Overloading the system ??

tinman

tinman

Well-known member
My system is a 30 gallon and everything in there seems to be happy right now

But I haven't changed water in a little over 2 weeks and top off ( using ato ) with fully saturated lime water ..


My alk still dropped from almost 8.0 to 6.3 ( yea I didn't test in the last 2 weeks..


Does this mean I have too many corals in the system or do I have to start using a doser instead if ato top off ??
 
It means your corals are growing and using more alk and calcium. At this point, if you can't sustain it with fully saturated lime water from to your ato, it is time to add more via doses or calcium reactor. For your tank size , two part and doser will be ideal.
 
Tin, you got that small azz tank and filling with SPS which are alk hungry. You will need to dose 2 part. It will make your life a little easier if you get a bigger tank :)
 
Or add vinegar to your kalk mix. This will supersaturate your kalk solution. It may only be a temp fix though.
 
Thanks Mark, niño and gunner

That's what I figured

I'll upgrade to a bigger system soon. I might have to pick one of yours brains with questions.

I'm limited to the space of 24x24 so it's a 60 gallon cube max but Ill still have same amount of real estate

I'll get a doser meanwhile
 
or you can top up with 2 part every once in a while. too much kalk can go wrong really quick. see what your consumption is. but buying a doser pump is the best if you want to spend the money. well worth the price, theres one for 90 on RC Cmas
 
I disagree with the too much Kalk thing for most systems (once you figure out the amount you need) but another way to use more kalk while also adding more cooling to the system is to add a fan on top. Kalk by ATO is evap limited.
 
SkullV said:
I disagree with the too much Kalk thing for most systems (once you figure out the amount you need) but another way to use more kalk while also adding more cooling to the system is to add a fan on top. Kalk by ATO is evap limited.
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Meaning I keep the top off water with same saturated lime water but cause more evaporation and hence more top off to meet the demand ??
 
skunkmere said:
or you can top up with 2 part every once in a while. too much kalk can go wrong really quick. see what your consumption is. but buying a doser pump is the best if you want to spend the money. well worth the price, theres one for 90 on RC Cmas
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I'll look for it now

Thanks
 
tinman said:
Meaning I keep the top off water with same saturated lime water but cause more evaporation and hence more top off to meet the demand ??
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Correct. I would be very cautious about using 2 part in your system since you change things so often. 2 part can go wrong fast if your demand changes at all.
 
The only problem with using Kalk in ato is that your evaporation rate is not the same all the time. It changes depending on humidity, temperature, etc. so in essence you always dosing slightly different amount of kalk. Two part is easy and accurate, but as Ted said if you change your coral stock often, it might cause disaster if not tested often. What I do in my system right now, I drip half a gallon of fully saturated lime water every night ( amount of kalk is always the same), and the rest is two part via doser.I test my Alk every weekend, every few weeks I have to adjust my two part because of more demand as corals grow.
 
How about if you add more kalk in your top off container--like make it more concentrated? Will that work? I'm actually thinking of adding kalk in my top off instead of 2-part dosing.
 
You could always try dosing baking soda (cooked or uncooked, I will let you decide) to keep your alk up. Seems to do a decent job for me.
 
for my 28g nano i was playing with the idea of having a ato and a single dosing pump that would dose kalk as i needed. the kalk dosing would not change when evap rates do.
 
skunkmere said:
for my 28g nano i was playing with the idea of having a ato and a single dosing pump that would dose kalk as i needed. the kalk dosing would not change when evap rates do.
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+1 I use an aqualifter pump to dose my kalk on a timer. Ato runs separately.
 
skunkmere said:
for my 28g nano i was playing with the idea of having a ato and a single dosing pump that would dose kalk as i needed. the kalk dosing would not change when evap rates do.
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Irsug1 said:
+1 I use an aqualifter pump to dose my kalk on a timer. Ato runs separately.
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In these cases aren't we dosing more saturated kalk than thru the ato which means we are also putting in more top off than needed ?? How do you guys deal with salinity issues then ?
 
skunkmere said:
for my 28g nano i was playing with the idea of having a ato and a single dosing pump that would dose kalk as i needed. the kalk dosing would not change when evap rates do.
Click to expand...

Irsug1 said:
+1 I use an aqualifter pump to dose my kalk on a timer. Ato runs separately.
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Unfortunately that will do nothing to fix his problem here. If he doesn't evap enough to use Kalk on an ATO, he doesn't evap enough to use kalk at all. You can only add as much limewater as you evap no matter what method you use to add it to the system.
 
if you dose kalk separately from your at you can max out your alk at 16dkh if you wanted to. the ato would only dose water. so evaporation is totally separate from kalk dosing.
 
salinity stays stable with your ato. the doser can add kalk as you need it everyday, thoughout the day as well. im saying the ato has its own pump separate from the kalk doser pump. your ato needs float switches though, not a timer.
 
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FreeDumb182 said:
How about if you add more kalk in your top off container--like make it more concentrated? Will that work? I'm actually thinking of adding kalk in my top off instead of 2-part dosing.
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No, this will not work if he is already fully saturating his kalk solution (which I assume he is since he can't get enough alk). The solution becomes fully saturated with about 2 tsp of lime per gallon of water. If you add any more, it precipitates to the bottom of your top off container and doesn't go to your tank unless you add more fresh water. However, you can supersaturate your solution by adding vinegar.
 
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