Kalk and Alk Booster mix?

[outdrsyguy1]

Can I mix Kalkwasser and alkalinity booster together? I use Kalk for my ATO and my tank is eating alk like it's going out of style but calc stays pretty solid. Don't really want to fork out the cash to start dosing 2 part so can I mix in an alkalinity booster with my kalk in the ATO?

I have a little reef builder which "increases carbonate alkalinity" in my closet. I'm open to purchasing a different product though as I'm not impressed with it's ability to adjust alkalinity.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[falos]

no you can not mix alk and kalk in the same container the kalk will separate also its russian roulette with 5 rounds in the gun you cause major issues in your tank if alk swings to high to fasthigh co2 will cause alk depletion at realy high rates. is the room the tank is in well ventilated? a simple fan in the room or a cracked window will help also there is a diy on the forum for a co2 scrubber


there is other methods to using kalk for more alk but requires a kalk reactor inline with ato and fans to increase evaporation

 

[outdrsyguy1]

I don't think it's CO2 depletion because I do have an overhead fan in the room and I tend to open the window a lot in the winter to cool off the room. I also tried piping in outside air to my skimmer to see how it affected my PH but it didn't do anything. I feel like my tank uses alk faster than the kalkwasser alk/calk ratio. Thanks for the help.

I think i'm going to work on getting my salinity up a little more before starting some new dosing regimen and see how the tank responds. It's been 1.0235 and i'm up to 1.024 but I want to try 1.0264 (35 ppt i think?).

 

[jmike50]

I run my salinity at 1.027 ppm in my frag tank with no problems and the frags love it. The reason for this level is that they say that this level of salinity is the same as natural seawater around the natural reefs. Maybe give that a try...but DON'T do a sudden increase or you will have problems. Do it GRADUALLY. Good luck.

 

[snowmansnow]

Wait..

do you actually HAVE kalk in your ato container?

if so.. you need to get that stuff out of the top off area.

 

[CoralShop]

i top off with kalk water.. alot of people do

 

[snowmansnow]

yes, but they don't have the kalk IN the top off container.

you need a kalk reactor to run the ATO top off THROUGH

 

[CoralShop]

A lot of people run Kalk directly in the ATO. I have been for a while now. I simply put a line of code in my apex's ato program that says "if PH > 8.50 then off"

You do not</em> need a reactor to safely use an ATO for kalk dosing, there is no real argument to be made. It works, and has been done for a very long time by a lot of people.

 

[snowmansnow]

so you're DRIPPING saturated kalk water into your ATO container? or you're actually putting kalk INTO the ATO container?

 

[CoralShop]

Well, I feel like we've hijacked this thread.
But I am mixing enough kalk to make 5 gallons in a 1 gallon jug, dumping it into my 5 gal top off container, letting it settle and then letting my ATO function as always.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

I'm glad you hijacked it, i need to learn more
That's what I do also renoeb. I add 6 gallons of DI/RO to my garbage pail ATO container, then drop in 6 teaspoons of kalk and stir it pretty good for about a minute or so. Then let it settle for an hour and turn my ATO back on. I have an apex and also have it set to turn off ATO if my ph gets above 8.3.
I use an aqualifter to dose in the ATO so it dribbles a small stream for about 10 seconds at a time every hour or so maybe?
I'm not sure what the harm is in mixing the kalk in the container. I use a big 2 foot tank scraper as a mixing spoon. My ATO tube is set about 1" off the bottom of the container so I don't suck in the precipant.

 

[CoralShop]

I do the same thing, I have been doing it this way for a while now.

