Dosing question 2 part / Kalk

[Turkeysammich]

This is a question for you 2-part dosing guys. I dosing Kalk as my main source. Then come on with 2-part. Water changes or make up salt here and there. I noticed in the last few years. I never dose calcium or magnesium. Do you guys ever run into that. It’s like once in a blue moon. Just curious how’s others systems.

 

[Coral reefer]

I almost always have to add more alk than ca, and more ca than mg

 

[JVU]

Kalk and 2-part both include calcium, so it isn’t surprising you aren’t needing to add more. Plus as Mike said and same for me, lots of people report their systems use a little more alk than Ca than would be expected by the standard ratios anyway, so if anything you are adding more alk not Ca.

For Magnesium, kalk does not include it. True 2-part also doesn’t include it, but people use that term generically and 3-part and 4-part supplements do include Mg, so it would depend on which you use. Mg is normally present at such a high concentration (3 times more than Ca and 10 times more than alk) with relatively little consumption compared to either, so it changes very slowly. Plus coral and other inhabitants seem to be ok with a wider range of Mg compared to other elements. Lots of people say they don’t need to add Mg because their water changes take care of it. Or just add it occasionally to top off.

 

[Darkxerox]

I only supplement with kalk now and my mag seems to stay mostly ok with 10% weekly changes. I add it back maybe quarterly as my heavy amount of coralline algae consumes it. I did have a rash of mag depletion when I screw edup my salt mixing technique and it crashed out of solution (e.g. too much dry salt mix and overshoot to 40 ppt).

 

[Turkeysammich]

Good to know. I was always under the impression from 10 years ago that calcium was the one to watch. Now it seems to have shifted to ph, alk, and phos. Seems like the more I know the more I realize the less I know. I always feel like I’m stumbling thru the hobby.
I wonder if a calcium reactor is the magic tool. I ran one in the early 2000’s for a bit but have always settled back to 2 part for the easy way. Just guess what ever works best for you type deal.

 

[newfly]

Not to hijack the thread, I recall reading somewhere about a dosing fix ratio of mag versus alk or ca instead of measuring mag consumption and adjust the dosing. The logic behind this approach is

1. Apparently mag measurement is inaccurate
2. There is some science that point to mag consumption is proportional to either alk or ca.

Sorry can’t remember the details. Anyone can chime in?

 

[Turkeysammich]

Not to hijack the thread, I recall reading somewhere about a dosing fix ratio of mag versus alk or ca instead of measuring mag consumption and adjust the dosing. The logic behind this approach is

1. Apparently mag measurement is inaccurate
2. There is some science that point to mag consumption is proportional to either alk or ca.

Sorry can’t remember the details. Anyone can chime in?

Yeah. That’s what I was told in the 2005ish. It didn’t work for me. People use to say dose the alk and cal at the same amounts. It will balance out. It never did. I asked and asked. Everyone had different answers.
Now Randy Farley-Holmes says don’t even test mag. That it’s not as relevant as people think. Thus confusion for years.