Tank barley evaporates, can’t add more kalk

[anthony1222]

So I started using kalk in a doser and started with a dose of 500 ml since I only have a few corals. My tank is 90 gallons in total and it looks like I’m already adding more than my tank evaporates. My ato doesn’t turn on anymore and the water level in my display is dropping and return pump chamber rising. There’s no way my tank evaporates this little water..At this rate I can’t use kalk

 

[KrisReef]

IF the tank level is dropping and return chamber higher perhaps the return pump impeller isn't spinning as fast or getting slowed down by calcium accumulation, or something else?

 

[Formulator]

Where did you come up with 500 mL? Why are you dosing kalk? If you only have a few corals, your Alk is going to skyrocket. Kalk is not just a pH booster, but this is common misinformation for new reefers unfortunately. Its probably a good thing you were limited by the evaporation rate before you got yourself in trouble with Alk. Do you know your daily alk consumption?

On a separate note, if water in the display is low, and high in return chamber, you have a flow rate issue and need to close the drain valve a bit or turn up the flow on your return pump if you have an adjustable dc pump. This has nothing to do with the kalk and is a separate issue. Or it could be indirectly related if you are precipitating calcium bicarbonate in your pump and plumbing because you overdosed alk…

 

[Northern Flicker]

Time to crank up flow on the return pump a little.

Nothing wrong with kalk dosing via ATO but it might be easier to use 2 part until you are feeling really dialed in on evap and consumption.

 

[anthony1222]

Where did you come up with 500 mL? Why are you dosing kalk? If you only have a few corals, your Alk is going to skyrocket. Kalk is not just a pH booster, but this is common misinformation for new reefers unfortunately. Its probably a good thing you were limited by the evaporation rate before you got yourself in trouble with Alk. Do you know your daily alk consumption?

On a separate note, if water in the display is low, and high in return chamber, you have a flow rate issue and need to close the drain valve a bit or turn up the flow on your return pump if you have an adjustable dc pump. This has nothing to do with the kalk and is a separate issue. Or it could be indirectly related if you are precipitating calcium bicarbonate in your pump and plumbing because you overdosed alk…

my tank consumes .2 dkh a day and i don’t really do consistent water changes so i’m dosing. I used a calculator to get the 500mls.

So increasing return speed would solve my problem? I didn’t get this problem with the water levels until I started dosing kalk.

 

[Formulator]

my tank consumes .2 dkh a day and i don’t really do consistent water changes so i’m dosing. I used a calculator to get the 500mls.

So increasing return speed would solve my problem? I didn’t get this problem with the water levels until I started dosing kalk.

Ok, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I’m sensitized because lately I keep seeing posts from newer reefers who are dosing kalk with zero awareness that it is a method of dosing alk and calcium. They just throw some in the ATO to raise pH

Regarding the water level, yes you need to get it balanced. You should have a line on your return pump chamber where you want to keep the water level and if it varies from this line and the water volume doesn’t change, then you need to rebalance by adjusting the gate valve on the drain or adjusting the return pump speed. If you don’t maintain consistent water level, your salinity will fluctuate all the time.

After you have that issue solved, if your evaporation rate is still low, you can try a fan blowing over the tank or sump. This will increase evaporation pretty significantly and will also cool your tank, so depending on your tank temp, you may need to use it with a controller so it doesn’t cool too much.

In general though, a lot of people have to use an additional dosing method with Kalk to maintain alk and calcium. Kalk alone can be limited by volume and evaporation as you discovered, so even if you get it working now, with any success in your corals you will need another dosing method eventually anyways. Kalk is still great for its ability to keep pH up, but it may need help from a 2-part as demand increases.