Excellent video. 2 questions. 1. When you add the kalk into the vat are you leaving a power head inside to constantly or periodically mix the solution? 2. When you run out of solution are you cleaning out the vat of the sludge at the bottom? Thanks again. Great video
Might it be better if you program your Versa in Mobius at a constant rate of 13.33 and then power your Versa pump through you EB832 as you do and add the following code: IF Time 10:00 to 22:00 Then OFF. This assuming you are running your lights from 10am to 10pm. It looks like with your code, the Versa could potentially run all day and overfill your system if the pH remained low or if the ph probe failed.
I think this method will work perfectly fine if Currently you are dosing Kalk , but have maxed out your daily evap and having to dose additional 2 part just to keep up with the dkh consumption.
I was advised by Chris to turn off ATO whilst dosing Kalkwasser this method? I like your videos 👍🏻👍🏻 I haven’t started yet but I’m too using the versa when I start
Im a bit worried, lets say all is ok and suddenly i have a party in my house with 20 people, obviously pH will go down due to extra co2, so Apex will have to dose a lot more of Kalk to keep Ph stable? And probably will spike Alk even more?
I have a few question: Do I set to turn of @ > 8.28 Or my Daily average @ 8.1? How do I dose the full amount over the 12hr period at night , because my ph value is reached quicker than to does 10000ml ? And dosing around the 2Litres mark , I’m confused? My sump level never raises but I’m guessing to cover the shortfall I turn my ATO to cover the 3litres?
To answer your first question if. your daily average is 8.1 And you're trying to get up to 8.28 Then you need to do as follows Set your apex to shut off the dosing at. your current daily average. In doing this, you. will notice day by day your daily average should be going up. Your daily average goes up, you need to change your apex setting to follow the daily average. You continue to do this until your system reaches your desire. target. Here is an example. Day 1. daily average. 8.1 day two daily average. 8.11 So you would change your shut off value to 8.11. day 3, 8 .12 So you would change your daily shut off value to 8.12.
Great video and explanation, thank you. One part I'm unclear about is if I'm dosing my full 24 hr. evaporation amount in a 12 hr. window, won't that throw off salinity? Guessing I'll need to increase my evapoation rate to match the dose amount?
As long as you are not far exceeding your evaporated amount it shouldn't be much of a impact on salinity. This is what my personal observations have been so far.
how high can the alk spike before it is concerning? i'm in the process of converting a fish only to a reef tank. ie no corals yet. i'm trying the ACL method, and pH is set at 8.3 but the alk is so high it is beyond the high range of the hanna checker ie >17 dkh
I would stop doing this until you have a need for dosing in the first place. With no demand for CAL, ALK ie corals you have no reason to be dosing which is the reason for your DKH being so high. Most run a DHK of 7.5 to 9 and 17DKH is very concerning.
pH can't be controlled to 8.2 to 8.3 without the dkh. should i allow the tank to go back to normal alk levels and add corals before adding corals ? @@niagarafirecorals
with kalkstirrer do you have the time it is spinning and time when it is not programmed in the apex? I'm wanting to switch off total two part to kalkwasser I have an icecap 200 stirrer
@nicolewilson8891 The reason it doesn't work is because the stirrers/reactors fluctuate PH levels constantly, whereas mixing and running from a holding vessel with a lid is much more stable.
No you can leave the old kalk in there and just clean out your container once a month. That's what Chris does. He does not mix a fresh batch every time he adds new kalk as needed. Your kalk ph need to be at 12.5 evey batch.
What about the initial mixing ? I saw in the update it’s 5 gallon buckets. How’s that mixing process? Clears up relatively quick? What’s your preferred kalk brand? Thanks a ton!
I have been doing Chris method for 2 years and yes it works. I does my kalk at night when lights go out and stops when light come on. My ph at night is 8.3 morning is 8.5. I keep my alk at 6.5dkh. And my corals grow like weeds. In one year I have full grown Colonie and I have also notice RTN and STN has never happened with ph levels staying above 8.2 For everyone that whats more info look at reef bum videos and find the first videos with chris. It explains everything
Can you clarify . If your dKH is 6.5 don't it spike up some time in the middle of the night to early morning when your dosing kalk. If so, how high before it gets back down to your target 6.5 dKH?
