Just an idea for those who do not want to invest into a costly continuous dosing pump: Buy a regular one and dose a set amount, for instance 20ml, into a 50ml syringe without (a needle and plunger) positioned above the aquarium water line. Hook an IV dripper to the end and adjust the dripping rate so that the next time pump doses the set amount- syringe is empty. Or do it without a doser! Position container above the aquarium, connect IV dripper to it and let the gravity do the work.
I’m so glad you re-shot this one! It’s a really great intro to kalk dosing. I’ve been on AFR for little over a year and armed with this new information I’m excited to make the switch. Thanks for the great content Alex! 🤓👍
When you have the shot down of the frag portion of the video, minute 3:37 to 3:48…the big orange disc in the corner? I must, must, MUST own one. If you can tell me not only the species, but the color name as well you can make me a VERY happy old lady. When I ever make it to your side of the world I quay need a visit as well as tour guide, lol. Thanks for all your info
The bottom left corner? That's a scoly. Couldn't tell you the name though - it's the only scoly that colour I've ever seen. Although looking back at that clip, it's a bit over exposed so it's not quite as bright as that in real life.
Ive been using Kalk in my ATO FOR 3 years. Start off with a weak solution at first upping the concentration as needed. Seems to work well. SPS and LPS mixed reef is happy. I also use 2 part dozing
Been using Kalk for all of my make up water since about 2002 and the results have been awesome. Mrs Wages Pickling Lime from the canning section at the store is the same thing, just cheaper. In my experience its best to add it to the tank at night when the lights are off. I use a 2 liter jug (I have smaller tanks these days) with a small thru hull valve and drip it like an IV into my tank. This keeps the Ph level much more stable and keeps the Alk and Ca at about max desirable levels. Its been my best kept secret to a thriving SPS tank.
I just started reefing not long ago. Since using Kalk my Alk, Calcium, and pH are pretty stable. I run a 3 gallon only so I manually top off and dose atm trying to learn as much as possible.
Just ordered a pump and kalkwasser. Ive struggled so much with ph its insane. I got an apex after trying a budget nano and its chalked full of coral as time went by. I noticed slow growth and super brittled calcification. The apex showed me a 7.49 low and 7.75 high ph. Since then ive ran my skimmer outside, increase my 2 part dosing to maintain higher alk, air stone, and refugium and now im maintaining 7.65 low and 7.8-7.9 ph high. Im looking forward to learning this slowly and then pushing it to maintain that 8.2 and see just how much more growth I get!
Great video Alex and definitely learnt alot for sure, I'm definitely going to go the kalkwasser way, my only issue is water evaporation is different daily and also at different times of the yr, ie summer and winter months, that's when the evaporation fluctuates,
Calcium hydroxide was a pain to deal with. My PH wouldn’t stay very high, maybe 12.2. I switched to sodium hydroxide and it is WAY better. Not only is it a solid consistent 12.4 (in the kalk container), I no longer have to stir the solution. It also has the benefit of not lowering my salinity. In fact it slightly raises salinity. So I just use my AWC to remove a gallon or two a day and then replace it with ATO. This is a huge shift in strategy. Huge. Alkalinity has been king for a very long time. “Don’t chase PH” they said. I foresee the biggest shift in reefkeeping strategy since the invention of the Berlin method. My tank PH stabilized around 8.8 or 8.9. I keep it pegged there and no longer pay attention to alkalinity.
Tell me about it. I’m more of an advanced reefer. I’ve had my issues with kalk, seized mp40s, return pumps, overdosing. I did try sodium hydroxide, however it never gave me the ph boost like kalk. Any idea why? Are you using it in power format?
Great video! I'm new here, what I did so far for my 2 months tank is to do water change :D, I'll plan to dose Kalkwasser as you guided. Can you please also cover magnesium dosing topic? e.g how do we combine Kalkwassar dosing with Magnesium dosing?
@@ReefDorkI’m looking at the DD P1STP and doesn’t look like they come with those adaptors and I am wondering if I can use that dosing pump with John guest tubing
Great video - but it has confused my plans I thought I had my head wrapped round. I was going to get a DnD P4 pro and dose for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium and just have a spare one incase I ever find I need to dose for something else. But now I'm thinking I just need two lines, one going to a kalkwasser solution and one going to a magnesium product. Is that right? Also, confused because I thought you needed some sort of reactor for kalk, not just a container with a solution connected to a dosing pump? Thanks for any help
Thanks for the great guide! One thing I am wondering as novice reefer, is kalkwassers lack of Mg a relevant problem? Should one be supplementing Mg if only dosing kalk?
Mag uptake is generally very low but it is something you'll need to keep an eye on. I only check a few times a year and I rely on ICP tests for that...
Question for you Alex, if the ocean is an average of 8.3 24/7 why dose during the day when it's usually at night when the pH drops the most ? Another brilliant video , all your time and effort making these videos I'm highly appreciated by us all 🙌
I actually dose over night which reduces the pH swing. I'll talk about it more in the next video - imo it's an unnecessary layer of complexity for someone new to kalk but absolutely worth doing as a next step.
