Help needed with maintaining Alk/ Cal levels in Biocube 29

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by Astrick117, Sep 10, 2014.

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  1. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    Hey Everyone,

    I have a Biocube 29g Reef tank that I have tried to build to be as simple as possible to maintain. I retrofitted LEDs into the hood, have a Tunze 9002, JBJ ATO, Intank media basket with filter floss, Chemipure Elite, and Purigen and also run a GFO reactor, just because I had it sitting around. AKA- it might be overkill, but I rarely have to do anything to the tank other than bi-weekly water changes.

    Unfortunately, I just tested my water last night because I saw some receding tissue on my Duncan, though everything else looks fine. My test showed my alkalinity and Cal were very low- Alk at 5.3 and Cal at 330. I do bi-weekly 5 gallon water changes with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, but clearly that isn't maintaining my levels properly.

    Does anyone have a simple solution that can help maintain the Cal and Alk without having to dose manually or buy a dosing pump ($$$)? I've seen many people use Kalkwasser, but I haven't found anything that makes it very simple to understand/ implement.

    Thanks,

    Aaron
     
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  3. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    I use BRS alk and cal you can purchase a gallon each mix it up as needed and for me it works real well
     
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  4. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    Do you add it to your top off water or by hand each day? I'm really looking for a simple solution that is fairly automated.
     
  5. proreefer

    proreefer Feather Star

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    yes its simple as you can get, they have a calculator that tells you how much to add to bring it up to what you want and how fast you can bring it up without harm just go to there sight and look,you can add it as needed by hand that's what I do
     
  6. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    I think I am going to try to get my levels to the right spot by adding cal/ alk supplements and then start adding kalkwasser to my ATO for maintenance purposes. I was able to find some info on it and looks like that is my best bet. I just need to make sure I figure out my evaporation rate and calcium/ alk usage rate of my tank and then mix in the kalkwasser at that rate. I just don't like the idea of having to dose each day.
     
  7. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

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    Bi weekly WC's. HOw much are you changing?

    I would think that a 29 would be just fine on WC's alone- I dunno
     
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  9. Billme

    Billme Eyelash Blennie

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    I like the idea of kalk, but using it in ato will vary the input due to varying evap rates. I'd suggest a drip or dosing pump.
     
  10. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    5 gallons/ change. I have no idea how it got so low, unless I somehow swapped bags of reef crystals and instant ocean salt (that I had for my FOWLR).

    As for the ATO, I mostly plan to use about a teaspoon per gallon of RODI. That way it isn't a ton and if it fluctuates a little it won't be a huge deal, but it will also help prevent it from falling as much between water changes.
     
  11. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Is that a current image in your avatar? The coralline is probably taking up a lot of the ca/alk....Automated dosing pumps would be your very best option, I used ESV manual dosing but it got to be a big pain as colonies got large and manual dosing is prone to significant swings in nanos.

    http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/esv-b-ionic-calcium-buffer-system-1.html#
     
  12. Astrick117

    Astrick117 Stylophora

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    That was about a year ago. Since then a lot of the coraline has disappeared- I guess it is likely due to such low alkalinity...

    The problem I have with dosing pumps is that all of the ones I've seen are pretty expensive- anyone know of one that is a bit cheaper but still reliable?