Alkalinity

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Choseneball

New member
Ive had a saltwater tank for about 2 years. i always test for calc and mag and dose accordingly. but I have absolutely no idea on how to take care of alkalinity levels. any suggestions? what's the difference of the two types of alk?
 
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#theMatrix

Active member
You mean ppm and dkh? Its the same just read diff.


Unless youre asking about dosing...and reffer to 2part and kalk.


Well with kalk you will have most of what you need already to do a drip or ato method. And that will take care of alk and cal. As for 2part you will need extra devices you may not have like dosers. So that adds to the system.
Do you have a controller? This will almost be a necessity with dosing.


And last...with the demand you would look into a reactors. Both cal and kalk.
Have fun reading and learning.
 
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RuNvS

Member
Just to add my 2cents- Kalkwasser should not be used to bring your calcium levels or Alkalinity levels up in your reef tank it is only used to maintain your levels once they are where they need to be. You have to be careful with Kalkwasser though because it will increase your PH substantially in a short amount of time if too much is used.

I use 2 part and bought the powder at BRS its pretty cheap. I don't use dosing pumps or anything I measure my levels once a week and add about 2 cups of Alk and Calcium mix a week. Each system is different and will consume different amounts of Calcium and Alk. Dosing pumps will make it easier on you once they are dialed in but not necessary either.

Good Luck
 
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#theMatrix

Active member
As said above yes. Kalk is used to maintain both alk and cal. Not to increase. Unless its stable and you want to run higher. This should be done in all day spread not at once due to the ph increase.
To raise you want to use baked baking soda or dry soda. And use the brs calc and raise by 1.3 points per day to be safe. Its very accurate.
 
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Choseneball

New member
interesting . i do have a reef keeper elite but it is an older one. i couldn't even figure out how to get the ato to work with a float switch. the directions to set it up is very different.

ive never worried about alkalinity before but inserted adding more corals and started thinking about keeping everything stable, defiantly going to have to start. i believe when I check it two days ago and it was around 4. i wasnt too sure if they was alright. my calc and mag was on point where it should have been at.
 
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RuNvS

Member
Choseneball said:
interesting . i do have a reef keeper elite but it is an older one. i couldn't even figure out how to get the ato to work with a float switch. the directions to set it up is very different.

ive never worried about alkalinity before but inserted adding more corals and started thinking about keeping everything stable, defiantly going to have to start. i believe when I check it two days ago and it was around 4. i wasnt too sure if they was alright. my calc and mag was on point where it should have been at.
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What test kit did you use to measure your Alk and are you saying it is at 4 DKH if so that is very low for corals and should be brought up. You do not want to bring it up too fast though I would say if you are at 4DKH you can bring it to 5DKH in a day and give it a day or so and then add Alk to bring it up to 6DKH etc.... You want to maintain your alk to be at least 7DKH many prefer to keep it in the 8-9DKH range and others prefer 10-11DKh.
 
goatous

goatous

New member
Look up BRS videos dosing 2 part and Kalk. He does a good job explaining what is actually happening in the reef tank and how and why to dose.
Depending on your tank and coral demands, you can sometimes get by on water changes to replenish your alkalinity and Calcium. But if you are trying to grow SPS, dosing is likely a better option.
 
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