Do you have anymore info of where you bought your containers from and did you need to put in a second hole to stop a air vacum. Thanks for the great videos you put out, always have great info and east to understand, this helped change my plan to use kalk on my tank. Just finalising everything before the change. Cheers again 👍
What did you use for the tube inside the jug? I have tried to use RO tubing but it curls badly. Great video as always! Thanks for making these as I always learn something new.
I been having a mix reef tank and I just use regular water changes once a week haven't ever dosed or tried anthing but I been wanting too just sacred ill mess stuff up but wondering if this would help my corals grow quicker
I have what may be a stupid question, but here goes....if you are using your ATO to add kalk, how do you figure out the dosing when your evaporation rate changes based on the season (I live in Canada and summer vs winter evaporation is quite different). Or is this the situation where using a stirrer is more appropriate?
One of the problems with using kalk in your ATO is that you have no control over the amount you dose - it's one of the things that makes it a bad idea.
What are your thoughts on: Sea Lab number 28 ?? Is that something that is along the lines as this, as it replenishes and controls the levels of, you guessed it, “28 elements and all 15 essential trace elements”.
excellent video Alex, I have been using a co2 scrubber to my skimmer intake to boost ph in my tank should I continue to use this if I try using Kalk ? thanks
Thanks for this video really needed this one waiting on the “everything you need to kno about kalkwasser” now. I have been struggling trying to get my kalkwasser down pack I been trying to get my Kamoer x1 pro to do a continuous dose but I couldn’t so I put kalk in my ato and it’s keeping my alk between 9-10 and ph between 8.5-9. What do you recommend me doing?
Alex, what about the magnesium? Do you hace to dose it acordingly with the amount of Ca? I was thinking in having a go with kalk and I was waiting for this video 😁
Have I missed something here? Do you use this and add to your auto top up rodi water? I only have an E170 and have a 25 litre container in the cabinet for auto top off could I add to this?
I’m new to the hobby, tanks 3 months old, I have one coral in there lol. My PH is 7.6 and I’m thinking about using kalk. Reactor, stirrer or container with dosing pump? Versa would be the best pump? What’s a cheaper alternative to a $300 Canadian pump lol. CO2 scrubber is another option, thoughts?
I'd double check that reading - new tanks without lots of fish tend to have much higher pH readings than that. But if you only have one coral, kalkwasser isn't suitable as it'll raise your alk too much
Good video. And I can attest the Kalk with all-for- reef is a fantastic combo. I've been using Brightwell Kalk+2 (added Mg & Sr) with Tropic Marin's one-part for some time now. It makes for a fantastic and simple way to maintain tank chemistry.
@@chazhenrich1432 Personally I use Red Sea's Coral Pro. It's starts with elevated Alk and a number of critical minerals. I just try to maintain 10-11+ Alk after that, and don't worry about traces between water changes. However, I don't give advice. I'm just noting what works for me.
Hi Alex. Verry good Video. Can you explain in a Video, how you dose Kalkwasser whit the Essentials +? Are you dosing lower Calcium whit the Kalkwasser? In Switzerland we dont dose Kalkwasser whit ATI Essentials +. How are you doing it? Regards Sean
I mix 1 gallon to 1 tsp I put in my little tiny containers they're probably 500 mL with covered lid with a air hose in the back but they are closed I use it at night let it drip I turn it off in the morning when I go to work how long can I leave that fluid in those containers
I have had good results with kalk but I just ordered some all 4 reef powder and I got 80 bucks worth between them both and that will last me yrs i suspect for my 100 gal system. have not noticed any great change with all four reef yet but only been a couple weeks so idk.
I wouldn’t recommend to solely relay on Kalkwasser. It’s missing the traceelements and it’s a bit harder to dial in perfect. I would combine it with a 2 part, Calcium reactor or a single solution like Ready2reef
Hey, can I light a 60 inch reef tank with a reefbreeders photon v2 plus 48 inch one? Or will I need the 50 inch one? I’ll mount it about 15-18 inches high. I want to start with one as I will get lps and then one more when I get more sps corals. What do you think?
Could I use this over night to settle out my ph swing, I'm currently using reef zlements this keeps everything pretty stable apart from my ph, low of 8.13 ish up to a high of 8.4. Thanks 👍🏻
I dripped kalkwasser 24/7 my tank looks pretty good never had a problem I do use a pH monitor constantly my pH peeks out about. 8.2. In the later afternoon you can drip 24/7 as long as you monitor your pH never had a problem . KALKWASSER. I like the best. It's cheap it lasts a long time one container it's much cheaper than two part I'm kind of old school kalkwasser is tried and proven Peter Wilkins who developed the stuff according to what I have read it's good stuff benefits protein skimmer maintains your alkalinity and calcium and keeps your pH somewhat elevated all good things for your reef tank. I have a 12 L container hook to a drip pump and always another container ready to exchange I like kalkwasser the best 👌 one container will go a long way
Very informative video Alex. I have been dosing Kalkwasser for around 6 months now and corals are growing like weeds. I use D-D P1-STP to dose 1.4ml per minute (system volume is roughly 250L and that's taking care of all the evaporation so my auto top-off has taken down now), but I still have to does ATI essentials plus 55ml x 2 to keep up the Alkalinity. Btw what do you think about reeflowers enriched kalkwasser? I bought one few days ago but still haven't started using it and wondering is it worth the extra money.