So my evap is at 6050 I put in 12000 and at night I check it It’s about 1inch above the line I stay at so it’s dosing more then 6050 what would you do Your videos are my go to videos good job
@@niagarafirecorals I was on 3rd floor apartment and ph was so suppressed this method was not working. I have a 75g display with 30g sump. Co2 scrubbing work very well for me. We are in a house now and kinda re established the whole tank so when I actually see a need for alk dosing I might try it again. I also bought a calcium reactor to dose when needed, hoping to use that and co2 scrubbing maintain ph. My skimmer shuts off at 8.3 and my swing is 8.1 to 8.3ph. I tend to get 30days of use on half a $25 bag of media. Btw you have stunning corals. Too bad you can’t ship to USA?
Great information, thank you 😊
Excellent video.
2 questions. 1. When you add the kalk into the vat are you leaving a power head inside to constantly or periodically mix the solution?
2. When you run out of solution are you cleaning out the vat of the sludge at the bottom?
Thanks again. Great video
@isarduy I do not use any powerheads and I only clean the vat roughly once monthly. Thank you 👍
Might it be better if you program your Versa in Mobius at a constant rate of 13.33 and then power your Versa pump through you EB832 as you do and add the following code: IF Time 10:00 to 22:00 Then OFF. This assuming you are running your lights from 10am to 10pm. It looks like with your code, the Versa could potentially run all day and overfill your system if the pH remained low or if the ph probe failed.
Technically it could work that way but you would have to double the 13.33. You will find that some days it does dose for longer or shorter periods
I think this method will work perfectly fine if
Currently you are dosing Kalk , but have maxed out your daily evap and having to dose additional 2 part just to keep up with the dkh consumption.
Correct, I totally expect that once I peg the PH up to 8.3, I will have to start slightly using my calcium reactor to fine tune the dkh.
Great episode. 👌 💯✌️
Thank you 👍
Thanks for sharing!
Your very welcome 👍
I was advised by Chris to turn off ATO whilst dosing Kalkwasser this method? I like your videos 👍🏻👍🏻 I haven’t started yet but I’m too using the versa when I start
Yes, that is correct.You are essentially topping off your system with the kalk So no need for ATO
Im a bit worried, lets say all is ok and suddenly i have a party in my house with 20 people, obviously pH will go down due to extra co2, so Apex will have to dose a lot more of Kalk to keep Ph stable? And probably will spike Alk even more?
I have a few question:
Do I set to turn of @ > 8.28
Or my Daily average @ 8.1?
How do I dose the full amount over the 12hr period at night , because my ph value is reached quicker than to does 10000ml ? And dosing around the 2Litres mark , I’m confused?
My sump level never raises but I’m guessing to cover the shortfall I turn my ATO to cover the 3litres?
To answer your first question if. your daily average is 8.1 And you're trying to get up to 8.28 Then you need to do as follows
Set your apex to shut off the dosing at. your current daily average. In doing this, you. will notice day by day your daily average should be going up. Your daily average goes up, you need to change your apex setting to follow the daily average. You continue to do this until your system reaches your desire. target. Here is an example. Day 1. daily average. 8.1 day two daily average. 8.11 So you would change your shut off value to 8.11. day 3, 8 .12 So you would change your daily shut off value to 8.12.
Hi, do you connect Versa pump into Apex power bar?
Yes
He said only make enough for 3 days. Is 20g for you just 3 days worth?
Yes
Everything makes sense to me except for dosing double. Wouldn't your ato alarm go off by levels raising too high?
It could, yes. I just had to slightly raise mine roughly, 1"
Great video and explanation, thank you. One part I'm unclear about is if I'm dosing my full 24 hr. evaporation amount in a 12 hr. window, won't that throw off salinity? Guessing I'll need to increase my evapoation rate to match the dose amount?
As long as you are not far exceeding your evaporated amount it shouldn't be much of a impact on salinity. This is what my personal observations have been so far.
@@niagarafirecorals makes sense, thanks
Once you come up with your initial average pH for the system, how often do you need to check your average pH and updated in the dose pump programming?
I updated it daily until I got to 8.28 - 8.30
Couldn't you use the Kalk stirrer set up with a dosing pump?
No, the consistency is not the same. I still own and have used a stirrer and it would not work with this method.
As the OP said, it’s too difficult to keep the concentration in Kalk stirrer stable. The saturation stays relatively stable in a storage vat.
I’m highly interested in this method has the alkalinity spike negatively affected anything?
Nothing at all.
I have my versa on only from 9pm to 9am, should I just let the dosing schedule be on 24 hours a day?
