Best solution for keeping alk up?

[Josh_84]

Hi guys
I have been focusing on my water parameters lately as I have not had much growth in my corals over the past few months and can't keep sps to save my life! Water tests show that low alk is really my only issue. As of yesterday my ca is 450, mg is 1550, and alk was 7dkh. I had it up to 8 the day before but at the beginning of the week it was 6. Seems my tank goes through alk like crazy! I have been dosing just the alk part of brs 2 part mix to get the alk up but have been reading that others are useing baking soda? I have wanted to try kalk in the ato but with running a dehumidifier I think it might be too much? I have a 5g ato that needs refilling every 2-3 days, on a 120g with a 40 sump. I have also noticed that with the frequent alk dosing I am loseing a chalice that I have had for 2 years. Not sure if it's not liking the adjustment to higher alk or what? everything else looks fine aside from my leather coral that seems a bit unhappy but not awefull. Sorry for the long read. I appreciate any help!
Thanks
Josh

[keithhays]

You might get a new KH kit, they expire fairly quickly and when they do they will begin reading low until they don't read at all.

[RA]

Hi guys
I have wanted to try kalk in the ato but with running a dehumidifier I think it might be too much? I have a 5g ato that needs refilling every 2-3 days, on a 120g with a 40 sump.Josh


What does trying kalk have to do with a dehumidifier?

[downbeach]

I would double check your Alk test. What kit(s) are you using to test your Ca, Mg, and Alk? It's not unusual for a system to use 1dKH per day, typical proportion of uptake of Ca and Alk is about 20 ppm/Ca to 50ppm(2.8dKH)/Alk. Baking Soda if fine to help raise your Alk, but I'd make sure you really need it first, if your kit is giving you bad information, you could be overdosing. Kalk is a good balanced source of both Ca and Alk, and will help keep them up between WC's.

[Lonestarcep]

What does trying kalk have to do with a dehumidifier?
Kalk in ATO is driven by your evap rate,hence the dehumidifier to force evap?

Still,I think ATO/ kalk work well at normal evap rates for most people on light Ca consumptions. no need for the dehumidifer me thinks...

[bertoni]

A second opinion on an alkalinity test kit is a good idea, but many tanks go through 2-3 dKH per day. Baking soda might be cheaper than the BRS, and it's safe to dose. I'd probably dose the tank up to 8 dKH at the same time each day (which implies testing just before dosing). After a few days or so, you should start to get a trend line.

[Josh_84]

Hi guys
I have tested with elos, seachem and api. They are all only a few months old and all 3 are in agreeance. I run the dehumidifier because I get a lot of condensation on my window durring the winter months but with the dehumidifier running the evap rate increases in the tank so I was worried that if I start adding kalk to the ato, that it might get overdosed. I would like to try kalk though if you guys think it would be safe to do so with that evap rate.

[bertoni]

Dosing Kalk likely is safe. You will have to tune the concentration, though. We usually suggest starting at 1 tsp per gallon, and watching the pH for the first few days.

[Josh_84]

Great, Thank you! I will pick up some kalk and start adding it to my ato. So it's 1tsp per gallon of water in the ato correct? What am I to watch for with the ph?

[bertoni]

Kalkwasser is very high in pH. When it's added to the tank, the pH will raise. Aeration will lower the pH back down by introducing carbon dioxide. If the aeration rate is too low for the rate of Kalkwasser addition, the pH might spike. Every tank is different. Anything up to 8.6 should be safe.

[Josh_84]

Thanks again, I keep the water surface fairly agitated so hopefully it will be fine. It is 1 tsp/gallon of water in the ato correct? Anything else I need to know about before trying this method out?

[bertoni]

Yes, that dose will be fine. I can't think of any other issues.

[downbeach]

Here's are good articles, worth a read:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

[Josh_84]

Perfect, thanks guys! I will let you know how things go!

[bertoni]

You're welcome! Good luck!

[Josh_84]

I am using a 5g tank with a mj400 and jbj ato for my top off so adding kalk won't work since it's not sealed. I am thinking of getting dosing pumps for 2 part. In the meantime I am going to use baking soda to keep all up. It seems to drop 1 point per day. It is down between 6-7dkh today. Can I add the baking get soda right to the sump or does it need to be dissolved in room first? Also, what is a good starting dose? I have roughly 140g total water volume.
Thanks!

[downbeach]

Mix 1 1/4 cups into 1 gallon of RO/DI water. 6 to 7 ounces will raise it about 1dKH in your system. I wouldn't raise it more than 1.5 dKH per day.

[bertoni]

Kalk is fine without a sealed container. I just used a 5g water container from the fish store. The MJ-400 might dose too much at a time, though, if that's what's being used to deliver the water.

[Josh_84]

Thanks for the baking soda mix dosing! going to start that asap! The mj-400 is what delivers the top off water into my sump. What would be a better choice for slower top off if I decide to try the kalk out? It would be a much cheaper route to go than buying the doseing equiptment. Wish I knew someone adding kalk this way to see how it's done. There seems to be so much different info on the web, it's hard to know what is the proper way to do it. I'm not real good with understanding this science stuff! lol. I appreciate the help from you guys!

[bertoni]

Unfortunately, the best pumps for Kalk are peristaltic pumps, in my opinion. They are one type of dosing pump, and they are a lot more than the MJ-400. Here's a sample product:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-2-part-doser-1-1-ml-per-minute.html

I have used only Master-Flex pumps, which are even pricier when new.

[Josh_84]

Thanks Jon, those are the pump I was considering as I am putting in a brs order next week.

[Josh_84]

Mix 1 1/4 cups into 1 gallon of RO/DI water. 6 to 7 ounces will raise it about 1dKH in your system. I wouldn't raise it more than 1.5 dKH per day. Does this need to be dripped in or can I just slowly pour it into the sump?

[bertoni]

That solution can be poured into the tank. If the sump is big enough, dosing it there is fine, too.