*Dosing Kalkwasser??*

[xxnonamexx]

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I was talking to The Owner at my LPS that has been in the business for over 30 years and I asked him about dosing. He showed me his setup and explained how to do it let me know what you think about this concept. First he siad it doesn't matter the size of tank you have, Second it is a big dosing tank that he has but said that it should be set at 1 drop every 3 seconds into the sump in the Wet/Dry filter. He said doesn't matter size tank but that is the right speed to do it. He only doses Kalkwasser. He said by that set up you cannot OD once it is set it is like set it and forget it. I asked him about testing Ca. and Alk. he said you don't have to b/c it will be fine and you can't ruin your tank with this process. What does everyone think about this?? Thanks

[MarineFlake]

He's full of it. There is no set and forget when dripping kalk. There are however kalk reactors (I do not use one) which may come closer to set and forget technology, however you should *always* check params if not especially alk and ca. Over dosing kalk as others here can attest, Im sure, can cause problems and potentially be fatal for your fishiz. Do some reading..Tons of info on the internet about dosing kalk. I use it on my 75G and it does good things when dialed in proper...

GL!

[xxnonamexx]

I have read alot online but still am scared and get confused I have a 55gal. 260Watt CoralLife Power Compact, 3 1W Lunar Lights, Live sand 4in DSB, 75lbs. Live Rock, 2 Cinnamon Clownfish, Firefish, Magenta Dottyback, snails, crabs, Feather Duster, Sabae Purple Tipped Anenome, 1 White Leather Coral, Red Sun polyp, assorted polyps, 2 Assorted Color Plate Corals, Pipe Organ, Frogspawn, Fox Coral, Flat Brain, Finger Leather, Mushrooms, Green Star Polyps, 2 8" Maxima Clams, Wet/Dry filter, Protein Skimmer, Heater, I have the Liquid Plankton and also frozen plankton and brine shrimp for food. How to get it properly to drip correctly. Also when it does drip correctly would I still need to make any adjustments? I just get nervous about OD. Kent makes a REEF starter kit with Calcium I dunno about it though.

[fishfreek]

At first when you start dosing the kalk you need to monitor your PH, ALK and Calcium levels to establish your tanks intake of calcium as compaired to your dosing of kalk. Increase your dosage/drip frequency to match your evaporation rate as well as your calcium intake. Each tank will have a different calcium intake dependant upon your coraline algae and corals.

After a few weeks of testing you should have fairly balanced dosing method and you wont need to test near as frequently.

I would start out with 1tsp of kalk to 1 gal of water. Shake it up good and let sit for 24 hours and then dose the clear liquid. Leave the white sluge at the bottom of yoru dosing container. Adjust the kalk amount to fit your calcium uptake if the 1tsp per gal is not enough.

[xxnonamexx]

Thanks for the help. The white sludge should stay at the bottom correct if I use a dosing unit like Kents correct? Also How can I figure out the correct evaporation as of now it loses about 1 gallon a week roughly. I just want to get it so I don't OD I would rather under dose ya know until I get it settled. Ehen you say to adjust it what readings for Cal and Alk are good? Thanks alot I appreciate it.

[fishfreek]

Your only losing a gal a week in evaporation? I go thru that in less than a day on both my tanks.

[xxnonamexx]

Well like today I filled it with a gallon b/c the filter was pushing out air. Now it is fine. That is why I am trying to understand how to do this correctly.