. So long as it is added reasonably slowly such as with an ATO, it tends to self regulate, which makes overdosing a comparably lower risk. Where people get in trouble is two specific cases. One is that they let the sludge build up on the bottom of the kalk container so long that one day the ATO pump sucks up several big chunks and violates the "added slowly" rule. I've seen this piss off palys which in turn crashed the tank. The other case is when the kalk was pH controlled. The pH control scheme failed (many ways for this to happen), and the kalk stirrer added a LOT of kalk, such that the alkalinity did spike faster than the precipitation cloud could pull it down. Just to be clear, when I say he put in a lot of kalk it was enough to raise the alk in a system with at least 400 gallons water volume 4 or 5 dKh in under an hour.

 

[Squist]

... Where people get in trouble is two specific cases. One is that they let the sludge build up on the bottom of the kalk container so long that on day the ATO pump sucks up several big chunks and violates the "added slowly" rule.

I have my ATO pump in a jar sitting on the bottom of a 14 gal drum to prevent the sludge from being drawn in. Pro-level pH-controlled schemes are not in my repertoire yet.

Thanks for your insight.

 

[grizfyrfyter]

I use a calcium reactor and Kalkwasser. The calcium reactor is under sized and half full so it runs wide open with an aqualifter pump.

I took a media reactor and swapped out the fittings so I can use dosing tubes. I put it in top of a $30 magnetic stirrer and have the apex spin it up for a few minutes every day. It's dosed with a dosing pump. This let's me tune everything in easily.



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