Kalkwasser

[Jakepop1]

Hello everyone quick question I purchased a ato today and I'm running kalkwasser in it what is the recommended dose to start at with a mixed reef pretty well stocked and has anyone gotten any good results using it like good growth thanks

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[mpsteve]

I use a kalk stirrer along with my calcium reactor. The kalk stirrer is not part of my ato. I have it setup to turn on for 20 seconds every half hour with my avast marine pump

 

[Jakepop1]

I use a kalk stirrer along with my calcium reactor. The kalk stirrer is not part of my ato. I have it setup to turn on for 20 seconds every half hour with my avast marine pump

Do you think it has contributed to faster growth of your corals

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[gwdemos]

I use kalk in my ATO. All it is is a 55g brute with a koralia that gravity feeds to sump via mechanical float valve. I do about 1/2 cup per 50g but not precise at all. Helpful to keep pH up and compliment Calcium reactor.


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[jah-hoeva]

Hello everyone quick question I purchased a ato today and I'm running kalkwasser in it what is the recommended dose to start at with a mixed reef pretty well stocked and has anyone gotten any good results using it like good growth thanks

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Straight from Bulk Reef Supply: For starting with kalkwasser we recommend 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of Top off water. If the levels are dropping after a while you can boost up to a maximum of 2 teaspoons per gallon.
I'd recommend testing frequently initially to dial in the proper dose for your tank.

 

[IPWitan]

Bear in mind that replenishment via an ato will vary from season to season. If you have room, I would recommend a separate container for kalk and dose it. I make saturated kalk, stir, then don't touch. It isn't sealed... Research suggests it will stay close to saturation without stiring provided the crust on top of the water is not broken. Then I dose about 3/4 of what my evaporation rate is. My ATO fills the rest on an as needed basis. This way you can much more precisely calculate how much alk/ca is going into the tank. If you have a well stocked tank with normalish water evaporation, then kalk in the ATO is probably not enough.

kalk/ dosing two part, calcium reactor...it is just another way to add ca/alk. For what its worth, there are a ton of articles on this topic.

 

[JohnK]

Quick caution to anyone who is new or somewhat new to kalk dosing;

DO plan on cleaning the accumulation that WILL build up in/on any kalk dosing system - as a part of your regular maintenance routine. The kalk absolutely will clog up something, if nothing else it will plug up the end of whatever tube it drips out of. If you don't keep up with this accumulation (of hard calcareous deposits) your dosing/ATO system WILL stop working at some point (and murphy's law will ensure that it happens when you are on vaccation or some other terrible time to have the ATO fail).

 

[jah-hoeva]

it will also cut the lifespan of your top off pump, if that's the route your using to dose it.

 

[JohnK]

I've always had good luck running kalk reactors, and pumping RO water into the reactor (thereby pushing the kalkwasser out) so that the kalk never contacts the pump.

Also peristaltic pumps usually handle kalk just fine (since the kalk never comes in contact with the moving parts)