It's just so simple and it works. Hopefully it picks back up, it's "low tech" so it isn't as cool currently haha

@@casualreefkeeping A couple or a few months isn't long enough to know if your results are "good".

That's great! I seem to peak around 3.8. On and off at 3.29.

I use all for reef in the nano tank actually. Just so simple and easy. I've always wondered what was in it though that doesn't buffer pH. Thanks for your support!

That's tough to say but given how cheap kalkwasser is, I'm sure it's a lot. I wish I went right to it and skipped the calcium reactor initially. Started with 2 part, now that was expensive to maintain.

I have a trident, though I'm having issues with it now failing test a. I actually had to out my calcium reactor back on a few days after recording this. Saturated kalk isn't quite keeping up with the alk. After I fix the trident i may have to try slurry, but the calcium reactor was already installed and ready to go.

See my pH set point is 8.2, and I have stay pretty steady. I dose in 1200 mL of kalkwasser per day to maintain in my 50 gallon tank. My alkalinity is rising. I don’t have quite as much coral as you. Your montipora is sucking up a lot alk.

@PatrickJewellTheGreat oh for sure. I'm up to like 6.2 L of saturated kalk per day and it's a 180

@@casualreefkeeping But why? Are you trying to run a frag business? Why do you need stressed growth?

Yeah it stays there as far as I can tell. I check every few days to verify with a pH pen. I'm considering getting another pm1 to continuously monitor the pH in the kalk stirrer now, just not sure it's worth the cost. The avast stirrer I use does already have a port in the lid for it though.

@@casualreefkeeping PH pen is good enough for me, once you know it doesn't move why bother 24/7 monitor... 🙂

An ecotech versa. I'm hoping that gets added to the Neptune mxm eventually.

Interesting it didn't level out. What size tank and what rate were you dosing?

@@casualreefkeeping 225 with a 60 gallon sump. Was dosing about 2 gallons based on evaporation.

There's lot of different ways to do it, the method I'm following just might be a bit much kalk for when you first start the tank but if you dose it slow enough maybe. Might have to ease into it with such low consumption. I jumped in with a full reef already. You just need a way to trigger the dosing by pH, other than that type of control, no. You don't need a full blown controller, but it does help. For me, the remote access, notification and control helps me keep it safe when I'm not home.

@@casualreefkeeping Thanks! I was even thinking of instead of 6 grams of Kalk per gallon, maybe start with half that or even 1/3, in other words a less potent solution. I remember doing this with with my previous reef aquarium. Although I did it through my ATO. This time, I will try it from the beginning but dosing it at night, replacing evaporated water. Hey, I won't know if I don't try it, but still chasing PH from the get go. Again thank you!

@@fedeuma sounds like a plan!

Struggling is what I'm doing lol. Tuxedo urchins seem to put the biggest dent in it, I've got 4. And restocking my snails periodically since in sure the hermits and eel put a dent in their population. I've actually noticed an increase in algae this week, work has been so busy I've slacked on water changes even though my phosphates have been reasonable

In my aio I used all for reef, but kalk works as well

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o9RmiNKjmszed3U.html That's the video from after starting kalkwasser. I haven't gotten the hang of the youtube cards just yet haha

It took some rate dialing in, but I'm set so in 12 hours it should dose my 24 hrs max evaporation. Once settled my sump level doesn't fluctuate much. Doses from about 11pm to 11am but that's based on my pH regardless of the time.

Yeah, soon is probably a good time. I think it's been enough time to have visible differences and have formed an opinion

@@casualreefkeeping Three months is not enough time to have formed an opinion on this topic.

@kernalbert4939 I had already been on kalkwasser for several months, 3 months of monitoring consumption and visible changes in corals was enough for me to decide to continue. I don't agree that 3 months wasn't enough time to form an opinion based on the trajectory. But now we're talking about something more than 6 months ago.

@@casualreefkeeping The issue isn't using KW. Every serious hobbyist knows that KW is an essential tool for optimum results. The issue is using KW for pH as opposed for its intended use, which is stabilizing and maintaining proper dKH. And dosing KW for six months in the chase of steady pH is NOT long enough to formulate an opinion. pH doesn't control Alkalinity. Eventually you will get a crash or necrosis or some other setback BECAUSE your pH is SUPPOSED to fluctuate. The best analogy is a freshwater one using German Rams. Rams kept at 86 degrees look, grow and breed phenomenally. They also live half as long as Rams kept at 78... A constant pH of 8.3 will overdrive your corals. Fantastic for a sprint; less so for a marathon...

@kernalbert4939 I'm not chasing a flat pH, I still have the daily rise and fall from photosynthesis, I believe my graphs are in a newer video. It's now been over a year, aci has been doing it for something like a decade. Coral growth isn't solely driven by pH, just supports it. I haven't seen anything to support your concerns of a crash, some of the hobbyists I talk with are even dosing kalk slurry to do this, pushing pH above 8.4.

At the very least I dump it out, not going to let the sediment build up, but I try to make a habit of rinsing the container as well before refilling to try an remove as much scale as possible.

Man I am behind on comments! I programmed the apex ato to not come on if the kalk pump was on. It's set at a rate fast enough to meet the evaporation demand, and I have the level set so it can over or under shoot the water level a bit without issue. ATO doesn't come on much now.

Still team stirrer! Brute can is on the frag system but that is a whole different project that needs attention

Don't blame me! Haha I gotta get some quotes on shipping Mississippi lime. BRS and Kolar labs gets expensive.

If it did your buying it from the wrong source😂😂😂

Guess my reply didn't post. It swung up a bit initially but stabilized within a few days now it's about as stable as it was before dosing to pH.

Depends on the day, once stable on kalk it's 8-9

Absolutely! Things have been busy but I'm definitely due for an update, and I'll go in depth about what ended up working for me. I'm very happy with it though! A quick run down for you, apex is my pH controller, after estimating my daily evaporation rate, I set a versa pump to that rate, and the versa feeds a kalk stirrer, which turns on and off based on pH. By using my summer evaporation rate, I can't over dilute the tank, and the ato will kick on as needed when kalk pump is off.

What dosing rate are you doing on versa and what times are you putting in how do you get apex to turn it off at your ph

Yes it's running but at a low rate. Something like 10ml/min. Maxed out the saturated kalk dose so I needed the reactor or to swith to slurry. Thanks for the reminder, I'm working on an update and would have forgotten to mention that.

@@casualreefkeeping might as will just pull out the calcium reactor probably be easier and you’ll score a higher pH. Maybe does 10 to 20 mill of calcium. Separately with the Kulkwasser.

@fadetoblack1747 the calcium reactor was off for the first few months on the aci method. Then my alk started to decrease so I started it back up. Need both, which I guess is a good sign of growth. I have to look at the chemistry exactly again, but it was my understanding that since kalkwasser works by reacting with co2 in the water, adding the calcium reactor shouldn't have much of a pH effect, which for me it doesn't seem to have. I didn't really notice a change when I brought it back on.

How do you get versa to turn off at 8.3

How much are you dosing with versa at night

Was a little high at first but now the swings are fairly mild. No ill effect from it that I've noticed.