Dripping Kalk for the first time

The alkalinity seems to have been dropping. From what I've been reading buffer is sometimes needed to maintain alkalinity when dripping Kalk. I added 1/2 tsp of superbuffer-dkh twice yesterday in order to maintain dkh.
The salinity is a little low as well. I am topping off with a little saltwater to bring the salinity back up slowly. I'm using Reef Crystals for the salt mix.
Day 5:
Calc 460
dkh in between 10 and 11
ph 8.0

 

I've always had trouble with alkalinity. Keeping it level anyway. Kalk does add both Ca and Alk. But I'm thinking if my Alk was sorta low to begin with, it's not effective at buffering it any higher.

Perhaps in your case it's adding more Ca then Alk, hence lowering your KH.

 

well seems like you're making some progress; levels seem to be pretty good right now for what you listed

 

I think I may have an explanation for why the alkalinity drops but the calcium remains high. Here is a paragraph that describes why alkalinity seems to drop while calcium remains high.

From Calcium and alkalinity by Randy Holmes
"One of the interesting features of seawater is that there is a lot more calcium than there is alkalinity. By this I mean that if all of the calcium in seawater (410 ppm; 10.25 meq/L) were to be precipitated as calcium carbonate, it would use up a total alkalinity of 20.5 meq/L. In a less drastic scenario, let's say that calcium carbonate is formed from tank water starting with an alkalinity of 3 meq/L and that it is allowed to drop to 2 meq/L. How much has the calcium declined? It is surprising for many people to learn that the calcium would only drop by 20 ppm. Consequently, many aquarists observe that their calcium levels are relatively stable, but alkalinity can vary substantially. This is exactly what one would expect based on the fact that the tank already has an abundance of calcium."

Since I have been dripping a 1/2 strength kalwasser solution at a very slow rate. I've been replacing a small amount of calcium witch is enough to keep the calcium level up. Only a small amount of alkalinity is added. Not enough to keep it maintained. It makes it seem as though calcium remains high while alkalinity drops.

 

I'm wondering if I should increase the kalkwasser dose in order to maintain alkalinity and a higher ph. Will a small increase in kalkwasser drip raise calcium significantly?

 

Yes, you should increase the dose but make sure you continue to drip slowly. I do about one drip per second.

You should also remember that things that are creating skeletons can use Calcium, Srontium, and Magnesium interchangeably. However, the other component of calcification, alkalinity, doesn't have 2 other stand-ins like Calcium does so it will often drop faster.

 

I've been dripping at about 5 sec intervals. I'll keep the same strength kalkwasser, but increase drop rate to 2-3 sec intervals.
Day 6:
Calc 460
dkh between 10 and 11
ph 8.0

I didn't know that Calcium could be interchanged in that way. Is the Strontium and Magnesium being used to make Calcium Carbonate in place of Calcium?

 

Inwall made a good point that I was unaware of. Good to know.

Increasing your drip rate is definitely a safe way to go about it. If that doesn't meet your expectations then you could increase your Kalk concentration up to 2 tsp. per gallon of R.O.- the saturation point of the mixture. Any more would just not be dissolved. You can increase concentration further with vinegar use, but I'm not practiced with that method Nor do I have a necessity for it atm.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Since this is new to me I wanted to be slow and safe. Also give myself a good bit of room to work with the dosing amounts.

I've read a bit on using vinegar. I'm a little iffy on using something that could leave behind fuel for algae. Especially since I'm not even close to saturation. If demand exceeds saturated kalkwasser I'll probably start using 2 part dosing pumps.

 

You're being cautious, which is a very good thing. However, you aren't going to drive your Calcium up to dangerous levels by using the normal strength dosage. There are only a couple of ways to mess up with Kalkwasser;'

1) Drip too fast
2) Drip into a low flow area of your tank
3) Accidentally get the slurry into your drip line
4) Drip before the slurry has fully settled