Prep For Kalk ATO Dosing. My Numbers Tonight.

[ShooterRick]

Because I assume, I have been dosing with Red Sea ABC+ on a weekly basis, my numbers look pretty good I believe without making adjustments prior to implementing Kalk in my ATO.

Tonight: Kh, 12.3 dkh, Mg, 1400 ppm, Ca, 400 ppm. Red Sea ABC+ is dosed based on Ca uptake either daily or weekly.

I am switching to BSR recipe 2 for making adjustments after starting the Kalk in my ATO based on their information. While I purchased their Kalk starter Kit, and it contains the needed Mg, Ca, and Kh, additives to make adjustments prior to kalk, it appears I won't need them at the upstart but it will be good to have on hand to adjust parameters individually which is not possible with the ABC+ supplement alone.

I most likely will finish out the Red Sea product on hand as long as the numbers do not get to out of balance.
Suggestions or insight welcomed.

 

[ShooterRick]

Because I assume, I have been dosing with Red Sea ABC+ on a weekly basis, my numbers look pretty good I believe without making adjustments prior to implementing Kalk in my ATO.

Tonight: Kh, 12.3 dkh, Mg, 1400 ppm, Ca, 400 ppm. Red Sea ABC+ is dosed based on Ca uptake either daily or weekly.

I am switching to BSR recipe 2 for making adjustments after starting the Kalk in my ATO based on their information. While I purchased their Kalk starter Kit, and it contains the needed Mg, Ca, and Kh, additives to make adjustments prior to kalk, it appears I won't need them at the upstart but it will be good to have on hand to adjust parameters individually which is not possible with the ABC+ supplement alone.

I most likely will finish out the Red Sea product on hand as long as the numbers do not get to out of balance.
Suggestions or insight welcomed.

This morning I checked my RO unit and it is reading 1.0 TDS. Time to change the resin filter I think. I decided to go ahead with it regardless and mixed Mg, Ca, Ak, and 10 gal Kalk for beginning my ATO dosing program. I will let the kalk mix set 12 hrs before adding to the ATO. The others will set till tonight before making any needed adjustments to water in the tank. Since I have been dosing with Red Sea foundation elements I do not foresee much adjustment being made but I have it all on hand.
I am confident now the ATO is functioning properly and I will get a 8-10 day run between fills it looks like. Nice!

 

[ShooterRick]

My Math and Plan For Kalk Dosing ATO

My last post to this thread: I believe I have got it covered for now.

My tank is a 72 gal bowfront with 20 gal sump. I would estimate with rock and sand I actually have about 75 gal max, maybe 70. For the last week I have ran kalk made with pickeling lime at 1 teaspoon per gal. Over a 4 days my Kh dropped 1.7 dkh. My ph ranges between 7.83 and 8.01. I would prefer it be closer to 8.2 ph. I understand the kalk should help that also.

I would then expect a daily drop of .425 in kh daily if my math is correct. I also understand pickeling lime is slightly less potent than the kalk I got from BRS according to them anyways but IMO CH is Ch. I also now know I jumped into the kalk sooner than really understanding it as I should and errored on the light side of the mix.

I think that all means using the BRS calculator I need a daily dose of 0.26 gal of fully saturated kalk water daily to maintain current level. I go through about 0.50 gal of top off daily on average. Since I am dropping kh with 1 tsp of kalk per gal would it make since to go to 1.5 tsp per gal in my ATO and keep an eye on it and see were it all settles out at?

I also have my RKL alarm set to 8.35 ph to override the ATO and shut it down if it gets out of hand.