Kalkwasser not working

[boostin240]

So i have been having low DKH and calcium, i have used Kent pro buffer dkh to raise my levels to 8-9 or so. I have tried Kent liquid calcium and that didnt raise my calcium one bit, always at a 300. I do a water change once every two weeks.
So i was told that kalkwasswer is garunteed to raise my calcium and dkh. I bought a jar of it and for the last two nights i have dripped it into the tank.
After the first drip my dkh was a 5 and my calcium was a 300-325.
After the second drip my dkh is now a 4-4.5 and my calcium is still a 300.
And i tested Magnesium too and that is a 1300, so thats fine.
i dont understand, i cant get calcium to budge and my dkh went down after the kalkwasser drip.
whats wrong?

 

[boostin240]

Just to add, i also only use RO/DI water
i dont understand how i can have such a differnce in results, when i use ro/di water, i do regular water changes, and i use the same products as others.

 

[saltfreak4]

Just curious what is your pH?

 

[boostin240]

Tested it yesterdy and it was an 8.0

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by boostin240
So i have been having low DKH and calcium, i have used Kent pro buffer dkh to raise my levels to 8-9 or so. I have tried Kent liquid calcium and that didnt raise my calcium one bit, always at a 300. I do a water change once every two weeks.
So i was told that kalkwasswer is garunteed to raise my calcium and dkh. I bought a jar of it and for the last two nights i have dripped it into the tank.
After the first drip my dkh was a 5 and my calcium was a 300-325.
After the second drip my dkh is now a 4-4.5 and my calcium is still a 300.
And i tested Magnesium too and that is a 1300, so thats fine.
i dont understand, i cant get calcium to budge and my dkh went down after the kalkwasser drip.
whats wrong?

Actually Kalkwasser is to maintain Stability in Calcium/Alk. If you wanna raise your calcium Try Turbo Calcium by Kent but don't overdose.(go slow) also you can try different salt mix and do water changes to bring back to normal stop the kalk for now.

 

[saltfreak4]

Actually they are all closely related. alk is carbonate and that's not in kalk. kalk will increase your ca level and up you pH as well. The alk will swing to compensate, because they are closely related.
So, tell me the regiment you are doing? How big is your tank (with sump size if you have one) and how you are dosing? Are you mixing the saturated solution up and then adding some of it to DI water and then dosing? How much of each?

 

[dmjordan]

you might just be using a salt with low calcium in it. you can try a different salt like reef crystals which has a higher calcium consentration.

 

[saltfreak4]

This is a good point, also. But that won't help the lower pH.

 

[dmjordan]

ph is buffer through alkalinty and calcium. i would say try reef crystals for the next few waterchanges to see how the levels look. dhk should be 8 - 12 and calcium around 450. the two together should raise ph to 8 - 8.3

 

[saltfreak4]

hmmm, mine didn't. I used two different salt mixes and still had a pH problem. I was adding ca and buffers and still nothing worked. This was the only thing that worked for me. Also, pH can rapidly be swung in the base direction (higher) by adding kalk. It's only a reading of the H+ ions in the water.

 

[boostin240]

Originally Posted by saltfreak4
Actually they are all closely related. alk is carbonate and that's not in kalk. kalk will increase your ca level and up you pH as well. The alk will swing to compensate, because they are closely related.
So, tell me the regiment you are doing? How big is your tank (with sump size if you have one) and how you are dosing? Are you mixing the saturated solution up and then adding some of it to DI water and then dosing? How much of each?
i havea 39G tank with a wet/dry sump.
I was told by my LFS to add two teaspoons of the Kalkwasswer powder to a gallon of my top off water, which is RO water. I mix that up by shaking the crap out of it several times and then when the percipitate forms at the bottom i siphon the top liquid off using a slow drip overnight.
And that is not working.
Is the liquid at the top suppose to be 99% clear like water or real cloudy, i let my gallon of water sit for a few hours and it becomes clear with the powder percipitate at the bottom.

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by saltfreak4
This is a good point, also. But that won't help the lower pH.
There's nothing wrong with the ph.

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by saltfreak4
hmmm, mine didn't. I used two different salt mixes and still had a pH problem. I was adding ca and buffers and still nothing worked. This was the only thing that worked for me. Also, pH can rapidly be swung in the base direction (higher) by adding kalk. It's only a reading of the H+ ions in the water.
well it hasn't worked for him, So what do you suggest? should he add a heavier dose of Kalk?

 

[boostin240]

I think it might be the salt
I just came from ym LFS and they had only three kinds
Kent salt (which i have now and is not working)
Oceanic salt in the blue tub
Instant Ocean salt
Bewteent he Oceanic and the Instant Ocean which one is better?

 

[pallan]

no experience with IO but with the ocienic you will get a higher calcium reading. almost to high mine ranges in the 475 to 500 level using ocienic salt.
i drip kalk through a stirrer which is fed thru my Auto top off pump.

 

[boostin240]

Originally Posted by Pallan
no experience with IO but with the ocienic you will get a higher calcium reading. almost to high mine ranges in the 475 to 500 level using ocienic salt.
i drip kalk through a stirrer which is fed thru my Auto top off pump.
If you get really high calcium levels, why do you drip kalk still? Im just trying to figure all this out.

 

[salt_water]

450-500 isn't anything to worry about. If I were you Id try the Oceanic Salt Mix. Also, You said you syphon off the top of the kalk water. I mix 2 teaspoons to 3 gallons of water, and mix it throughly. Let it sit over night and add it slowly to the tank as top off, I dont have it setup to drip. I also dont syphon off any of the kalk water, I use all of it. Once it gets down to the 1 gallon mark or so, it starts to leave a bit of white film on top of the water from the kalk, which goes away within a few hours. I haven't seen any ill affects from this. Good Luck.

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by boostin240
If you get really high calcium levels, why do you drip kalk still? Im just trying to figure all this out.
calcium is depleaded daily ,specially in a heavily stocked reef but if your tank is not that full you should have plenty off it with weekly water changes. before you start messing with any additives you have to test for it. It all depends how much calcium your tank uses daily.

 

[boostin240]

Originally Posted by salt_water
450-500 isn't anything to worry about. If I were you Id try the Oceanic Salt Mix. Also, You said you syphon off the top of the kalk water. I mix 2 teaspoons to 3 gallons of water, and mix it throughly. Let it sit over night and add it slowly to the tank as top off, I dont have it setup to drip. I also dont syphon off any of the kalk water, I use all of it. Once it gets down to the 1 gallon mark or so, it starts to leave a bit of white film on top of the water from the kalk, which goes away within a few hours. I haven't seen any ill affects from this. Good Luck.
no no, i did use all the kalk water, instead of having a fittng at the bottom of my drip tank, i had a tube that ran inside the lid to almost the bottom of the kalk water tank and i siphoned it all out through a slow drip. I did use it all basically. Did nothing for me though, ha
Im switching salts

 

[weberian]

I have a 30-gal and a 20-gal sump. I use a Kalk drip during the day (2 scoops of a red plastic measuring spoon that says "just a pinch", maybe that adds up to 1 tsp, in a 2-Liter plastic soda bottle). A thin rigid tube connected to the airline tubing keeps the siphon point 3/4-inch from the bottom of the bottle.
The kalk raised my calcium from 300 to 320 after two days dripping (2 liters each day). But maybe I don't have as much live rock as you or corals - who knows. Once the coraline algae starts picking up speed, the kalk will probably have trouble keeping up. It just keeps your levels from dropping in between water changes. I am using Oceanic salt.
The only reason my calcium was low was because I wasn't keeping up my water changes - got lazy I guess.