Question For 2 Part Users

[Cliff]

Hey guys I'm trying to figure out a small chemistry problem I am having with my tank. I noticed my corals were not doing that awesome; very little PE on my SPS. I am struggling with having consistency in almost every level. I was changing 40 gallons of water week and I did notice that the corals were very happy but 40 gallons a week it's very expensive even when you're using cheap salt. So I tested my magnesium and as I assumed it was extremely low! way down to 900 actually. I mixed up some Randy homes Farley DIY magnesium mix and now have my mag up to 1250. I still have 100 more to go. I have been doing A lot of reading about kalkawaser (which I m currently using) and since it has no magnesium additive it sounds like it's a common problem to have low mag using Kalk. Also the kalk is not keeping up to the demands of my Monty caps anymore so I am changing to fauna marine method on the advice of Darren from Bigshow. I hooked up my dosers last night and got everything going but it seems like my tank is drawing an unusually high amount of magnesium. 50 mg mag barely keeps my levels stable. So now that I have bored everyone with my long rant; what I'm asking is that you could please post your total water volume; type of tank (sps mixed softy) and what you dose each day of alkalinity calcium and magnesium
Thanks cliff

 

[Kman]

It is because your ALK, MAG and calcium ratios were out of wack. Most reefs don't use that much Mag a week unless things are out of wack then normally you will have issues maintaining one of the before mentioned. What is your PH like? Normally it will be on the low side in cases like this and you will have a hard time maintaining a PH of 8.2 and will hover around 7.8 or lower (even with a DKH of 10) when your ratios are out of wack and have a tendency to keep dropping the PH for no reason.

I am not a fan of cheap salt mixes as the ratios you need are normally spotty at best in these mixes. A good brand will be balanced and allow you to use less product. I recommend getting a better salt mix. You will not need to change 40 gallons a week on your sized system. Once the ratios are in balance and they should be soon with your mag at 1250 you will be able to keep up with your needs. It might take a week for the corals to adjust and build back up their internal stock piles but you should see a difference. Unless you have a crazy heavily stocked SPS tank with large fast growing colonies Kalk will be able to keep up with most peoples needs. (in proper ratio)

To be honest most people unless your tank is heavily stocked don't need a doser. This is going to cause more problems for you unless you get the ratio locked down. Especially since your ratios are out of wack this is a disaster waiting to happen. I would hold on the doser. I use my kalk in my ATO as i get a lot of evaporation a week and this keeps up with my needs. I have a super heavily stocked tank to.

 

[Hong]

I got the idea from Eric to dose kalk in my ATO. It's been working well. Just have to dose Mg.

 

[Cliff]

My ph is 7.5 on my apex but That may b off as I have not calibrated it lately; and I have not tested manually lately either. So u think that Kalk would suffice if I can get my mag stable? My alk was steady at 8 and calcium was steady at 420 forever; prob because low mag was stoping it from being used up? Now that my mag is up my alk and calcium are dropping; dhk 6.5 calcium 350 and dropping even with Kalk in my top off water.

 

[Cliff]

Btw I m using a Kalk reactor that is controlled by my apex it stirs 10 times a day with a 1/2 hr delay till my sto starts up again. This let's the Kalk settle before ato kicks in

 

[Hong]

From what I've read/remember. The kalk is not to be stirred, once it has been mixed. Otherwise it interacts with carbon dioxide and precipitates out rendering it useless.
I thought that with lower levels of Mg, it is harder to maintain higher Ca/Alk. With higher levels it should be easier?.. We wait for Kman's response...

 

[AdInfinitum]

I agree with kman regarding the levels being out of balance causing issues...

Also it is a newer set up so remember that Coraline uses tons of Mg in its structure so as it is blossoming it will use lots until it coats everything and growth levels off.

I am also a huge Kalk fan (us old school guys) automatic balance, easy, cheap... and at this point your level issues are more likely due to imbalance rather than Kalk not supplying enough. However with my 180, when it got totally stable and growth exploded it did hit the point that Kalk wouldn't cut it and I had to transition to 2 part which was a set back as establishing stability was back at square one and dosing requirements were constantly changing as the tank developed....something you don't have to worry about with Kalk.

Don't look at other people's amounts...they are meaningless...even your own system's requirements will change, do some testing to get solid current usage numbers and then use the calculators on BRS or the various company websites...it's really just about calculating current usage and replacing that quantity to get concentrations stable and where they need to be. Anyone else's numbers are irrelevant.