I tried it but didn't like it - it leaves a weird watery grey liquid at the bottom of the container instead of the pure white sludge and I read Randy Holmes-Farley calling it bs www.reef2reef.com/threads/enriched-kalkwasser.927167/#post-10448730
Hey great video, just subscribed. I’ve in a bit of a predicament with wanting to start using kalk. The problem is that I have a fluval flex marine which literally never loses any evaporation because of the lid, I’ve had the tank running for 3.5 months and I’ve never topped it up with RODI water. I just do 20% saltwater changes once a week and check salinity once a week and it’s always bang on 1.025. How would I go about dosing kalk when there’s no evaporation to replace? Cheers bud, gonna binge some of your videos haha.
@@ReefDorkah ok, that’s a shame. Nonetheless cheers for the quick reply, much appreciated. Think I may give All For Reef a try, am I right in thinking I can just add that directly to my tank regardless of the nonexistent evaporation? Cheers.
@@ReefDorkok cool, just ordered some All For Reef now so looking forward to getting that dialled in. Keep up the good work bud, and thanks for all the help. Cheers, and have a good Christmas 👍
As my tank is fowlr right now but struggle to keep the ph above 7.8 would you recommend using kalk or not as theres no coral to uptake the alk and calcium or would i end up as i suspect with ok ph but elevated alk/calcium, i will be adding coral but certainly not until my tank is more established. Thank you
No, you should only use kalkwasser if you need to increase your alkalinity and calcium. And your fish won't care about your pH level so you're all set 🙂
Hi Alex, How do you manage your trace elements whilst dosing kalkwasser? do you dose them using other products or water changes are enough to replenish them? My tank currently sits at around 8.1-8.3 kh and would ideally want it to be around 8.3 most of the time(Its currenlty 8.15 most of the time). Do you think its worth the hassle of dosing kalkwasser to get that slight increase and more stable ph of kh 8.3? Is there a noticable difference?
Watch this at 22:35 ua-cam.com/users/liveqgeOCC0mRS8?feature=share Kalkwasser isn't a hassle compared to dosing but 8.1 is a good low level of pH anyway
I had that problem but that's because I had my doser set to turn on at 8.3 and off at 8.32 , I was then having salinity issues . Lowered it down to 8.26 on and started using a small amount of zlements ph plus at night to help combat the low pH dip
@@ReefDork When I checked a calculator it seemed to suggest to replace the 1dkh I consume a day on a 270l tank, I'd need to dose almost 2.5 litres of saturated kalk compared to 200ml of Seachem reef buffer and 200ml of Seachem reef adv calcium. 2.5l is a lot of kalk!!! Not sure my evaporation is that each day. I'm considering moving to Zlements as even the 400ml total of Seachem 2 part is a lot. I'm quite surprised your tank isn't consuming more alkalinity.
are you saying even if ur tank is not that demanding for element that dosing kalkwasser would still be a good idea? as my tank isnt too demanding i rarely have to do anything, but kalk seems like it could benefit me so would dosing it in a less demanding tank be a good idea?
So if I have understood correctly, I will keep my 2 part ATI+ dosing + add 1 ml/litre aquarium. If the alkalinity raise i decrease my 2 part dosing by 10%? Then I would start with 290 ml at night from 8pm to 14pm. you dose ati 24 times a day? Thx for help! Greetings from GER :)
Kalk in the ATO is a bad idea - evaporation fluctuates so you have no control over how much you dose and it'll mess up your pump over time. But apart from that, yes!
Short answer, no but it depends. I'm about to make a video talking through how I dose it on all my tanks, including what else I do and don't - subscribe to Reef Dork Xtra and I'll upload it in the next couple of weeks.
@@ReefDork already subscribed. I currently dose a two part which obviously contains alk, calc and mag plus all trace elements so I was curious how Kalk could cover these other elements. Have you done may ICPs since using it?
Great video! If I decide to buy calcium hydroxide from a chemical company, which degree of purity should I aim to? Anothet doubt: what about trace elements?
@@ReefDork hi just come across your channel,.. Very good .. Re Dosing kalk, only have softies at the moment, would it still be beneficial to dose with this Thanks
I dose 4litre kalkwasser every night reeffactory Dosing pump 24x167ml. When i start Dosing 9 moths ago my kh keeps tropping and i did dose more kalkwasser. My pumps jammed in the precipitate. Then I tested Calsium and it were salifer ca test more 500
so if all of my levels are within a good range dosing with this anyways could help my coral grow better/faster? My Tank: 25gal. 1 x Hammer, 1 plate coral, 2 x little zoas, waving hand ant, cabbage leather, some hermit crabs, a couple of snails, 1 x blue damsel and 2 x clown. everything is still pretty tiny except the plate (2.5 in dia) and leather (3.5 in dia). thanks
Alex I’ve been waiting for this one! Awesome video! Thank you! What about magnesium when dosing kalk and no all for reef? Guess I’ll have to start monitoring mag more rigorously?
