Questions about auto top off

[jstdv8]

I'm aware of all that. I don't mind water changes, i just thought the kalk was supposed to keep your calcium high. Isn't it weird that you have to drip kalk water but you can dose calcium additives directly? My corals don't take much in the way of calcium anyway so my water changes keep it relatively high. I already run a scrubber with great results

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///t/393313/questions-about-auto-top-off/20#post_3499164
I'm aware of all that. I don't mind water changes, i just thought the kalk was supposed to keep your calcium high. Isn't it weird that you have to drip kalk water but you can dose calcium additives directly? My corals don't take much in the way of calcium anyway so my water changes keep it relatively high. I already run a scrubber with great results
I forgot who I was talking to...of course you already know that. LOL....I thought I was talking to somebody new on the site for some reason.

 

[jstdv8]

When I talk like a complete newb about easy stuff like ATO I can see where you could make that observation. Plus I haven't been around much this past year.

 

[beaslbob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///t/393313/questions-about-auto-top-off/20#post_3499164
I'm aware of all that. I don't mind water changes, i just thought the kalk was supposed to keep your calcium high. Isn't it weird that you have to drip kalk water but you can dose calcium additives directly? My corals don't take much in the way of calcium anyway so my water changes keep it relatively high. I already run a scrubber with great results
Have you looked at the diy 2 part method. After all it uses the not sodium chloride ice melters which should be available up there in alaska

 

[jstdv8]

No I haven't. Do you happen to have a link?
Is this the holmes-farley thing?

 

[beaslbob]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///t/393313/questions-about-auto-top-off/20#post_3499323
No I haven't. Do you happen to have a link?
Is this the holmes-farley thing?
try google "holmes-farley diy two part".
when I did it just now it was the first hit.
Actually just reading the procedure is extremely informative.
beaslbob at aol dot com if you have questions.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Keep in mind, however, that dosing a two (actually a three) part solution does not negate having to do water changes to help balance the correct ions in the system....

 

[jstdv8]

again, I don't mind doing water changes. That is not the objective.
In fact, I'm not really sure what the objective is LOL

 

[xcali1985]

The best and only way I have and will ever add kalk into my tank is through a drip. It's very simple to do and with a 5 gallon bucket you won't have to worry about it for weeks.
Leave the ATO separate.
The reason KALK cannot be dosed like Calcium solutions is because it also raises Alkalinity.
I am a firm believer in keeping everything separate. If one thing fails the system is not being overloaded with multiple variables.
For instance ATO stuck on or off, you can deal with salinity issues.
If you add the kalk to that you have to deal with salinity and high levels of calcium and alkalinity.
I would also purchase a pH lowering solution that turns Alkalinity into CO2 for when mistakes are made. I think Seachem makes a product that you add directly into the tank to accomplish this. It is a dry product so it has a nice shelf life. However, when your first starting off and trying to determine the drip rate it is good for if you make a mistake here or there.

 

[jstdv8]

I've done the drip thing before and find it to be a huge pain in the rear.
You get the drip rate right when the container is full, but the emptier it gets the less the drip rate.
I'll stick to water changes as my incoming calcium.