best way to figure out usage of calc/alk?

[Skeptic9962]

what i did with calc. is got it tested friday the 4th and it was sitting at 450 a little higher then desired so i figured i would let it drop on its own on friday the 11th i got it tested at BR and it was 400 so i figured in 1 week my consumption rate is 50ppm of calc...i know this is probably not the best way to do it due to SPS are very sensitive. so is there a more stable way of figuring out alk?

 

[returnofsid]

I've read where it's recommended to test every day for 3 days, without dosing anything at all. Then you take your total drop in Ca and Alk, divide it by 3 to get an average. Now, this should match your daily drop if testing every day. If so, you have at least a stable drop instead of an erratic thing. This will help you determine if your tank is balanced as well. Then this will give you a daily amount of Kalk to drip over night, each night.

 

[DonW]

I think your better off just buying your own test kits and keeping a journal. Once you have a journal over a few weeks you will have it figured out. Its going to change (go up) fairly rapidly so being able to chart it out makes life much easier.

Don

 

[Skeptic9962]

yeah this weekend i bought a elos calc. test kit the only reason i had BR test it was mine ran out and i was kinda putting buying it off for awhile lol...allright yeah so what do most people do? dose everyday? or just like twice a week?

 

[returnofsid]

I test and dose once a week and use Pickling Lime to mix up Kalk water for top off. Unfortunately I don't use kalk water for ALL of my top off. Each week, when I test, I do find that my Alk is a lil' low and I need to dose. I'd imagine if I used Kalk water for all of my top off, I wouldn't need to dose Alk as often or as much.

 

[Snowboarda42]

I figured my daily usage out by testing, adding enough Ca and Alk to bring it to where I wanted it, tested again to make sure it was there, and tested again the next day at the same time. I did it again and again for about a week, testing 14 times total in one week and got my daily usage.

 

[DonW]

yeah this weekend i bought a elos calc. test kit the only reason i had BR test it was mine ran out and i was kinda putting buying it off for awhile lol...allright yeah so what do most people do? dose everyday? or just like twice a week?

Depends on the tank and how much consumption there is. If your tank is small and only needs small additions weekly then thats fine. If the additions are large you will need to dose more often to avoid precip and parameter swings. Allot of precip and work cleaning pumps can be avoided by dosing daily in very small amounts.

Don

 

[OldFishMan]

Hello;

I find it useful to test as Snowboarda42 does. Everyday at the same time while determining dosage, as CA and Alk can and does come from other sources in the tank. So, you only use 50-ppm a week --- that is a very small usage as I use 3-dkh and 60-ppm a day --- not that the coral, coralline, or heater uses it all --- it is just what is takes.

My pump impellers are all clean, I have no Calcium Carbonate or caking of my substrate --- just a little deposit on my heater. Goes somewhere.

AP test kits are cheap --- the KH test kit reads dkh directly and is accurate --- the CA test kit is within 10-ppm according to my shaky, poor eyesight, comparison with my old Seachem test kit.

I would use these --- I do, I test for Calcium and Magnesium once a week and ALK a little more often --- you only need to be close or in the middle -- 7-11 dkh and 360-450 ppm CA. Just stay in the middle I always say.

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"It has to be right, I read it somewhere!"

"OFM"


Enjoy!

OFM

 

[packer]

Dont forget as your corals grow, so will the demand and usage of Ca/Alk. So to figure daily dosing will only be at that level for a short while. Also CA or Alk out of a set balance will affect the other, so in a nutshell...test and dose according to the test results. Overall you will get a feel for about what it takes to maintain your levels, but so much can affect a swing that it would be unwise to simply run X amount of test results and then just dose a set amount on a routine basis.