chimera Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 agree. with dosing in my tank, i can keep a constant level of kh 9.6 day in day out. can't keep the calcium out though, each week it drops by 5-10. I also no some people with reactors have the same problem :lol: then you still need to adjust your reactor! with dosing my tank, my kH drops by 0.3 per day whereas my Ca stays constant at 420. i know I still need to adjust my reactor. Read this to fix it... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/s ... /index.htm A CR still needs adjusting every now and then when you add corals, corals grow etc. For the most part they should maintain balanced levels of both kH and Ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 :lol: then you still need to adjust your reactor! with dosing my tank, my kH drops by 0.3 per day whereas my Ca stays constant at 420. i know I still need to adjust my reactor. Read this to fix it... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/s ... /index.htm A CR still needs adjusting every now and then when you add corals, corals grow etc. For the most part they should maintain balanced levels of both kH and Ca can't really adjust any more. if i add more then the kh keeps going up. Would rather have a constant level of kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Agree with last 3 posts, even Laytons I think you miss my point Layton I'm not saying you cannot rely on a calculator. Of course I realise that a calculator can tell you exactly what to put in, to get from the current level, to the desired level. My point though, is that over a period of time, usage can change, or even as you have said, become unbalanced. Therefore, if using a calcium reactor, adjustments may periodically have to be made, or maybe not. Same with dosing 2 part and using a calculator, if usage changes, then new calculations have to be done and dose rate changed. So both methods work, and both probably need adjusting from time to time. That is why the argument that one method is better than the other is really just a silly argument, it just comes down to what suits the particular person best. Me, I'm a busy guy, I put a premium on getting everything done the fastest, easiest way. For me, that's a calcium reactor, cos I can set & forget, for many months, bar weekly water testing to keep an eye on things. For someone else, it may be dosing 2 part. Been there done that too, I have no particular issues with 2 part other than it was more hassling around mixing etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 can't really adjust any more. if i add more then the kh keeps going up. Would rather have a constant level of kh TM, you using a reactor, or dosing 2 part? Either way, if calcium is dropping relative to alkalinity, just add a bit more calcium manually every so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 2 part. yip thats what i do. so i spose the question is, if you can maintain you kh level at a constant level say 9.6 for me. Then how can you adjust your dosing to get the ca up in a balanced fashion. I would say no, because as said prior, every tanks is diff, each needs diff levels of ca or kh. Would be the same for reactors or 2 part would it not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Is it a commercial aquarium mix? Or something you brew yourself? If it's a home brew it may not quite be balanced right, but there are also other factors in the tank that can cause it to get out of balance. Can you get some extra calcium chloride to dose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 so i spose the question is, if you can maintain you kh level at a constant level say 9.6 for me. Then how can you adjust your dosing to get the ca up in a balanced fashion. I would say no, because as said prior, every tanks is diff, each needs diff levels of ca or kh. Would be the same for reactors or 2 part would it not Yes it's the same for both. "Then how can you adjust your dosing to get the ca up in a balanced fashion." If you can get some calcium chloride put a bit of that in without any alkalinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 so i spose the question is, if you can maintain you kh level at a constant level say 9.6 for me. Then how can you adjust your dosing to get the ca up in a balanced fashion yeah, I see what you mean. i think you got it spot on then TM, maintaining balanced kH is more important than Ca - as you can always top up with Ca separately. your Ca dropping by 5-10 a week is hardly anything! You would only need to add a bit of calcium chloride once a month. sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 "Then how can you adjust your dosing to get the ca up in a balanced fashion." If you can get some calcium chloride put a bit of that in without any alkalinity. yes i do have extra and this is what i do. I make it up myself and it is perfect sure it could be a bit unbalanced. reactors can do the same to. but there are also other factors in the tank that can cause it to get out of balance number of corals, livestock, mg levels etc is this what you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 I assume you are putting the end of th etube in hot water to soften it before you push it over the fitting?? you assume correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 number of corals, livestock, mg levels etc is this what you mean? Well kinda, although I don't think those things actually cause things to get out of balance, they just affect consumption of both. There are other things that can cause things to get out of balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Well kinda, although I don't think those things actually cause things to get out of balance, they just affect consumption of both. There are other things that can cause things to get out of balance. like??? when i use the word balanced, i assume it means Balanced = the amount used by corals in calcification, so you then put this amount into your tank. So a balanced level would be KH9.6 CA 429. This is what I aim for. But then your calcium drops, so you add more ca, does that then become unbalanced. Same with a reactor, you dissolve the caco chips and it releases ca and kh in a balanced ratio?? So then why can some of us not get the ca and kh to be maintained at the correct level, say kh9.6 ca 429????? What else uses these chemicals, bacteria......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 i think you got it spot on then TM, maintaining balanced kH is more important than Ca - as you can always top up with Ca separately. quote] but is this then not an un balanced addition??? or is it more, who gives a s%*# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 like??? I assume you mean like what things can cause Ca and Alk to get out of balance with each other? Best I show you an article on it, this article touches on many but not all of the things that can cause this. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 thanks, a bit of reading for later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 hey TM, notice that nice frag in those pics of mine, doing well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 which photo, must have missed it. mine bit the dust last week along with acouple of others, the boy turned the temp way way up could just see the tissue peeling off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 or is it more, who gives a s%*# clearly everyone who is posting on this thread, otherwise why else would you bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 clearly everyone who is posting on this thread, otherwise why else would you bother? not sure if you got what i meant. meaning, are you guys that concerned about adding the ca and kh in a balanced ratio 20.0 ppm Ca++ to 1 meq/L KH. or is more, just keep it as close as possible and not worrying to much as long as your test are within a good range? Chim, you ca reactor pumps out about 20.0 ppm Ca++ to 1 meq/L KH, but you were saying you had to add extra Kh was it? so this would then be unbalanced? are you worried about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 which photo, must have missed it. mine bit the dust last week along with acouple of others, the boy turned the temp way way up could just see the tissue peeling off The pretty purple one in the middle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 sweet, looking all good, nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Chim, you ca reactor pumps out about 20.0 ppm Ca++ to 1 meq/L KH, but you were saying you had to add extra Kh was it? so this would then be unbalanced? are you worried about that yes, would rather have balanced kH and topup with Ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 its running!!!! yay!!!! :bounce: how much co2 should be going in? how do i measure this? i have the tunze reg, what should i set the gauge to? drip rate at the moment is 1.5 per second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 You need a bubble counter to see how much Co2 is going in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 i might have one, what do they look like? i have two spare things that im not sure what they do. :oops: i have just turned the reactor off as the ph in the tank has dropped to 8 so i must be doing sonething wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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