 

[Cliff]

From what I've read/remember. The kalk is not to be stirred, once it has been mixed. Otherwise it interacts with carbon dioxide and precipitates out rendering it useless.
I thought that with lower levels of Mg, it is harder to maintain higher Ca/Alk. With higher levels it should be easier?.. We wait for Kman's response...

My Kalk is in a reactor therefore it is not coming in contact with any oxygen or CO2

 

[Kman]

A good indicator to go by is if you are burning through Mag like that something is wrong with the ratio. You tank should be using up some but it should not be eating it up like that.

I think your first step is get your ratio locked down and wait till you see growth continue before making a switch to another method for calcium. If you still choose to. I find switching when troubleshooting is not always the best option. With what your Mag is now you should be back within the ratio and should start noticing an improvement soon. Like AdInfinitum mentioned don't worry what someone else is using. Figure out what your needs are and keep them within tollerences. I would try using the manufacturer recommended doses or BRS calculator to start. I myself when I don't know my needs start with the manufacturer recommended dose and adjust as needed. Just use their dose and manually add small amount's on top of it daily at the same time. Test before adding the new addition so you can see what it dropped for the day. Try and keep it at the same time each day as it is important as it keeps it constant for the most accurate results.

I also love using Kalk. I find I get the best growth out of my corals, kalk is balanced ALK\Calcium ratio and kalk helps participate P04 out of the water. Kalk will work for you once you have the ratio locked down so be patent. If you can find a good brand of salt and do a few water changes would be the best way to get things under control without making things worse.

Using a kalk reactor is good when you have a high usage rate of alk\calcium as it keeps the water super saturated but if your needs are lower it could be one of the issue that are driving your ratio out of range. Something to think about.

From what I have experienced this is the best flow for calcium dosage as your needs grow that I like to use.

Manually dose, Kalk dose with ATO or drip method, kalk reactor and finally calcium reactor\ Doser. You should only move on to the next option once one is not meeting your needs. If you keep it simple like this you will run into less problems. The calcium reactor\ Doser option should only be used if you have a very high usage rate with large colonies of corals\ aged tank or in the case of a doser you are never around so you are forced to automate. With that being said if you are not around that much people should re think having a reef tank. Because not being able to look at it and enjoy it kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. lol

 

[Kman]

Another thing when you are dosing with kalk are you dosing based on your need for calcium or ALK? You should be basing it on alk not calcium because if not you will mess your ratio up and have to high a calcium typically.

 

[ALowe]

Running an SPS 90 gal water volume system here. ESV B-ionic is all I've ever used an can not complain at all about the product line. In reference to your question, my advice would be to raise your magnesium to a desired range (sounds like 1350) before going too crazy with the dosing of kalk which I have never used and have heard it's not as easy to work with as other products. If your mag is out of wack, alk and cal will precipitate out of your tank as fast as you dump it in. mag acts as the referee between the two particles allowing the corals to consume them in equal parts. Once your mag is where you want it, start getting your cal and alk to their desired range (starting with cal). Google reef calculator and the first link that pops up is a perfect tool to utilize when finding out dosing amounts based on various product lines and water volume. Remember though that once you get all your levels within their wheelhouse, you must constantly test your water and adjust your auto doser accordingly because as corals grow, your consumption of the elements within the tank will go up and subsequently drop your levels. As costly as it is initially to get mag to an ideal figure, Magnesium does not require auto dosing in my personal aquarium and stays fairly stable without outside input for quite a long time. Everyone's systems will be different on cal and alk dosing amounts based on water volume, consumption, and coral species so that figure is useless to go by. Using the reef calculator tool is the best method to figure out your rates. Hope this helps.

 

[Joshbrookkate]

Great info here, everyone! Thanks.....

 

[Cliff]

Ok so my levels are coming along great. since I have invested heavily in dosing I m going that route. Fauna marin has a awesome calculator on what to add to balance levels and I have been using the calculator but have been erring on the conservative side when adding mag calc and alk. I am slowly bringing them up and have noticed a huge difference. Small pe on sps and lps looking way happier. Not perfect yet but I m getting there. Calc is up but alk needs more ( I have read that my alk may b lower because of carbon dosing and lanthanum chloride which I m doing) so I may have to step up my alk dosing here is a pic of my chicken scratched tests