2 part help??

no clue probably nothing

 

So hows the kalk work? Idk if it slowly dropping or stable. But corals are losing some color. I am suspecting low alk. Cal is at 400. Would like it around 450 but eh

 

Kalk can be a real pain until you get it dialed in and that can take awhile. It's not the easy route. Kalk works on Ca and pH, it has an extremely high pH. While alk is a valuing reflecting a solutions ability to maintain a stable pH, kalk is going to raise your pH and Ca. Believe or not the link to Liveaquaria has a straight forward little write up.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=97

It takes a couple weeks to dial in. Member Chris Adams has some nice information in his thread regrading the topic.

 

You will need to monitor your tank daily to see how much your Cal and Alk decline each day. I don't recall exactly but i think 1 tsp of kalk per gallon of water had cal 220 pH 11.5 and an Alk higher than my salifert test could go. Don't quote me on those numbers.

If your ATO is reliable you can add it to the ATO and it will automatically add whenever your water drops. So if you know how much evaporation you have you can calculate it or start on the lower end of the tsp per gallon, such as 1/2 tsp, and add if it is still going down.

I read about 30 different articles before I attempted to use kalk so don't just rush into it if you decide to go this route.

And Cheryl is absolutely correct, it is a pain until you get it dialed in but then it is pretty smooth sailing.

 

Look into the aquavitro line as well. The magnesium, calcium, and alkalinity can be added within minutes of eachother and really simplify dosing.

 

I does the RedSea Reef Foundations and really like it. It's just a little on the pricey side