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11/18/2017, 09:50 PM | #1 |
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Kalkwasser dosing
I have a question for which I am seeking an opinion. Since I started dosing kalk a month and a half ago, I have seen a tremendous positive difference in growth and color as the Ph has been very stable at 8.2 as well as my Ca and dKh being stable with now swings. For now I have only gravity fed the drip as I do not trust an ATO with kalk running through it to not clog and get stuck in the on position. A gravity feed drip allows me to have control to not over dose. With that being said, should you only dose at night or is beneficial to dose steadily over a 24 hrs period? By the way, my parameters are all appropriate and I test twice weekly.
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11/18/2017, 10:22 PM | #2 |
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Sounds like what you are doing now is working for you. What is the PH swing between end of day and end of night?
Currently I run Kalk with an ATO Cheers! Mark |
11/18/2017, 10:25 PM | #3 |
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The dosing schedule will depend on the tank's consumption rate, but I suspect that I'd drip throughout the day and night. That approach should keep the alkalinity level more stable. You could check the alkalinity at a few points during the day to see what happens, though. That might be useful.
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11/18/2017, 11:10 PM | #4 |
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There is no reason not to use a good ATO with a kalk reactor on any sump.
My avast is fed by the aqualifter gravity feeding the tank, and the autotopoff system to trigger the aqualifter to pull fresh ro/di water through the avast that simply drains downhill to sump with the saturated effluent. When a float fails it just shuts the whole system off and it does not get a chance to get the second float. I ran the aqualifter from a kalk sump for years and I think the aqualifter lasted a decade before I put new rubbers in it. It never clogged but I'm really happy with my new system now almost a decade old |
11/18/2017, 11:22 PM | #5 |
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I have checked a few times over the last month at different day/night intervals and I have gotten readings of Ph swinging from 7.9 - 8.2....Alkalinty remains relatively stable at around 8.5 dKh. I actually started dosing kalk as a means to raise Ph. My tank is located in a finished basement but my Co2 levels are higher so the kalk battles that issue. I truly did not expect the benefit of kalk that I am getting outside of helping the Ph.
I will need to look at the Avast float switch the OUTY mentioned in the post. |
11/18/2017, 11:48 PM | #6 |
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I run a Kalk Stirrer and Aqualifter for all top off, no chance of a clog as there is only ever clear saturated water if setup correctly.
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11/19/2017, 07:39 AM | #7 |
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Kalk used to be dripped into tanks during the night to offset any pH drop, but I think most people would find that to be a hassle.
I would either keep using it the way you are..."If it ain't broken..." or consider dosing kalk via an ATO. If you use a kalk reactor (either DIY or purchased) & have the ATO feed the reactor, you really eliminate potential failures. The ATO pump only ever pumps fresh water & any float valves or optical sensors can be located in the sump, while the saturated kalk is delivered to a high flow area in the tank. I've been doing it this way for years & wouldn't do it different. HTH
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"It's not the size of the dog in the fight;It's the size of the fight in the dog!" -Sir Winston Churchill. Current Tank Info: 92G Corner tank, 250 wt 14K MH, 20G sump, 5G fuge, mixed reef |
11/19/2017, 01:48 PM | #8 |
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11/20/2017, 05:45 PM | #9 |
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11/20/2017, 07:46 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
Dosing is done by evaporation, float drops and kicks on the aqualifter which only makes a very very small stream. Not enough is ever put into the sump before shutting off he float. The beauty is with 250 ish gallons adding a few cups now and then changes nothing. If you have a small sump the beauty is only small amounts are added before float shuts it off. never been an issue and ph always stable. I run a 2 chamber calcium reactor so I always have low ph effluent dripping in tank. Much much less then the higher ph of the kalk reactor. |
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11/20/2017, 08:34 PM | #11 |
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Some tanks have a fairly constant evaporation rate. In cases like that, dosing as ATO is fine. I dosed that way for years. Other tanks have issues with Kalk on ATO because the evaporation rate changes too much. You could watch the ATO consumption for a while to see how consistent it is. Sometimes, consumption changes with the season, so you'd need to keep that in mind, too.
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11/20/2017, 08:56 PM | #12 |
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11/20/2017, 09:06 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
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11/20/2017, 09:10 PM | #14 |
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