On my first tank I used a DIY ATO in a bucket with a koralia moving the water constantly and a pump in the bottom of the bucket (sucking in precipitant i'm sure) and never had any issues this way either, and the tank was set up for a year and a half with SPS, Chalices, etc etc

I'd say you've got nothing to worry about, and this is my experience talking. Not just thoughts.

outdrsyguy1;849295 wrote: I'm glad you hijacked it, i need to learn more
That's what I do also renoeb. I add 6 gallons of DI/RO to my garbage pail ATO container, then drop in 6 teaspoons of kalk and stir it pretty good for about a minute or so. Then let it settle for an hour and turn my ATO back on. I have an apex and also have it set to turn off ATO if my ph gets above 8.3.
I use an aqualifter to dose in the ATO so it dribbles a small stream for about 10 seconds at a time every hour or so maybe?
I'm not sure what the harm is in mixing the kalk in the container. I use a big 2 foot tank scraper as a mixing spoon. My ATO tube is set about 1" off the bottom of the container so I don't suck in the precipant.

 

[snowmansnow]

so how do you know how much kalk to put in so that your alk and ca balance and the levels stay where they need to be?

 

[CoralShop]

testing? how else

 

[snowmansnow]

Good luck .. sounds like a plan

 

[falos]

SnowManSnow;849332 wrote: so how do you know how much kalk to put in so that your alk and ca balance and the levels stay where they need to be?

kalk in the ato continer is fine at 1tsp only time you nead a reactor is if you are running kalk slurry around 4tsp per ltr
the kalk can only be dosed wen evaporation cuts on the ato
depeding on evaporation vs total water volume will gve you basic alk cal increase say a 10gal tank that has 1 gal of evaporation a day tha tank will have higher alk increase using kalk vs a 100 gal tank with 2 gal of evaporation per day the more you have to top up the better kalk will buffer alk
after 100 gal twv though kalk is useless unless evaporation is around 10 gal a day using the normal 1tsp per gal ratieo sayig normal coral stocks no clams or high nitrate levels


if you take that same 100 gal with clams lots of lps kalk even in slurry fashion will not do much for alk as depletion will be at a higher rate then kalk can supply
thats why they make cal reactors


my main dt is 90 gal with 220 in he sump you couldnt fit a nother coral in this tank with out war breaking out i ran out of room to atach sps to the glass overflows return plumbing there is even a monty living on mydrain pipe my daily 2 part with kalk is 12oz brs alk 14 oz brs cal 6oz brs mag and 7tsp kalk dumped in powder form in to the tank along with a kalk reactor on the ato

 

[darrrenjmartin]

my 2 cents,
ahy time I was chasing alk and Ca, check Magnesium

 

[outdrsyguy1]

Mag is 1300 right now which is good I think. I've never supplemented mag, just the weekly water changes seem to keep it somewhat close. I was at 1440 ish about 6 weeks ago and it's slowly drifted down to the 1300 it is now.

 

[darrrenjmartin]

Mg is dropping, hmmmm?
I dont think you need so much kalk in the ato. As long a there is a small precip. your there.
I just use a float valve and gravity. Its hard to get enough evap unless you use a box fan.
I use kalk as a supplement and use another product to very carefully bring in up to top levels as it drops.
clean the kalk res and start new every week till you get things sorted out.
Be a little forgiving on the perfect Ca levels
You cant add any thing to the ato if you use kalk because the idea is to saturate with Ca as much possible, it doesnt leave room for much else, no trace element. iodine ect

its always better to be stable than chase to the top end

 

[outdrsyguy1]

I think everythings pretty stable except the alk. Mag was 1460 and dropped to 1300 over the course of 2 months. Then it's been about 1300 (+/- 20) for the past 6 weeks. Calc has been 390 to 410 for the past 3 months. It's just alk that moves around from 7.3 to 7.8.

Why do you need to clean out the ATO with kalk mix in it every week? I figured the precipitant just stays in that form and you dissolve what you add each week. I tried about .5 tsp per gallon and my calc started dropping. If bringing my salinity from 1.024 to 35 ppt doesn't do the trick, i may have to look into BRS 2 part (at least for alkalinity). I"m not ready to bite the bullet on a reactor yet. No room for it either