experience with kalkwasser

[mr_X]

thats great. what type of salt do you use? i use seachem reef crystals and tested a new batch last night noticed the parameters were off. i got ca 480 alk 6.3 dkh and mg 1050 using quality test kits.

Which quality test kits?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I have used kalkwasser for a long time. It certainly stimulates hard coral growth.

 

[navaljonf]

The only way your water changes will lose the battle is if the tank is loaded with giant sps colonies. In that case you will need to supplement. Reasonably stocked reef tanks should be fine with a weekly water change regimen.
I use a different salt each time. My theory is, what one salt lacks, another makes up for. It's been working well so far. Oceanic, Seachem Reef, Reef crystals, Kent, Coralife, Red Sea, Tropic Marin, D&D....

Agreed. Now if the OP wants to move to SPS it might not be a horrible idea.

 

[PrettyFishies]

I have used kalkwasser for a long time. It certainly stimulates hard coral growth.

What's your kalk regiment?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I add about a half gallon of limewater to my 450 gallon system slowly every night.

 

[Dingodan]

The only way your water changes will lose the battle is if the tank is loaded with giant sps colonies. In that case you will need to supplement. Reasonably stocked reef tanks should be fine with a weekly water change regimen.
I use a different salt each time. My theory is, what one salt lacks, another makes up for. It's been working well so far. Oceanic, Seachem Reef, Reef crystals, Kent, Coralife, Red Sea, Tropic Marin, D&D....

wow i only have 3 different salts available at my lfs. i may look into the h2o reef salt. its expensive but may be less expensive then having to add supplements to each fresh batch i make

 

[Dingodan]

so its been a while.. but ive got my parameters up to alk 10 ca 460 and mg 1350. now ill stop supplementing and just do weekly water changes testing the new mixes before i add them. ill test my tank parameters in a month or so and see if this works for me.

 

[mr_X]

What test kits are you using?

 

[Dingodan]

hanna instruments alk, salifert mg, think ca is red sea not sure

 

[Dingodan]

ok so i seem to have a major issue with keeping stable parameters. it has now been 6 weeks since i stopped supplementing and started just doing weekly water changes using h2 ocean salt mix. my alk has dropped from 10dkh to 5 dkh. i am confident in these results. what the hell is going on??? my ph has also dropped to 7.75-8

 

[Gregcoyote]

Test the fresh saltwater once you mix it. Something is crashing the alkalinity.

 

[Dingodan]

i tested a fresh batch a month ago when i started using it and got 9 dkh. product states it should be 10 but pretty close

 

[Dingodan]

ive mentioned this before but could it be my deep sand bed??? i neglected parameters in this tank for about a year no corals died but none thrived

 

[Gregcoyote]

Your tank could be going acidic. Older tanks that build up detritus or dirty sand beds can cause this. Over time clean various parts if the system and sand bed, but do it very slowly as you may release DOCs into the water. Best time to do this siphoning is before a water exchange. Keep up the water exchanges and you could add some baking soda to the new saltwater. Don't ever add much at any one time. Bake the baking soda on a cookie sheet for an hour at 350F. That turns it into sodium carbonate that will add alkalinity and not mess with ph as much. Just a tablespoon for about each 100 gallons. That will help alkalinity and that in turn will help stabilize ph. Add it along with the water exchange or slowly to the sump.

 

[Dingodan]

wow i just read an article on that it makes perfect sense. how much sand do you think i can safely siphon out at a time. its a 3" sand bed in a 25 g tank. but there is 50 gal total water volume

 

[Dingodan]

ill only have this tank for another 6 or 8 until my new one is ready for me to transfer the livestock over. now this raises another big question. do i want another dsb? i read that organic acid is a byproduct of the critters in the sand bed, so is this something that ppl with a dsb need to compensate for? also my tank is old but not that old, 5 years or so. there was a couple years where i rarely did water changes but was dosing (this was my first reef tank so there has been alot of experimentation). it seems the more i learn the more i realize i dont know

 

[Dingodan]

"6 or 8 months"

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

IMHO deep sand beds are more trouble than there worth. I find it easy to clean a section of my sand every other week (about 25% each time, takes 2 months to get to the whole thing) with out causing any spikes. I think it helps me keep my nutrients low, but there's no way I would do this with a DSB because I'd be afraid of what I released.

 

[Dingodan]

doesnt cleaning a sand bed remove the beneficial bacteria and organisms?

 

[Gregcoyote]

I think DSB is more trouble than they are worth. They can trap toxic elements that can nuke your tank if you disturb them. If your going to upgrade, just leave it alone. Disturbing it could cause all sorts of problems.