KH Guardian: Automatic Alkalinity Controller- My Experiences

[Acorral]

For those people that are asking about Calcium Reactors, you could think of the KHG as a means to help you tune the Calcium Reactor. If you look at your KHG data, you can then assess if your reactor needs to be dialed. If the KHG shows that your dKH is low, then adjust your Calcium reactor and then keep an eye on the KHG data to see if your adjustment helped. You now have constant real data that can make tuning the Calcium Reactor much easier.

That is exactly the use I would give to it with the calcium reactor... more like a monitor...

Read the trend on the monitor and adjust the effluent doser... manually

Exactly the same that you are doing but you adjust your 2 part dosers.

So the real value of the product, as it is right now, is not the dosing... that part is just one tiny detail on the product that some will use but most will ignore....

If you, as manufacturer, could take advantage of the controller in the KHG, the testing capabilities and add to it the ability to control more than one doser and make the software more flexible and smart on controlling those dosers then you will have a GREAT KH controller

 

[loui]

Sub

 

[RamsReef]

That also made me realize I needed to update it's time and date... it's in the future!

The future is now.

 

[Jonty]

I have used the last three days to tune my calcium reactor; I travel every week, so my tank is unattended for five days every week I have had trouble in the past with Alk swings and a gradual drop over time. I am glad to report that I now have a 0.1 drift between day and night, but it is rock solid. The fact that if it does drop while I am away the KHG can pick up the slack and I can adjust my reactor when I get back to the tank is amazing. This unit is a game changer for me I can't imagine being without a KHG now.

 

[Rick.45cal]

The future is now.

Wait... Just then?... dang.. I missed it!

 

[Rick.45cal]

I have used the last three days to tune my calcium reactor; I travel every week, so my tank is unattended for five days every week I have had trouble in the past with Alk swings and a gradual drop over time. I am glad to report that I now have a 0.1 drift between day and night, but it is rock solid. The fact that if it does drop while I am away the KHG can pick up the slack and I can adjust my reactor when I get back to the tank is amazing. This unit is a game changer for me I can't imagine being without a KHG now.

I really wouldn't want to be without it now, and in your situation with your tank, I definitely wouldn't want to be without it! Did you figure out the SD card purging on you?

 

[Jonty]

I think it was caused by accessing from my phone remotely and pocket pushing a button Duh.

 

[Carlos@CoralVue]

I think it was caused by accessing from my phone remotely and pocket pushing a button Duh.

Glad to hear you figured it out!!!

 

[samparker]

I really wouldn't want to be without it now, and in your situation with your tank, I definitely wouldn't want to be without it! Did you figure out the SD card purging on you?

I have to give mine back this week.....

 

[Carlos@CoralVue]

I have to give mine back this week.....

Yikes!!!

 

[samparker]

Yikes!!!

I can't complain, had the opportunity to test out one of the first into Australia for free. The experience has been great, now to save my pennies

 

[Rick.45cal]

So just an update. After shutting down my balling dosing and rearranging the schedule back to consistent 24 hour dosing. I let my KH drop to 7.4 dKH, the KHG made the correction for 7.5 dKH and I turned the balling solutions doser back on. Since doing that, my alkalinity has stayed at 7.6 dKH all night and all day today.

Trying to adjust for consumption rates is a mistake, it's actually throwing more variables into a system of many constantly changing variables. By dosing consistently over 24 hours it helps to eliminate the additions as a variable. So in a system of many, constantly changing variables, the best initial strategy for helping to increase stability is to turn as many variables into constants as possible. Limiting the ways a system can effectively change helps invoke stability.

 

[Jonty]

I do wonder about the resolution I don't see a linear drop say from 7.6 to 7.5 it seems to drop to 7.4 and similarly from 7.9 to 7.7 is anyone else getting a smooth .1 drops between testing as it drops and rises I cam currently at testing every four hours I may change to testing every two hours to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I do wonder about the resolution I don't see a linear drop say from 7.6 to 7.5 it seems to drop to 7.4 and similarly from 7.9 to 7.7 is anyone else getting a smooth .1 drops between testing as it drops and rises I cam currently at testing every four hours I may change to testing every two hours to see if it makes a difference.

I've gotten several changes in only .1 increments

 

[samparker]

yeah I have had most of my changes in 0.1 increments.

I wonder if you need to adjust your current dosing amount (if its dropping quickly), up your test frequency or adjust your tank size/max adjustment amount in the settings?

 

[petemichelle]

i have a kind of a newbie question. I see people with a wide variety of alkalinity goals. even among salts, like the red sea pro salt recommend 11.0-11.5. then I see people in this thread which appear to be advanced reefers who are adamant about keeping theirs at 7.5. or even less. also, compared to calcium which everyone seems to be agreement on should be around 400-450, why is alkalinity swing more important and what does it show. the corals use alk, and calcium both, also I dose both 2 parts in equal amounts. some people have said that it should always be in equal amounts, and some people say it doesn't matter. I have just dosed in equal amounts until I reach 450 calcium which everyone seems in agreement on and where ever the alk is is where it is. is this wrong. I see people state that testing for alk is almost a daily task and calcium a weekly task. does the alk need to be that rock steady??? that much more than the calcium....??? I guess that's the purpose of this guardian...

 

[Rick.45cal]

People keep their alkalinities in different areas for different reasons. There are advantages to being in different areas in the range. If you system runs low nutrients and you keep SPS it is generally best to run low alkalinities, as high alkalinities result in "burnt tips" where the tips of the acropora become bare skeleton because (supposedly) the skeleton outgrows the fleshy body of the coral. Higher alkalinities offer increased growth rate, but your tank has to have the nutrients to support it without getting burnt tips.

I think most people here are looking to try and stabilize their alkalinity (and just be able to look at a screen and tell what it is). Alkalinity is a little more important to be concerned with than Ca or Mg just because there is a lot less of it in our tanks, and it is used at an equal rate.

Everyone here is adding equal parts alkalinity and Ca. The KHG is just monitoring and giving an occasional correction.

2 part works like this. You can dose each one independently to get your levels where you want 7.5 dKH 440ppm Ca. Then you dose equal parts to maintain them in that balance. As long as your alk is 7.5 dKH then your calcium will be 440 ppm. (Does that make sense?). You're correct you don't want to dose just one or the other long term without monitoring and dosing the other.

 

[petemichelle]

thanks

 

[rockmullet]

Its people that spend like us who keeps the economy spinning! Nice buy

 

[Rick.45cal]

thanks

So long story short if your alkalinity is higher than you want to keep it (because you added equal parts to get your calcium up), you can stop dosing alkalinity (while still dosing to maintain your calcium level) and then once your alkalinity drops to the level you want to you can resume dosing alk to maintain it there.