calcium reactor help please

[jamescook]

anyone really know how to get these things to work?
I have a dual stage reactor, and every time I try to get it back on line, my DKH goes way up but not my calcium levels. I have it triggered at 6.5 ph with a steady drip output. the dkh test 30+ , but the calc level is around 400 in the effluent.
in the tank i have been manually adding kalcwasser 10 teaspoons a day for weeks and the levels still test 350. the dkh is up to 17.
the tank looks great and the corals are growing the best I've ever seen. I'm just worrying that it will get crazy out of balance if the the alkalinity keeps going up.
So should i lower the ph trigger in the reactor or change the flow? It looks clear in there and it's definitely lowering the ph in the tank. But I'm dosing so much kalkwasser i'm keeping it pegged at 8.4 and it drops to 8.2 overnight.
I've brought the mg up to 1300 with epsom salt, so that shouldn't be the issue.

any thoughts?

 

[jamescook]

raising the ph from 6.5 to 6.6 will increase the calc output?
no i don't dump the powder in, but i'm constantly adding the kalcwasser

 

[jamescook]

I did that and tested after a week and the CA output was down from 420 to 380ppm. I heard increasing flow would lower the DKH output. I didn't test 40 drops again , but it lowered the Ca and I'm needing to raise it. So would less flow make higher Ca w/o raising the DKH? I did slow it back down to a steady drip

 

[schwaggs]

What are you using for media? With an effluent dkh of 30+ your CA should be off the charts. I suspect your test kit can't accurately measure the CA in the effluent...

I wouldn't use Kalk to raise CA, it also raises Alk. Use a quality calcium additive from your favorite suppliment line (Kent, Seachem, Brightwells, etc.).

 

[jamescook]

Carribsea ARM is the media.
What Ca supplement do you reccommend? I've always just used Kalkwasser. I've used 1 kg of seachem kalkwasser in 3 months

 

[schwaggs]

I personally use Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium since it also has Magnesium and Strontium in proper proportions, and you support the local economy. I also have used Kent Turbo Calcium with good results too.

You should be getting an even Alk and CA from the ARM...

 

[jamescook]

do they raise the ph or buffer like seachem reef buffer does for dkh?

 

[schwaggs]

They don't really impact pH very much. The Seachem claims it has a pH of 8.3 to 8.6 and it will raise pH in the short term but the boost does not last long.

What CA test kit are you using, are you sure it is correct? With the CA reactor and Kalk you have been adding, I'm surprised your CA isn't higher.

 

[jamescook]

Using API test kits. testing 17 drops in the tank and 19 in the effluent. tested 21 drops last week in the effluent before I speeded up the flow.
I'm surprised too. I can't really add any more KAlk than I am w/o blowing out the Ph

 

[weaglereefer]

Might want to get a second set of kits to test against.

 

[cooper9177]

There is a piont where you overdrive the reactor and the numbers will go down. there needs to be some dwell time in the reactor. if you have maxed it out you need to think about a bigger reactor

 

[jamescook]

well i've learned to always get a second opinion. i tested my water at the store and the same test kits tested differently. they say 12 DKH and 380 Ca. my test kits are only 3 months old. who knows which are correct? the tank looks great, so i'll dose calcification for a few days and see if i can get it to 420ca

 

[jamescook]

I just bought new probes and calibration fluids, so it's as right as can be. I have a feeling it will maintain it all if i can ever get the CA up. I was just wondering if a ph or drip rate change would cause higher CA and less DKH output. I was unable to raise the Ca level with Kalwasser w/o too high a PH. The calcium supplement didn't raise the ph at all, so hopefully I'll have it up in a few days.

 

[weaglereefer]

Check here under "troubleshooting" it should be able to help balance everything out.