Need help with kalk please

Is this because you can't safely add enough kalk to raise levels by any substantial amount?
Not disagreeing here btw, just trying to understand.
What abt my Mg, does kalk drop mag or can I have that much of a Mg demand?
Do you dose Mg on you tank?

 

The amount of kalk needed to raise the Calc & Alk levels would probably raise the ph.

Kalk is also limited by evaporation and saturation. You can only add as much saturated kalkwasser as there is tank water evaporating.

Mag demand tends to be slow compared to Calc & Alk. I rarely dose mag.

I'm not sure if low Calc or Alk can effect Mag readings.

 

Magnesium should not drop noticeably, unless there is a lot of abiotic precipitation. This can sometimes occur in new tanks, if new sand and rocks are added, for example. Mg test kits don't seem to be that accurate either. I recently was using a Red Sea kit and it seemed to vary by about +/- 200ppm between readings. So, as long as you didn't try dosing the mg at the same time as the kalk, I'd guess testing error on that one.

Also, you'll want to get the alk and ca up quickly if you plan to keep any hard corals. They won't do well at those numbers. Some soft corals may even have issues at those numbers. You'll probably need to raise your ca and alk with another method though, such as 2-part. From there you can maintain the levels with kalk.

 

You don't want to raise your levels of calcium or alkalinity by dosing kalk... it's also only good for maintaining levels when you don't have a high consumption rate... if you maintain a lot of SPS corals, clams, etc, you may need additional supplementation like a calcium reactor or dosing two part.

Refer to this calculator to figure how much you will need to dose of what product to raise to the desired levels:

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Note that there are products in the selection that you can use other than "two part" such as baking soda for alkalinity and Anhydrous CaCl2 or Calcium Chloride Dihydrate, the latter of which are commercially available de-icing products.

Since you cannot get two-part, it may benefit you to find another source for your needs.

Also, BRS, Bulk Aquarium Supplies - Reef Aquarium Supplies | BulkReefSupply.com may be able to ship to you for your 2 part needs, and since you can buy in bulk from them, it may not be cost-prohibitive if they will ship to you.

 

Oh yes, sorry, forgot you couldn't get 2-part easily. Any calcium and alk supplement will do. There are a lot of separate calcium and alkalinity supplements. Also there are some diy supplements. I don't think you will need a lot. Just enough to get your levels up. Once you do that, you probably won't need any, unless you have a LPS or SPS dominated system, or a tom of coralline algae. In these cases, kalk may not be sufficient alone.

 

I spoke to the LFS guy and he said he will be bringing in two part with his next shipment, so until then I will continue to drip kalk and do some big water changes to try to bring my parameters up a bit.
I am also thinking of switching from IO to CL salt for some elevated Ca and Mg.
I think the Mg could have been an error, but I used a salifert kit, which is pretty easy to use. I do have a lot of coralline though, not that many hard corals yet. Hopefully the water changes will help this anyway.
Definitely no de-icing products available here, people might look at me like I'm crazy if I ask for it. lol
Thanks for all the help everyone, I really appreciate it. k+

 

You could just order two part dry elements online and mix it yourself to save buying a pre-mixed version (you're buying water). It's a lot more economical. I won't mention where to buy it, so I don't step on any sponsor's toes. But a quick Google search should yield the top few results for ya.

 

Thanks. I'll look into that. Might just need a little of whatever i use though, just to get the levels up, then I'll maintain them with kalk.

 

How about pool supplies? "All-Clear calcium chloride for pools is repackaged Dowflake."

It costs about a third of something you'd get at a LFS anyway.

 

Wow thanks. I did not know that. I will call around to see if I can find it.