You can leave it the way it is. However you will need to keep increasing your dosing volume until you nearly match your evaporation
Great video! Does it matter what the flow rate of your doser is? 10ml 40ml 70ml/min
The flow rate will be determined automatically by the total amount being dosed.
Yup am lost 🤔
how high can the alk spike before it is concerning? i'm in the process of converting a fish only to a reef tank. ie no corals yet. i'm trying the ACL method, and pH is set at 8.3 but the alk is so high it is beyond the high range of the hanna checker ie >17 dkh
I would stop doing this until you have a need for dosing in the first place. With no demand for CAL, ALK ie corals you have no reason to be dosing which is the reason for your DKH being so high. Most run a DHK of 7.5 to 9 and 17DKH is very concerning.
pH can't be controlled to 8.2 to 8.3 without the dkh. should i allow the tank to go back to normal alk levels and add corals before adding corals ? @@niagarafirecorals
@danb5774 That is correct. Once you have demand for the dkh then using the method will work and your dkh will not rise so high
with kalkstirrer do you have the time it is spinning and time when it is not programmed in the apex? I'm wanting to switch off total two part to kalkwasser I have an icecap 200 stirrer
A stirrer is a totally different setup and will not work for doing this method.
why won't this method work with kalk stirrer or reactor?@@niagarafirecorals
@nicolewilson8891 The reason it doesn't work is because the stirrers/reactors fluctuate PH levels constantly, whereas mixing and running from a holding vessel with a lid is much more stable.
@nicolewilson8891 Because you're using saturated kalk, you don't need a stirrer. In order to use saturated kalk, you need a big bin to hold water.
you cant do this without apex?
You will need some type of controller it does not have to necessarily be a Apex.
So you only stirr your new kalk ones and when that run out added new kalk and mix up or clean the container then mix up a new batch
That's correct mix it up once and that is it. I clean the brute out as needed with buildup on the bottom 👍
No you can leave the old kalk in there and just clean out your container once a month. That's what Chris does. He does not mix a fresh batch every time he adds new kalk as needed. Your kalk ph need to be at 12.5 evey batch.
What about the initial mixing ? I saw in the update it’s 5 gallon buckets. How’s that mixing process? Clears up relatively quick? What’s your preferred kalk brand? Thanks a ton!
@isarduy I use a powerhead to mix the buckets for a couple minutes and that's all. Clears up good 👍 I use BRS Kalk
Question….does Kalk potency drop over time in vat?
Yes, absolutely the kalkwasser will lose its potency, the longer it sits in a vat. Try only mixing what you will go through in 3 - 4 days.
Where did u get ur styrofoam block from
Also is it better to put tubing on the side of the container instead of the top of the lid
I just cut it out of a lid on a box I got fish and coral in.
@@niagarafirecorals ok thank u
I have been doing Chris method for 2 years and yes it works. I does my kalk at night when lights go out and stops when light come on. My ph at night is 8.3 morning is 8.5. I keep my alk at 6.5dkh. And my corals grow like weeds. In one year I have full grown Colonie and I have also notice RTN and STN has never happened with ph levels staying above 8.2
For everyone that whats more info look at reef bum videos and find the first videos with chris. It explains everything
@@6jdhd Awesome news 👍
Can you clarify . If your dKH is 6.5 don't it spike up some time in the middle of the night to early morning when your dosing kalk. If so, how high before it gets back down to your target 6.5 dKH?
So my evap is at 6050 I put in 12000 and at night I check it
It’s about 1inch above the line I stay at so it’s dosing more then 6050 what would you do
Your videos are my go to videos good job
Mine does the same thing and then drops below during the 12 hrs it's not dosing. Make sure your ATO is never coming on at all.
@@niagarafirecorals same thing was going on with mine until i got rid of the first 2 lines of code
Should you turn your ATO off when doing this?
If done properly yes you really shouldn't require it. I have not used mine since starting thus. 👍
And watch the magic happen! Great explanation
Agree 👍
I tried this, alk went to 16
Wow
@@niagarafirecorals I was on 3rd floor apartment and ph was so suppressed this method was not working. I have a 75g display with 30g sump. Co2 scrubbing work very well for me. We are in a house now and kinda re established the whole tank so when I actually see a need for alk dosing I might try it again. I also bought a calcium reactor to dose when needed, hoping to use that and co2 scrubbing maintain ph. My skimmer shuts off at 8.3 and my swing is 8.1 to 8.3ph. I tend to get 30days of use on half a $25 bag of media.
Btw you have stunning corals. Too bad you can’t ship to USA?
@@andrewgutt276Thank you 👍