Juiceman Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'm getting into more SPS in my tank and wanting to maintain the alkalinity, Calcium, and PH in my reef. I haven't had a major drop when I was here, but a recent vacation where I lost a few dew to a Temp and ALK swing has me thinking about dosing more regularly, even in my absence. I've been looking at the Bulk Reef Supply mixes for Alkalinity, Calcium, and MG And also looking at Kalk I'm not sure which to go with. I already have an auto-top off system for my reef, so the Kalk seems like the easier and cheaper way to go. If I go the individual route, I will have to purchase items/pumps to make that work. My question is which do you guys use and why did you pick one over the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Tagging along on this. From what I've read Kalk is fine until you start outpacing your Calcium/Alk depletion and have to start worrying about pH since Kalk can really do a number on it if overdosed. Another thing to consider if you use Kalk in conjunction with your ATO your Alk/Calc will have "dips" throughout the day where calcium and alkalinity gets used but doesn't get replenished frequently (only when your ATO kicks on). Dosers on the other hand can keep your parameters more stable (assuming you control the dosers with timers or an controller) But I am by no means an expert on the matter, I've just been reading up on it trying to decide what I want to do once I move to a larger tank. I'm going to start with Kalk (as you said, easier) and if need be move to dosers at a later date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I dose BRS Soda Ash for Alkalinity and Seachem's Reef Complete for Calcium & Magnesium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Do you use a doser/auto top off, or manually dose? I've been manually, but more worried about when i'm not around to do so. I dose BRS Soda Ash for Alkalinity and Seachem's Reef Complete for Calcium & Magnesium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 BRS dosers connected to an Apex controller. I just left my tank unattended for 19 days and came back to find no problems. Alk is between 8-9 and Calcium is between 400-420. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 I was gone for 9 days, alk went from 11 to 7, and temp went from 78 to 84. I got the temp problem fixed. Dosers sound good, just expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wryknow Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 (edited) I recommend using kalk at first, unless you want to drop the $$$$ on a CO2 based reactor. It's a fairly simple and complete supplement and can be done very low-tech (i.e. cheap) by just mixing it with your top off water and then toping off the tank regularly. (I prefer to just run my top off water through a kalk-reactor.) That's all you need unless you have very heavy coral population. If you can't keep uo with kalk then you can add some 2 part. I ran the kalk reactor plus 2 part for a year or so and got crazy growth, but that much calcium means frequent pump cleaning! The most complete, low maintenance fix is the CO2 system, but that's not risk free: if you don't have a high quality system with a good monitor it can overdose the tank and kill it very quickly. Edited July 28, 2011 by Wryknow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Budget way: You can buy three Tom aqua lifter (12.00 each) one for KH, MG and CAL and put them on timers. One for KH,CAL and one for MG. Set them on 15min timers and adjust the drip rate w/ a connector. The timers can come on twice or three times a day to keep your level constant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 That's awesome Long. I was looking into the Tom's aqualifter as a cheap alternative since currently I dose the BRS 2-part for CA/Alk and then also BRS Mg manually. What a pain... add on it vokda (until my ecobak solid carbon dosing pellets kick in) and I'm pretty much a slave to my tank right now. Going the route of automation as soon as I can... but gotta recover from my vacation a bit first. -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Just buy the BRS calcium,mg and soda ash plus the aqualifter and the timers - you are set. I have mostly SPS in tank. My system dose from 5 gallon jugs. I just came back from NYC 10 day vacation with ZERO sps death (very happy about this) :D I lost a black clown but he probably got his axx kit by the other three clown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Yeah, that's exactly what I have is the BRS Ca, Mg, and soda ash (all bulk) and I mix up jugs of that stuff. I was still looking up dosers and was about to take the dive on the Tom's aqualifters and now your post put me over. I'm jumping all in. I know someone might chime in that it is not as precise as the dosing pumps but for me there is an acceptable range with the trace elements. Add to it that I still test weekly to biweekly and you have a system in place in case of a variance over time due to the slight inaccuracy of the pumps. I'll put up with that for $80 dollars cheaper than BRS' dosing pumps. Thanks Long. -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Yeah, that's exactly what I have is the BRS Ca, Mg, and soda ash (all bulk) and I mix up jugs of that stuff. I was still looking up dosers and was about to take the dive on the Tom's aqualifters and now your post put me over. I'm jumping all in. I know someone might chime in that it is not as precise as the dosing pumps but for me there is an acceptable range with the trace elements. Add to it that I still test weekly to biweekly and you have a system in place in case of a variance over time due to the slight inaccuracy of the pumps. I'll put up with that for $80 dollars cheaper than BRS' dosing pumps. Thanks Long. -Ty Report back on it once you get going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I'll hopefully have it running towards the end of August and report how it's working. I'm still working on calculating my depletion rate for Ca, Alk, and Mg and setting up my solid carbon dosing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I always start off with aragamite and if it doesn't keep up I'd go with calcium reactor. It sounds like kalkwasser would be a lot cheaper for you though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 (edited) That's what I was looking at, doing the tom pumps, using brs and timer dosing for alk, cal, and mg. Rather than the kalk. I just didn't want to have to pay 90+ for the normal dosing pumps. Looking foward to the brs group order coming up Edited July 29, 2011 by Juiceman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 We'll I have it all hooked up and dosing small amounts of both alk and calc 5 times durng the night. I have already seen a difference in sps growth. And its only been 4 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bimmerzs Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Sounds good...just make sure that the aqualifters and hoses are situated so that there is no way to get a siphon going. Cheers, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Aqualifter pumps are a cool, the thing with them is this.... They need to be in line as a pusher and not a puller. They need to be pushing water into an air tight chamber forcing a saturated effluent out, otherwise the the pump will fail. A pre filter like a good floss helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Go figure, I get my two Tom's aqualifters and bulk sized portions of the Ca, Alk, and Mg solution from BRS, and then I come across a cheap calcium reactor. The reactor needs a little love before I set it up but I think in about a month, I'm going to be posting the items above for sale and just running the Ca reactor. I'm still doing my research on Ca reactors, but that should cover me for Ca, alk, and Mg levels, right? -Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 so this is just my opinion: I have had a PM reactor with effluent chamber now for 4 yrs, the only thing i have changed on it is the impeller on the pump and media. I used a M1200 to feed it and it has been trouble free. Yes you have to but a PH controller,probe,needle valve,and CO2 bottle but there are things a reactor puts back into the water that are natural that dosing cant. JMO. PM CR422 with a EF1 is what i have. There local and are realy nice to deal with. Maybe this will help you make a decision. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.