Has anyone set this up with the pH Controller / Regulator with Automatic dosing pump 1,5L/h Milwaukee (MC720)? Seems like a good idea as you can stop dripping should your ph spike for whatever reason
I am just going through the ugly phase with my waterbox frag tank, eventually when I transfer all my wildlife from my water box cube I shall be seriously thinking about doing the Kalkwaser thang. Oh yes, were do you get those great containers from please?
I started dosing the other day and saw a difference in the tank within 24 hours. After a couple of days I got the pH up to 8.1 and today 8.3 The corals have just been happier. Even the pure softies like Xenia are looking more full and happy.
Here's my long-term review of kalkwasser - ua-cam.com/video/L-9d5pPnIk4/v-deo.html
Just an idea for those who do not want to invest into a costly continuous dosing pump:
Buy a regular one and dose a set amount, for instance 20ml, into a 50ml syringe without (a needle and plunger) positioned above the aquarium water line. Hook an IV dripper to the end and adjust the dripping rate so that the next time pump doses the set amount- syringe is empty.
Or do it without a doser! Position container above the aquarium, connect IV dripper to it and let the gravity do the work.
Can you make more videos like your one last week? One of your best 👍
Very true, we also need more streams with that handsome guest
that ryan guy is a bit controversial though😉
The most informative, simple and easy to digest kalk video on UA-cam 🙌🏾
He is amazing!
I’m so glad you re-shot this one! It’s a really great intro to kalk dosing. I’ve been on AFR for little over a year and armed with this new information I’m excited to make the switch. Thanks for the great content Alex! 🤓👍
Hoping your next video goes more in depth on how much you can add per day with evaporation. That just goes over my head.
I’ve been watching your videos for a few years now. I have found them very helpful. Happy Christmas from Ireland.
When you have the shot down of the frag portion of the video, minute 3:37 to 3:48…the big orange disc in the corner? I must, must, MUST own one. If you can tell me not only the species, but the color name as well you can make me a VERY happy old lady. When I ever make it to your side of the world I quay need a visit as well as tour guide, lol. Thanks for all your info
The bottom left corner? That's a scoly. Couldn't tell you the name though - it's the only scoly that colour I've ever seen. Although looking back at that clip, it's a bit over exposed so it's not quite as bright as that in real life.
This was an excellent beginner video that explained how to use kalkwasser.
Looking forward to the next kalc update Alex 👍🏴😃
Ive been using Kalk in my ATO FOR 3 years. Start off with a weak solution at first upping the concentration as needed. Seems to work well. SPS and LPS mixed reef is happy. I also use 2 part dozing
One worry would be if for some reason your skimmer started overflowing. Your auto top up would then kick on to replace the overflowing. Skimmate…..
Great Vid Reef Dork! 😃I’ve been down your kalkwasser road👍🏻
Been using Kalk for all of my make up water since about 2002 and the results have been awesome. Mrs Wages Pickling Lime from the canning section at the store is the same thing, just cheaper. In my experience its best to add it to the tank at night when the lights are off. I use a 2 liter jug (I have smaller tanks these days) with a small thru hull valve and drip it like an IV into my tank. This keeps the Ph level much more stable and keeps the Alk and Ca at about max desirable levels. Its been my best kept secret to a thriving SPS tank.
Can a water change. With kalk. Be a good idea. 2.5 gallons. Water changes.
I just started reefing not long ago. Since using Kalk my Alk, Calcium, and pH are pretty stable. I run a 3 gallon only so I manually top off and dose atm trying to learn as much as possible.
Great video! I've been enjoying kalkwasser for a few months now, as well as dosing to pH instead of alkalinity. It's so simple and effective!
No one gonna talk about Alex's marital aid?🤣 Great vdeo mate
Using kalk for all top off water and All for Reef 8.5 ml a day. Getting good color and growth.
Just ordered a pump and kalkwasser. Ive struggled so much with ph its insane. I got an apex after trying a budget nano and its chalked full of coral as time went by. I noticed slow growth and super brittled calcification. The apex showed me a 7.49 low and 7.75 high ph. Since then ive ran my skimmer outside, increase my 2 part dosing to maintain higher alk, air stone, and refugium and now im maintaining 7.65 low and 7.8-7.9 ph high. Im looking forward to learning this slowly and then pushing it to maintain that 8.2 and see just how much more growth I get!
“Budget” was a joke. It started that way haha it did not end up budget at all
What kind of fish is that at 8:53 - almost dead center? Love the video. Was dosing in my ato but this makes more sense as it just isn't consistent.
It's a Naoko wrasse
DO U EVEN REEF BRO!!! 😂👍 got me some belly laughs on that.... great information , thanks for all the help understanding Kalk much better
Your videos are fantastic mate, thanks for making them.
Beautifully made video. Was just considering dosing kalk and this asnswered every question I had 👏👏
Great video as always
Thank you for the videos brother you are the man!
