My PH and dKH have been a little on the low side and I have been looking in to the Two Little Fishies Kalkwasser Stirrer / Reactor as a solution. Right now I have a 75 g total system, mixed reef with not many SPS corals but I plan on adding some Acro later, currently my Ca is around 460-480 so I don't need it for that. I was wondering if i do decide to go with kalk will it add too much Ca to my current system and hurt it? Will kalk raise my PH and dKH or just maintain them? Are there any other benefits my LPS, softies, fish, and inverts my receive from adding it or is it mainly used for an SPS tank? And could I just connect it to my ATO or does it need to be constantly dripped? Thanks
What are you ph/kh readings? I wouldn't worry to much about your ph (which will swing throughout the day) if your ca/kh are within the normal range. Personally I'm using ESV 2 part and couldn't be happier with my readings. Kh=9 and my CA=440 consistently, which is most important. I have only 2 Acros but both are doing wonderfully. Growing good, with great color and polyp extension. I am totally contributing their success to the 2 part
Thanks Miz, I just tested my tank again last night and my kH is at 5 so that's got me worried, my pH is around 8.0 and my Ca has dropped to around 420. I looked in to a 2-part but thats one more thing I have to add to my daily tank chores. Aside from me being lazy I like to keep my daily-to-do list simple; in case I have a tank sitter, I don't want to overwhelm them.(I would be worried that they would just over feed let alone dosing) From what I understand you just have to add kalk powder every so often to the reactor rather than daily.
Either way I need to do something about my kH quick!
I know what you mean about the issues of dosing every day. There have been times where I've missed a day, but saw no ill affects at all. More then a day and well guess we could expect something to go wrong. However since I started using it I've had no swinging with either ca/kh.
Here's my concerns. Your first reading of ca was 460-480 and now you say it's dropped to 420. What is causing this drop? Is your tank loaded with LPS/SPS? What's using it up? Do you test your new water to see what the ca/kh is? (maybe bad salt mix) It's this swing that makes me fear for your corals. Personally I'd start with a 2 part using part 2 only to raise your kh, at least until you get things balanced out. Then go with your initial idea of a Kalkwasser.
Yeah it was 460-480 about 2 weeks ago and 2 days ago it was down to around 420, I think it was because I've add some LPS lately. I got home yesterday and remembered that my wife had won a Seachem 2-part combo from the Zealand frag swap, so that was great. I dosed just the Alk part last night I got my kH to 7 when i tested it this morning, I will add more tonight to get it higher I just didn't want to shock my tank. I wasn't sure if i should does the Cal part because the bottle said keep it around 420. So I will keep dosing to get my levels where they should be then look in to a kalk reactor. Thanks for the Help Miz.
Glad to help Badfish Once you get your alk to where you want it and your ca is where you want it...I'd start dosing equal recommended amounts of both to keep those levels. It will not raise them. I dose 7.5 equal amounts daily and my kh stays at 9 and my ca stays at 440. I have approximately 27g total water volume. Keep us posted on your success