Kalk vs 2-Part - Which would you reccomend?

[xilez]

Title says it all.. I'd like to being either 2 part doing (manually) or Kalkwasser in the ATO. I've calculated that I lose about .2 dkH of Alk a day (hanna checker)

Here are my general concerns/comments with both.

<u>Kalk</u>
In general, I feel like the amount my ATO tops off is very sporadic throughout the day, I couldn't tell you how much it tops off a day because every day is different with a lot of variables (was it colder/hotter inside and outside, was no one home all day, was one of us home all day, etc...) A 5 gallon just last me about 2 weeks give or take.

I use a normal 5gal water jug for ATO, will I have a lot of precipitation? I have a Smart Micro ATO - will kalkwasser potentially harm the life span of the pump? I know I would need to start real small dose and see how it work.

Will water changes mess with the amount of kalk I need? Sometimes I do a 30% water change every week, sometimes I only do 20% every 2 weeks...

<u>2-Part</u>

I would prefer manual dosing, as I dont quite have the space for pumps yet. If I ever automate to an Apex I will figure out dosing pumps. To me, I dont mind doing a dose on my way out the door to work each morning. On the weekends though, if I am late on a dose or miss a dose, would it be a big deal?

Which would you recommend? Thanks!

 

[bcavalli]

I cant speak about Kalk. But, I really enjoyed using 2 part with a Jaebo doser and had no problems keeping my parameters in check. Well as long as I periodically tested. If you manually dose it's always best to keep it consistent. But, with your low consumption you should be ok every other day.

Whether you dose or use Kalk you need to figure out your water change schedule and stick to it (I did a 15% water change every 10 days). With Reef Crystals Alk (out of the box) is generally 11dKh and I had to take that in to account with dosing to keep it balanced. Basically I slightly underdosed every day and the water change brought it back up to 8.75 dKh.

 

[seand]

I will preface my comment by saying I'm fairly new. I ran Kalk and my alk ran up to 11 and burned most of my coral. Manual dosing allows me to keep a closer eye on everything. I also run biopellets so it's much more sensitive according to the veterans. I find the little but if money spent on test refills outweigh the price to replace coral.

 

[outdrsyguy1]

I tried make up water with kalk and it's too squirrely due to humidity in your house. You'll evaporate a ton in winter and little in summer, and then there's the humid days in spring/fall or even winter right now lol that will change make up water quantity. Stability for sps means you'll need to add the same amount of kalk each day. If you want to calculate the minimum evaporation and set that as your daily additive and then make up with RO/DI that would be your best option.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the need for Kalk (aka calcium bicarbonate I think) in the need for calcium to properly bind in the water column.

 

[ralph atl]

I always ran two part,and I never had issues...

 

[xilez]

How do you guys go about calculating tank water volume?

For example, tank is 12gallion, sump holds up to 6ish gallons.. sump has a skimmer and 2 heaters, display has rock and sand... Should I say its about 15gal total volume? If im off by a gallon or 2, could it have a negative impact when I calculate how much I should be dosing?

 

[bulkrate]

I'd guestimate your actual water volume as about 2/3 of whatever the "up to the rim" figure that your tank's manufacturers give you and then use that in any dosing calculators of relevance. Then test the testables and see by what % they agree.

Target a small but easily measurable change first, and you should be OK.

For example, I have a 9 gallon cube, no sump or HOB fuge. I use 6 gallons as my actual volume. Most adjustments I've run have been spot on using common dosing products. (aquavitro line, mostly)

 

[xilez]

Solid thanks! I just placed an order for BRS 2 part, going to start off with manual dosing and then eventually move to automation (probably sooner than later knowing this hobby)

Going to with 13 gallons as my water volume for the start

 

[snowmansnow]

If your kalk reactor is large enough it WILL keep up with your demand... provided you aren't getting EXPLOSIVE growth. The kalk will only saturate the water column INSIDE the reactor, and then push that water into your sump as your ATO dictates.
IMO Kalk is a very good way to add balanced ca and alk to your tank. If your evap water doesn't come in fast enough you might still need to dose 2 part, or even upgrade to a CA Reactor.

There are also other benefits to kalk. It binds phosphates to precipitate out among other things.

Now, some run ca reactor AND kalk. The reason being is that the kalk will raise the PH of the water that the CO2 in the CaRX has lowered. But thats another story.

B

 

[schwaggs]

SnowManSnow;1106177 wrote: If your kalk reactor is large enough it WILL keep up with your demand... provided you aren't getting EXPLOSIVE growth

.... and have significant evaporation. If you don't you will need to supplement with water changes, 2 part or CA reactor.

Also, I have found that alk drops faster than CA when using only kalk. I have to supplement alk between water changes.

I'm going back to running a CA reactor AND kalk. I've never had a problem keeping alk and CA balanced when running a CA reactor.

 

[xilez]

Quick question with dosing 2 part...

I was planning on just dosing both on my way to work each morning... is this ok? I figure I should dose 1, wait 5 mins, dose the other...does it matter which one I do first (Ca vs Alk)?

I was also thinking about doing Alk in the morning, and Ca in the evening, the issues is that my nightly dose would prob be different because of work/gym etc. If I was off on my nightly Ca dose by a couple of hours, would it matter?

 

[Adam]

Doing the Alk in the evening will help with PH drops over night.