Which fish is the one @8:50 ? Not the foxface (rabbitfish), but the one with the yellow stripe and rounded dorsal and pectoral fins
Naoko wrasse
Guess I need to sale all my bags of soda ash and calcium powder. Thanks for make it easy to learn how to dose Kalkwasser
Great video thanks! Just ordered a kalk reactor, my 2 part is too hard to keep each parameter stable. Looking forward to it!
Great video Alex!😊
Another excellent vid Alex!
does anyone know the name of the fish at 8:51 the yellow and blue wrasse looking one in the upper middle of the tank
Naoko wrasse
Unbelievably informative!!!
Great video Alex and definitely learnt alot for sure, I'm definitely going to go the kalkwasser way, my only issue is water evaporation is different daily and also at different times of the yr, ie summer and winter months, that's when the evaporation fluctuates,
Yeah, i've just set mine to dose a bit less than the daily minimum (3.2L) so that doesn't matter. Max evap in the summer is just over 4L.
Calcium hydroxide was a pain to deal with. My PH wouldn’t stay very high, maybe 12.2. I switched to sodium hydroxide and it is WAY better. Not only is it a solid consistent 12.4 (in the kalk container), I no longer have to stir the solution. It also has the benefit of not lowering my salinity. In fact it slightly raises salinity. So I just use my AWC to remove a gallon or two a day and then replace it with ATO.
This is a huge shift in strategy. Huge. Alkalinity has been king for a very long time. “Don’t chase PH” they said. I foresee the biggest shift in reefkeeping strategy since the invention of the Berlin method.
My tank PH stabilized around 8.8 or 8.9. I keep it pegged there and no longer pay attention to alkalinity.
I like this idea because salt creep can lower salinity. While sodium hydroxide may help compensate for this phenomenon.
@@joshuavild6999 makes it a lot easier because you can peg salinity as well as PH.
Tell me about it. I’m more of an advanced reefer. I’ve had my issues with kalk, seized mp40s, return pumps, overdosing. I did try sodium hydroxide, however it never gave me the ph boost like kalk. Any idea why? Are you using it in power format?
Great video! I'm new here, what I did so far for my 2 months tank is to do water change :D, I'll plan to dose Kalkwasser as you guided. Can you please also cover magnesium dosing topic? e.g how do we combine Kalkwassar dosing with Magnesium dosing?
Love white crack… makes my corals glow! Good video… using stirrer with a cheap kamoer pump. 👍
I don’t like kalkwasser dosing personally, but what another great video for beginner kalk dosing reefers :) well done dork
Alex great video as always thank you! I have a question, how do you connect the John Guest tubing to the dosing pump which uses PVC flexible tubing?
I use adapters that come with the ecotech versa
@@ReefDorkI’m looking at the DD P1STP and doesn’t look like they come with those adaptors and I am wondering if I can use that dosing pump with John guest tubing
Great videos
Where did u get the square water containers
Tanks Direct
Great video - but it has confused my plans I thought I had my head wrapped round. I was going to get a DnD P4 pro and dose for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium and just have a spare one incase I ever find I need to dose for something else. But now I'm thinking I just need two lines, one going to a kalkwasser solution and one going to a magnesium product. Is that right? Also, confused because I thought you needed some sort of reactor for kalk, not just a container with a solution connected to a dosing pump?
Thanks for any help
Ive finnalty took the plung to dosing kalkwasser, equipment ordered Ecotech Versa and Calcium hydroxid from APC, wish me luck :D
Good man! Make sure you report back 🙂
@@ReefDork I will do! Your videos has inspired me man :D
Thanks for the great guide! One thing I am wondering as novice reefer, is kalkwassers lack of Mg a relevant problem? Should one be supplementing Mg if only dosing kalk?
If it’s low, dose it. If it’s not, don’t.
Mag uptake is generally very low but it is something you'll need to keep an eye on. I only check a few times a year and I rely on ICP tests for that...
How do you keep the RO line from touching the bottom of the tank? Did you add an attachment at the bottom?
Question for you Alex, if the ocean is an average of 8.3 24/7 why dose during the day when it's usually at night when the pH drops the most ?
Another brilliant video , all your time and effort making these videos I'm highly appreciated by us all 🙌
I actually dose over night which reduces the pH swing. I'll talk about it more in the next video - imo it's an unnecessary layer of complexity for someone new to kalk but absolutely worth doing as a next step.
@@ReefDork kalkwasser is amazing, completely transformed my tank 🙌
Do you have anymore info of where you bought your containers from and did you need to put in a second hole to stop a air vacum.
Thanks for the great videos you put out, always have great info and east to understand, this helped change my plan to use kalk on my tank. Just finalising everything before the change.
Cheers again 👍
Tanksdirect.co.uk. I did put a hole in on the first one but on the 2nd, I just removed the rubber ring on the lid so it doesn't form an airtight seal.
@@ReefDork did you buy the specific dosing tanks they supply or just one of their std water tanks. There's a big difference in price
Your videos about kalkwasser were exactly what i needed. How a long kalkwasser solution can stay in container ( 2 weeks ,1 months or longer) ?
