Melting Xenia

[joojoo]

Ok, so I dose kalk for the first time and it looks like the last time as well... I don't think I really even need it, I just wanted to keep my pH stable during the night. I do know, however, that I mixed a little too much (2 tablespoons in 2 gallons of water instead of 2 teaspoons); but as the water cleared up, the excess sank to the bottom, so I figured it was safe to drip as long as the excess powder didn't go into the tank. Well after dripping through the night, I see my Xenia is all bent over and shriveling...
Did I make a mistake by dripping over-saturated kalk? Or does Xenia not like kalk? Everything else is perfectly fine... *sadface*

 

[chadman]

are you dripping supplements due to excess skimming? i don't add any supplements to my tank just water changes which brings back all of the necessary things which your corals eat up e.g. calcium and such....my pH has been low for a year and a half and my xenia and all other corals have always been very good...my pH is usually around 7.8 but changes slightly at night as well...whats is your pH at that you feel the need to supplement?

 

[chadman]

from what i understand about dipping kalwasser though you should mix it and then leave it sit for 24-48 hours and then take out all of the solids which form then drip the left over fluid...

 

[joojoo]

I did wait 48 hours to drip because it took that long to clear up and settle. I don't dose and I don't skim. Daytime pH is 8.2 and it drops to 8.0 at night, I just figured a constant 8.4 would be healthier... >_<

 

[chadman]

to be honest i wouldn't worry about a slight drop like that...even 8.2 is not an unacceptable pH...if your not having problems then i wouldn't change anything...

 

[zman1]

Check your Ca and Alk levels. I wouldn't be dosing without first seeing it it needs it or not. Personally, I don't think Xenia like high Alk levels. Kalk driping will raise both Alk and Ca. I have had this happen before soon after dosing Baking soda. Again, JMO if they are melting and you just let it go the entire stalk or anything connected to the tissue base seems to go with it. I have sliced the disolving section right off and removed that piece and the rest has survived. When I didn't do that I lost the whole section. Thought I would share this with you.

 

[murph145]

i use Kalk in my top off water that is refilled as it evaporates by an auto top off sensor...
anyways i found that adding one large tablespoon of kalk per 5 gallons of water rose the PH up to 12.5... i tried adding 2 table spoons to see the impact on the PH and my Ph probe still read only 12.6
so IMO if ur just lookin to keep PH stable u dont need to add more than a half a teaspoon per gallon or so.... obviously this is not an exact science ive got goin on just some things ive noticed when using Kalk in my top off...
not sure if that has any effect on your xenia... xenia is a wierd thing all in its own some people have great success sum cant keep it worth a crap.... some will do good for a long time then all the sudden melt away

 

[freaky's reef]

I agree I have one zenia thts huge and another that I cant grow over an inch
But the only things I add are reef complete turbo calcium and KH superbuffer. And the occassional water change. No other supplements

 

[conch]

If your looking to balance you Alk and Calc. Why not use Bionic?? I get the 1 gal Bionic 2 part Alk/Calc additives andI've been using it for over a year and it works great for my 55 gal I use 10-15 ml 3-4 times a week keeps my Alk between 9 and 10 and my PH at ~8.3 and my Calc at 8.2. the 2 one gallon jugs last me over 1.5 years. Easier and Safer the Kalk IMO next best thing to a calcium reactor.

 

[zman1]

Again, You don't blindly dose anything. You test your levels and if you are low, then you may dose. The purpose of dosing Kalk is to bring up Alk and Ca levels equally. Maybe it's coincidental, but I look at Action-Reaction, if there is a known action involved. I would never go to the gas station and just stick the air hose on the value stem and guess I was putting the correct pressure in, I'd use a tire gauge(pressure gauge). The same thing here...

 

[murph145]

very true zman..... i just use the kalk in my situation to help keep my Ph a lil higher since i runa reactor thats dumping alot of low PH fluid back into my sump it keeps my tanks overall Ph a lil lower than it would be normally
in my tank alk and calcium get sucked up so fast that a lil tablespoon of kalk doesnt do much in 200G of water
best bet try to figure out how much alk and ca ur using and calculate from there what u need to dose Kalk at

 

[zman1]

Murph,
I know why you do, I have a Ca reactor as well, but not anywhere near the awesome SPS load you have...
Just don't want folks to dose and not test first. I've made mistakes like that before myself.

 

[joojoo]

Thanks so much everyone for your input. But the Xenia is completely gone this morning, sigh. It just makes me mad cuz I was like a day away from fragging it! It was my fav coral, pink pulsing and had grown so much in the 8 months I've had it. The only other thing that I think could have happened to it is it was being encroached upon by some GSP, like completely surrounded... would GSP choke it out like that?
But as far as kalk goes, you've all helped a lot. I guess I was just experimenting with it. I was reading come articles and they all say that you can only benefit from kalk, so I figured what the heck. The only coral I have are softies, so I don't even need Ca...

 

[chadman]

Originally Posted by murph145
i use Kalk in my top off water that is refilled as it evaporates by an auto top off sensor...
anyways i found that adding one large tablespoon of kalk per 5 gallons of water rose the PH up to 12.5... i tried adding 2 table spoons to see the impact on the PH and my Ph probe still read only 12.6
so IMO if ur just lookin to keep PH stable u dont need to add more than a half a teaspoon per gallon or so.... obviously this is not an exact science ive got goin on just some things ive noticed when using Kalk in my top off...
not sure if that has any effect on your xenia... xenia is a wierd thing all in its own some people have great success sum cant keep it worth a crap.... some will do good for a long time then all the sudden melt away

wowzerz why such a high pH?!?!

 

[joojoo]

Originally Posted by chadman
wowzerz why such a high pH?!?!
That pH is from the pure kalk solution, not the tank.