Coral Killer- Need Help

[duke62]

Ok if your sure of your parameters your po4 is way to high for such low KH. Low KH you want very low po4. Secondly any KH under 7 your playing roulette on your sps. At 7kh you would want zero po4. Po4 as high as your would def need KH over 9. Get your po4 down to .05 and you can safely keep your sps in the 7 ranges. Remember also sps want stable parameters so if you get your KH in the 7s you will need to keep it there as well as your po4

 

[theMeat]

.02 to .05 po4 is ideal, zero po4 is not. Below 7 kh is bad, below 8 is dangerous in a tank because if it dips much it will be in bad territory. Should shoot for 9-10 to give yourself a lil fluctuation wiggle room up or down. Low kh will also cause ph to be more unstable.

 

[nycfishy]

Ordered a hanna alk tester.
if I am going to add kalk to ATO what's best way to figure our proportions?
also anyway to avoid that white coating that gets on all tubing when using kalk?

 

[brooklynreefers]

are you currently not dosing anything ?
sounds like you are not.

why dont you start by watching some BRS videos and start with a simple dosing system like 2 part. thats is the most forgiving of them all.
and you stuff is dying because your alk is crazy low.

 

[nycfishy]

just dosing a capful of 2 part every 2-3 days

 

[nycfishy]

OK, planning on doing kalk in ATO as a start. Will start after I get my hanna alk meter in a couple of days.

 

[theMeat]

You can start now. Do 2 tablespoons per 5 gal rodi for a few weeks and see if you'll need more or less from there.
Gotta mix kalk, let sit 8 hours or so, then turn on ato. You also want pick up tube an inch or two off the bottom of the bucket so you don't pump the sludge into the tank.
Also want a lid that covers pretty tight but not completely air tight.
As well you want the drop off tube going into sump slightly above water surface so it doesn't start a siphon.
Probably a good idea to watch some vids or have a bud that knows help you set it up.

 

[BKLYNREEF123]

The saturation point is 2 level teaspoons per gallon as per Randy Holmes-Farley.I dont think its right to link other forums but if you do a quick search you will find it :bigeyes2:

nycfishy Be sure to check your alk with another method other than a hanna egg. There have been lots of issues with the reagents. There was a recall of the reagents which happened not that long ago. I would recommend Salifert or RedSea titration kit.

 

[theMeat]

So that's 10 teaspoons, or 4 tablespoons max for 5 gal

 

[BKLYNREEF123]

10 US teaspoons is 3.333 tablespoons. To be thorough the saturation can be increased with the addition of vinegar, but carbon dosing is another ball of wax.. and at this point is strongly discouraged for the OP at this point.

 

[theMeat]

Oops, yeah right. 3 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon

Still plenty for many mixed reefs

 

[brooklynreefers]

why does everyone recommend this fellow reefer to do kalk ?
already seems like he struggling to understand the simple concepts of keeping his chemistry in check.
Kalk done incorrectly is the fastest way to kill your whole reef.
why dont you find a fellow reefer who's tank you want to emulate and see what he is doing and how is he doing it.
or watch the bulkreefsupply 52 week of reefing videos find the part where they talk about reef chemistry.
please do your research first before attempting kalk.
since you are able to keep your CAL and Mag in check with 2 part.
just use more part B to get your ALK up slowly. until you find a solution that fits the way you want to reef.

 

[vincent]

why does everyone recommend this fellow reefer to do kalk ?
Already seems like he struggling to understand the simple concepts of keeping his chemistry in check.
Kalk done incorrectly is the fastest way to kill your whole reef.
Why dont you find a fellow reefer who's tank you want to emulate and see what he is doing and how is he doing it.
Or watch the bulkreefsupply 52 week of reefing videos find the part where they talk about reef chemistry.
Please do your research first before attempting kalk.
Since you are able to keep your cal and mag in check with 2 part.
Just use more part b to get your alk up slowly. Until you find a solution that fits the way you want to reef.

+1

 

[duke62]

I was like why is he using kalk for? I was just about to write the same thing man

 

[theMeat]

Think it's easier to keep things stable with kalk, and certainly cheaper. Plus an auto top off is a good thing too. Maybe you guys missed that brs video?

 

[duke62]

I don't need a video. I learned from experience. Dosing it in your auto top off you will get different dosages day to day depending on evaporation. It is great but the only time I've seen it used was by a reefer who set it on a doser at night with a calcium reactor and he was a experienced hobbyist

 

[theMeat]

Two part or calcium reactors are more expensive, require more time to dial in, i.e. more testing and tweaking. Kalk is hands down the easiest and by far the cheapest way to go. After trying two part for many years, have now been using kalk for many and it is pretty much set and forget. I now check alk and cal maybe every 2-3 months, and aside from an occasional need for an alk boost, it's spot on. Calcium reactors are a good route for very large or multiple tank set ups, or where there is a very high demand for calcium. Two part the pet shoppes just love because it keeps you coming back to spend more on the regular.

Varied dosage day to day because of evaporation, nah. Most environments where tanks are set up don't vary much at all day to day. If there is a lil variation day to day it will balance out np. Season to season sure, so it's easy to adjust how much kalk goes into the ato. 1 scoop instead of two, or whatever.

here ya go, right from brs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSsdxuWY0T8

 

[theMeat]

Oh, and fwiw this is my fav ato system. No moving parts that could, or should i say will get stuck, plus an alarm/shut down for when the water level gets too low, when it gets too hi, and also if the pump has been on too long without adequate water level change.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=hydor+smart+level&tbm=shop

 

[nycfishy]

got a hanna meter and alk is still a bit low so dosed a bit of sodium bicarbonate to try and up it.
Going to start using kalk in the ATO this week at 1 tablespoon/gallon and try easing into it. Also ordered a red sea nitrate kit to get a better number on that.
anyone have any advice on redsea po/no-x, I understand its sort of like carbon dosing for dummies.

 

[theMeat]

Guessing you meant one teaspoon per gallon, or one tablespoon per 5 gallon?
Have no experience with that red sea po/no stuff, but you did say you had your water tested and nitrates where 0, so guessing your po4 is low too, and you don't need it. Carbon dosing can work very well in time, and can also lead to a system crash in no time. Have to start slow, as well as stop slow to do it safely. Since you don't need it, why chance it