A month at least in my experience
What did you use for the tube inside the jug? I have tried to use RO tubing but it curls badly. Great video as always! Thanks for making these as I always learn something new.
Ro tubing but I left it in boiling water with a bbq skewer in the middle of it to straighten it out before I fitted it
@@ReefDork Thanks, I'll give that a shot!
JESSE! WE NEED TO ADD THE KALKWASSER!
I been having a mix reef tank and I just use regular water changes once a week haven't ever dosed or tried anthing but I been wanting too just sacred ill mess stuff up but wondering if this would help my corals grow quicker
I have what may be a stupid question, but here goes....if you are using your ATO to add kalk, how do you figure out the dosing when your evaporation rate changes based on the season (I live in Canada and summer vs winter evaporation is quite different). Or is this the situation where using a stirrer is more appropriate?
One of the problems with using kalk in your ATO is that you have no control over the amount you dose - it's one of the things that makes it a bad idea.
@ReefDork okay. Thank you so much for responding! I think I will go with a stirrer so I can control things
What are your thoughts on: Sea Lab number 28 ?? Is that something that is along the lines as this, as it replenishes and controls the levels of, you guessed it, “28 elements and all 15 essential trace elements”.
Honestly? It looks like total and utter bollocks! I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.
excellent video Alex, I have been using a co2 scrubber to my skimmer intake to boost ph in my tank should I continue to use this if I try using Kalk ? thanks
You probably won't need to. I hate scrubbers personally - expensive and need changing too often!
Thanks for this video really needed this one waiting on the “everything you need to kno about kalkwasser” now. I have been struggling trying to get my kalkwasser down pack I been trying to get my Kamoer x1 pro to do a continuous dose but I couldn’t so I put kalk in my ato and it’s keeping my alk between 9-10 and ph between 8.5-9. What do you recommend me doing?
Alex, what about the magnesium? Do you hace to dose it acordingly with the amount of Ca? I was thinking in having a go with kalk and I was waiting for this video 😁
I don't add anything at the moment on my 2nd tank, but I rely on the dosing solutions for it on my main tank
Have I missed something here? Do you use this and add to your auto top up rodi water? I only have an E170 and have a 25 litre container in the cabinet for auto top off could I add to this?
Yes you can dose it from the container
Great video, Thank you
I’m new to the hobby, tanks 3 months old, I have one coral in there lol. My PH is 7.6 and I’m thinking about using kalk. Reactor, stirrer or container with dosing pump? Versa would be the best pump? What’s a cheaper alternative to a $300 Canadian pump lol. CO2 scrubber is another option, thoughts?
I'd double check that reading - new tanks without lots of fish tend to have much higher pH readings than that. But if you only have one coral, kalkwasser isn't suitable as it'll raise your alk too much
Good video.
And I can attest the Kalk with all-for- reef is a fantastic combo.
I've been using Brightwell Kalk+2 (added Mg & Sr) with Tropic Marin's one-part for some time now. It makes for a fantastic and simple way to maintain tank chemistry.
What salt are you using
@@chazhenrich1432 Personally I use Red Sea's Coral Pro. It's starts with elevated Alk and a number of critical minerals. I just try to maintain 10-11+ Alk after that, and don't worry about traces between water changes. However, I don't give advice. I'm just noting what works for me.
Hi Alex. Verry good Video. Can you explain in a Video, how you dose Kalkwasser whit the Essentials +? Are you dosing lower Calcium whit the Kalkwasser? In Switzerland we dont dose Kalkwasser whit ATI Essentials +. How are you doing it? Regards Sean
I just dose Ati essentials in equal measure as you normally would over a 24 hour period
Hattest du es bereits probiert? Bin gerade am durchrechnen :P
Have you ever tried a liquified puritan reactor? Apparently it’s a good substitute for a protein skimmer.
No, never heard of it...
I mix 1 gallon to 1 tsp I put in my little tiny containers they're probably 500 mL with covered lid with a air hose in the back but they are closed I use it at night let it drip I turn it off in the morning when I go to work how long can I leave that fluid in those containers
I have had good results with kalk but I just ordered some all 4 reef powder and I got 80 bucks worth between them both and that will last me yrs i suspect for my 100 gal system. have not noticed any great change with all four reef yet but only been a couple weeks so idk.
Thanks for the video!
where did you buy the water container from??? the air-tight container to hold the mixed Kalk.
Tanksdirect.co.uk
I wouldn’t recommend to solely relay on Kalkwasser. It’s missing the traceelements and it’s a bit harder to dial in perfect. I would combine it with a 2 part, Calcium reactor or a single solution like Ready2reef
or triton core 7 for example
Hey, can I light a 60 inch reef tank with a reefbreeders photon v2 plus 48 inch one? Or will I need the 50 inch one? I’ll mount it about 15-18 inches high. I want to start with one as I will get lps and then one more when I get more sps corals. What do you think?
