I use kalk in my topoff water, and I understand that it raises Calcium and Alk. If I need to raise Alk I occasionally add Seachem's Reef Builder. I have a couple questions:

1. Can I put the Reef Builder in my kalk drip, or does this have to be separate?

2. Can someone explain some of the things that cause Alk to drop?

ok whos turn is it lol~ i explained the 3 pillars of stability last time! :D

Nevermind... I thought those were specific questions. But, I guess I'll go back and read every single post.

ok whos turn is it lol~ i explained the 3 pillars of stability last time! :D Ok, I may have over-reacted after reading that, but I gotta ask, what benefit does a reply like that serve??

i was having a laugh so others could jump in and get involved with these great & important topics!
dont be to sookie about it, or you can read every single last post there is till u find an answer to your question, which incidently could take some time!! its not like your tank is going to crash over night> just means you not going to mix your reef builder & hydroxide together till u find your answer! i need a hug, what about you:heart:

i wil endever not to be so patronising in future ok!
:roll:

no takers it seems. one day i'll be impressed when people are fighting to step up to the plate!;)

i could explain alot here, but to save abit of typing, why dont i dirrect you to some reading from one of the best in the field!
link me (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php)


it should answer all your questions. sorry you took my humor the wrong way this morning bud!

I was waiting for an answer to this one. thanks for the link

no sweat:hat:

Thanks for the link V. I was kinda havin a bad day. I appreciate your hangin on and supplying info.

arr n/p, it happens to the best of us. let us know if u have any more questions and i'll jump straight in and get my hands dirty with ya!

sorry guys i have been busy for the last few days...
dont worry about V, sometimes he doesnt realize what hes saying.. *smack*
but we all love his humor... :)

i will keep this short ans sweet as he did link to a great article..
1.) no you want to raise the Alk separate, dont mix this into your kalk
2.) alk is taken in with calcium as part of the overall calcification process, along with other smaller elements like Magnesium and strontium

if after going through that article, you still have more question, please let us know..

:clap:yea!

:peep: ohhh


gota:love:me still!

Can the amount of vinegar mixed in the kalk affect alk? I know it can affect PH. I somewhat understand that the point of the vinegar is to get more of the lime into solution.

I've been using kalk in my top-off water, since the show on it. Probably the single, biggest, positive change in my tank. Since then my Calcium has been maintaining between 400-450, and Alk was 9-10.5. But for the last month or so, my Alk has been dropping a little (as low as 7) and my Calcium either remains or climbs slightly (not quite 500.) Can this be attributed to just being a little behind on the last water change? Reason I wonder is, I use Reef Crystals salt which I know adds Magnesium. I currently don't supplement or test Magnesium. I am still working on understanding the relationship a little better.

forgive me with being lazy again, just these topics are huge, and my write ups take abit of time!
these links are some of the best on the net! well i dont update every week but good info doesn't age!

kalk (http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/breefcase/kalkwasser.html)

Mg (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm)

forgive me with being lazy again, just these topics are huge, and my write ups take abit of time!
these links are some of the best on the net! well i dont update every week but good info doesn't age!

kalk (http://www.reefscapes.net/articles/breefcase/kalkwasser.html)

Mg (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm)
?????? Why would you be the one to be blamed for anything? :evil:

i dont know, i guess these topics full into 2 catagories levels. the basic version, and the down right ugly scientific versions. basic versions are still hard to explain basicly! the 3 pillars of stability should indeed be four or more. cause alot of these elements are so interwoven with the relationships towards eachother that trying to explain one piece is alot harder than most would give you credit for!
if you guys dont fully understand whats the authors in the links are trying to explain we can break them down futher into more ...everyday language!

COOL... Thanks again V. Most of the articles I've found on my own are too in depth, and I get lost in some of the chemistry.