One thing to keep in mind is that kalk only maintains your levels. You need to have your levels where you want them before dosing with kalk. Baking soda will raise your Alk. I would also recommend you have good quality test kits on both Alk, Calcium, and pH. I use Saliferts for both my Alk and Calcium. Worth every penny in my opinion. I have a pH monitor but I am sure Salifert's pH kit is a good one too.