Great video Alex, I'm curious can you use a kalk stirrer just on your ato? And would this be as effective 🤔
Yep
Where can I get some of those dosing containers
Could I use this over night to settle out my ph swing, I'm currently using reef zlements this keeps everything pretty stable apart from my ph, low of 8.13 ish up to a high of 8.4. Thanks 👍🏻
Yes, as long as you reduce your alkalinity dosing of course.
Do you still dose magnesium? If so how often?
I dripped kalkwasser 24/7 my tank looks pretty good never had a problem I do use a pH monitor constantly my pH peeks out about. 8.2. In the later afternoon you can drip 24/7 as long as you monitor your pH never had a problem . KALKWASSER. I like the best. It's cheap it lasts a long time one container it's much cheaper than two part I'm kind of old school kalkwasser is tried and proven Peter Wilkins who developed the stuff according to what I have read it's good stuff benefits protein skimmer maintains your alkalinity and calcium and keeps your pH somewhat elevated all good things for your reef tank. I have a 12 L container hook to a drip pump and always another container ready to exchange I like kalkwasser the best 👌 one container will go a long way
Very informative video Alex. I have been dosing Kalkwasser for around 6 months now and corals are growing like weeds. I use D-D P1-STP to dose 1.4ml per minute (system volume is roughly 250L and that's taking care of all the evaporation so my auto top-off has taken down now), but I still have to does ATI essentials plus 55ml x 2 to keep up the Alkalinity.
Btw what do you think about reeflowers enriched kalkwasser? I bought one few days ago but still haven't started using it and wondering is it worth the extra money.
I tried it but didn't like it - it leaves a weird watery grey liquid at the bottom of the container instead of the pure white sludge and I read Randy Holmes-Farley calling it bs www.reef2reef.com/threads/enriched-kalkwasser.927167/#post-10448730
Great video now that Ur dosing kalkwasser I assume ur kalkwasser reactor is back on e bay?
Sold it months ago...
Hey great video, just subscribed. I’ve in a bit of a predicament with wanting to start using kalk. The problem is that I have a fluval flex marine which literally never loses any evaporation because of the lid, I’ve had the tank running for 3.5 months and I’ve never topped it up with RODI water. I just do 20% saltwater changes once a week and check salinity once a week and it’s always bang on 1.025. How would I go about dosing kalk when there’s no evaporation to replace? Cheers bud, gonna binge some of your videos haha.
You can't I'm afraid, no evaporation = no kalkwasser
@@ReefDorkah ok, that’s a shame. Nonetheless cheers for the quick reply, much appreciated. Think I may give All For Reef a try, am I right in thinking I can just add that directly to my tank regardless of the nonexistent evaporation? Cheers.
@@loadedgullloadedgull2991 yep, that's right
@@ReefDorkok cool, just ordered some All For Reef now so looking forward to getting that dialled in. Keep up the good work bud, and thanks for all the help. Cheers, and have a good Christmas 👍
As my tank is fowlr right now but struggle to keep the ph above 7.8 would you recommend using kalk or not as theres no coral to uptake the alk and calcium or would i end up as i suspect with ok ph but elevated alk/calcium, i will be adding coral but certainly not until my tank is more established. Thank you
No, you should only use kalkwasser if you need to increase your alkalinity and calcium. And your fish won't care about your pH level so you're all set 🙂
@@ReefDork cheers, appreciate the quick reply on a sunday morning
Hi Alex,
How do you manage your trace elements whilst dosing kalkwasser? do you dose them using other products or water changes are enough to replenish them?
My tank currently sits at around 8.1-8.3 kh and would ideally want it to be around 8.3 most of the time(Its currenlty 8.15 most of the time). Do you think its worth the hassle of dosing kalkwasser to get that slight increase and more stable ph of kh 8.3? Is there a noticable difference?
Watch this at 22:35 ua-cam.com/users/liveqgeOCC0mRS8?feature=share
Kalkwasser isn't a hassle compared to dosing but 8.1 is a good low level of pH anyway
Great video. As always Alex. Is the utter chaos frag in the water box for sale😜
Massive isn't it?! Kind of yes, but I haven't listed it yet so kind of no!
@@ReefDork it’s a stunner. I’d definitely be very interested. I’m local to you anyways. Where do you list your stuff for sale?
Wondering what's the round top fin fish swimming in 8:55 just below the foxface! It looks so special!
Naoko wrasse
@@ReefDork thanks
How come you didn't continue to use the kalk stirrer seen in previous videos?
I got it 2nd hand but it didn't work so I got rid of it. Got a brand new one arriving this week coincidentally
Hi is there any more updates on the fluval sea evo
Coming soon...
Do you think there's a risk of the kalk solution that must be dosed exceeding the daily evaporation? This is something I worry could happen.
I had that problem but that's because I had my doser set to turn on at 8.3 and off at 8.32 , I was then having salinity issues . Lowered it down to 8.26 on and started using a small amount of zlements ph plus at night to help combat the low pH dip
Not if you know what your evaporation is but water level checks will sort that.
