How do you maintain your Ca and Alk levels?

T

texreefer

I've been reading quite a bit on different ways to maintain my Calcium and Alkalinity levels, but it seems like there are many many options and they all say that they are the best way. I know that some things cost quite a bit up front but save money in the long run for large tanks (Ca reactor) and others are less expensive in the beginning but may cost more in the long run. I was just wondering what everyone else on the forum uses and their opinions on the subject.

-Please answer the poll with what YOU use (select multiple options if necessary)
-Leave any comments or explanations below
-I have a 40b and have trouble maintaining my Alk levels, so if you have a recommendation, I'd be glad to hear it.

Note: I'd love to see a meeting address this topic!(Specifically the options, the Ca KH Mg chemistry optional)
 
50% water change once a week with nothing but live rock as filtration. But I only have a 12G so that's rather easy for me. Anything else is just prolonging your water change. Someone posts about a major problem and needs help. 70% of the time someone else is suggesting a large water change. I also stopped testing everything except my PPM/TDS over 3 years ago.

Only problems I encounter now are hitch hikers.
 
That's a confusing list with duplication. There are really only 4 solutions, and 2 methods of delivery.

Dosing 2 part covers DIY, baking soda, dry calcium, and calcium liquid solutions. Most use dosers but some just dump it in.
Calcium reactors are stand alone.
Drip and ATO are methods of delivery for kalk.

Water changes can never maintain levels short of 100% changes. Your on a downhill slope that can only fall below the original mix.
 
I'm not trying to be a jerk... but c'mon I'm not looking for a poll critique... Your post, and your confusion, is exactly why I did this. The duplication was intentional.

"Dosing 2 part covers DIY, baking soda, dry calcium, and calcium liquid solutions." -- I realize they CAN BE the same but AREN'T ALWAYS. I was also covering some specificity, whereas you can check DIY, BAKING SODA, AND DRY CALCIUM or DIY, BAKING SODA, AND LIQUID CALCIUM. The poll results would be different, depending on what is checked.

"Most use dosers but some just dump it in." -- The kind of thing I'm trying to find out from each person who responds.

"Drip and ATO are methods of delivery for kalk." -- again... if you specify in the poll... better data is collected.

But thank you again for participating in my poll thread.

Feel free to change your vote, vote again, or clear your vote. I'm just trying to pool a bunch of data, and maybe get some conversation flowing on the subject.
 
What I like about lime water is that once you get calcium and alkalinity where you want them, you can know that it will keep them going up, and down together. So I just test for alkalinity to determine how much to mix, and then drip each night. There is no need to test for calcium, too. The corals use both of them at about exactly the rate that is found in lime water. Also, it is just using 1 product for both parameters, and it is the least expensive that I know of, and it also precipitates phosphates, and raises the pH.

The only time that alkalinity has been hard to maintain for me is when magnesium is low, or when there was not enough water flow where the kalk was dripped, and so, it would not mix in to the water.
 
I add raw baking soda to my manual top off water every day. There for a while, my tank was swinging 2 dkh a day. Partly because my Mag was low and the other part was because I have built up my livestock to where they were just consuming that much. My tank evaporates at about 1.5 gallons per day (120g w/30g sump). I add a heaping teaspoon of baking soday to my top off water and pour it in before I go to bed ( I try to break it up into half in the morning and half at night if I can, but that is not always feasible).

As for Calcium, I used to add liquid buffer once a week, but have switched to powder since it is cheaper.

Once I figure out how to get my ato system set up (I built my stand too short and my sump is too big to have room for an ato resevoir) I will be switching to kalk (Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime :))
 
I use geo calcium reactor and avast Kalk reactor.

Before on current tank I used just the Kalk reactor till my ca and alk need became too much for the Kalk reactor.

I have also done two part in the past.

All three work to get the job done. You just need to fid out what works for you and the type of corals you want to grow
 
I've always used 2-part dosing. First by hand and then I automated with dosing pumps. I buy the two-part stuff from BRS by the 5g bucket full these days and have stuck with it. It is easy to do although I may change my mind and go to something else if consumption goes through the roof as things grow in. Right now I am just shy of 250ml of Ca and 250ml of Alk a day. I do have to keep up with water changes (which I do anyway) as all the 2-part solution going in can raise my salinity over time.
 
Years ago when I had my 29g and later my 55g, I used ESV's B-Ionic. It had what my tank needed and I added it daily. When I set up the 280g, I switched to a calcium reactor and never looked back.
 
I have been dosing Brightwell 2 part and my calcium drops about 5 ppm per day but my kh plummets over .5 per day. I think I need a mg test kit to make sure it is in line. I started this thread because I hadn't checked my alkalinity levels in a couple weeks and when I did earlier this week it was down to about 6.4... My Ca level was over 400 though. I think dosing kalkwasser is in my future.
 
Bottom Line they are all great depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

I think most will agree that Kalk is the best method, in terms of easiness and price, it however cannot provide more additive than the evaporation rate so it can't be a stand alone system in calcium needy tanks. 2 part is very easy and cheap if you use DIY additives, but setting the dosage right can be a bit tricky and/or time consuming. I used 2 part when starting my tank, switched to Kalk until I needed more then did both 2 part and Kalk. A calcium reactor is the most efficient and probably the cheapest when used in large calcium heavy tanks. But the initial startup costs prohibit its economic use in any tank smaller than say a 120 (size is irrelevant but 120 calcium stocked tank would be a good fit for a reactor) The other downside to a calcium reactor is PH, using both kalk and a Ca Reactor help offset each other as the kalk raises the PH.


The only method's I don't recommend are buying LFS supplies, food grade is cheaper and near or better grade (quality) $30 for a 1/4lb of calcium supplement come on!
Salt water changes works fine in low useage tanks only eventually the calcium will only be 1/2 but it would be a very long time to reach that point.
 
I switched to a calcium reactor and never looked back. said:
I've tried all methods at one point or another and Ca reactor is my favorite because it requires the least amount of work or thinking. [smilie=lol.gif]

I have ENC Labs test my water periodically and so occasionally talk to their chemists about various reefy things. One notable comment was that they felt reactors to be the least problematic method of Ca+alk adjustment from a contaminant stand point.
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