@@ReefDork When I checked a calculator it seemed to suggest to replace the 1dkh I consume a day on a 270l tank, I'd need to dose almost 2.5 litres of saturated kalk compared to 200ml of Seachem reef buffer and 200ml of Seachem reef adv calcium. 2.5l is a lot of kalk!!! Not sure my evaporation is that each day. I'm considering moving to Zlements as even the 400ml total of Seachem 2 part is a lot. I'm quite surprised your tank isn't consuming more alkalinity.
Does that stuff work with kalk sterir
are you saying even if ur tank is not that demanding for element that dosing kalkwasser would still be a good idea? as my tank isnt too demanding i rarely have to do anything, but kalk seems like it could benefit me so would dosing it in a less demanding tank be a good idea?
Yes, kalk is a good way of replacing alkalinity and calcium on a low demand tank.
@@ReefDork amazing! didnt expect a reply so fast thank you for that info i will be looking into this!!
So if I have understood correctly, I will keep my 2 part ATI+ dosing + add 1 ml/litre aquarium. If the alkalinity raise i decrease my 2 part dosing by 10%? Then I would start with 290 ml at night from 8pm to 14pm. you dose ati 24 times a day? Thx for help! Greetings from GER :)
Correct.
I dose ATI every hour over 24 hours and kalkwasser for 12 hours overnight.
@@ReefDork is there any way to estimate how much the kh will increase when dosing kalk?
Currently dosing 50ml a day of Brightwell Alk, would Kalk in the ATO be the best way to do go about it? and just supplement the rest with two part?
Kalk in the ATO is a bad idea - evaporation fluctuates so you have no control over how much you dose and it'll mess up your pump over time. But apart from that, yes!
@@ReefDork Thanks for the reply! I will add it to a dosing pump and dose small amounts to start.
Do you need to dose trace elements when dosing Kalk? Thanks
Short answer, no but it depends. I'm about to make a video talking through how I dose it on all my tanks, including what else I do and don't - subscribe to Reef Dork Xtra and I'll upload it in the next couple of weeks.
@@ReefDork already subscribed. I currently dose a two part which obviously contains alk, calc and mag plus all trace elements so I was curious how Kalk could cover these other elements. Have you done may ICPs since using it?
Hello, if you choose one then which one would you like ? All for Reef or Kalkwasser ? Thank you
Kalkwasser
@@ReefDork Thank you 💪
Great video!
If I decide to buy calcium hydroxide from a chemical company, which degree of purity should I aim to?
Anothet doubt: what about trace elements?
As high as possible - 98% is what I'll buy next time. Trace you can dose separately if you feel you need to.
@@ReefDork hi just come across your channel,..
Very good ..
Re Dosing kalk, only have softies at the moment, would it still be beneficial to dose with this
Thanks
I dose 4litre kalkwasser every night reeffactory Dosing pump 24x167ml. When i start Dosing 9 moths ago my kh keeps tropping and i did dose more kalkwasser. My pumps jammed in the precipitate. Then I tested Calsium and it were salifer ca test more 500
so if all of my levels are within a good range dosing with this anyways could help my coral grow better/faster?
My Tank: 25gal. 1 x Hammer, 1 plate coral, 2 x little zoas, waving hand ant, cabbage leather, some hermit crabs, a couple of snails, 1 x blue damsel and 2 x clown. everything is still pretty tiny except the plate (2.5 in dia) and leather (3.5 in dia). thanks
Probably yes, but only if you substitute kalk for whatever you're currently dosing to maintain calcium and alkalinity
@@ReefDork gotcha. So probably not since I'm not currently dosing with anything. I just haven't needed to.
@@MumRah you'll probably be close with that amount of corals so just keep checking alkalinity weekly 🙂
I dose tropic marin 2 part ( 3 part actually ) and want to support it whit kalkwasser since my ph is always low how should I do that ? Help
Alex I’ve been waiting for this one! Awesome video! Thank you! What about magnesium when dosing kalk and no all for reef? Guess I’ll have to start monitoring mag more rigorously?
Correct. Mag uptake is generally very low but it's something to keep an eye on.
Has anyone set this up with the pH Controller / Regulator with Automatic dosing pump 1,5L/h Milwaukee (MC720)? Seems like a good idea as you can stop dripping should your ph spike for whatever reason
Where did you buy your jugs?
I am just going through the ugly phase with my waterbox frag tank, eventually when I transfer all my wildlife from my water box cube I shall be seriously thinking about doing the Kalkwaser thang. Oh yes, were do you get those great containers from please?
Tanksdirect.co.uk
Noob Question, if I dose it in my sump will it stuck in my mechanical filtration or not?
No, it'll just dissolve into the water
Hi Alex You recommend to dose kalk 24/7 or only overnight ?
24/7 to start with as it's one less thing to work out/monitor. And it'll be something good to progress onto.
Where did you get that "marital aid" from?
Sainsbury's kitchen section
Very tempted, i lose so much to evaporation and the tank heading towards acro and montipora dominated
can you mix reef code A and B with kalwasser?
Not literally in the same container, but yes you can dose both to one tank.
I started dosing the other day and saw a difference in the tank within 24 hours. After a couple of days I got the pH up to 8.1 and today 8.3
The corals have just been happier. Even the pure softies like Xenia are looking more full and happy.