The “To dose FM balling light, kalkwasser, or both, or other?” Question.

[BTimms]

Hello All!

I am faceD with a fun dilemma and looking to you all for advice or suggestions. Thank you in advance!

I have a 3 yr old fluval flex 32.5, nicrew hyperreef 150 lights, ATO, Simple media bag filtration.
It is is fairly lightly stocked, with a few small colonies and frags of mostly sps (15) lps (14), some zoas , hammers (20 or so heads), melanarus wrasse, bubble tip anemone, 2 clowns, lawnmower Blenny, 4 urchins, snails, few small hermits. All is well on the reef!
In fact, my parameters stay fairly level as I only do weekly (5-10 gal) water changes and have hand dosed kalkwasser if calc/alk is ever low For too long. I do notice minimal uptake or movement in parameters over the week or weeks. See example below.

I was recently gifted a 4 head doser and the fauna Marin balling light set. I am ready to go for dosing!

As my params don’t move too much, I don’t want to go crazy with dosing, but really use it to stabilize. should I dose only kalkwasser, set up the balling lite dosing to get into keeping things even more stable, or go with the full balling light + kalk at night For ph stability.
I am open to any suggestions or ideas, thanks!

Parameters were taken one week apart, and I am now going to start dosing a few times a day for further accuracy.

Parameters

Temp: 25.5

Salinity: 1.026/35%

Mg: 1420

Ca: 440

KH: 8.1dkh

PO4: 0.1
————————————

Temp: 25.4

Salinity: 1.026/34%

Mg: 1420

Ca: 460

KH: 7.9

PO4: 0.01
————————————

Temp: 25.6

Salinity: 1.026/34%

Mg: 1435

Ca: 420

KH: 2.5/7.8

PO4: 0.03

——————
Temp:25.6

Salinity: 1.026/34%

Mg: 1440

Ca:440

KH: 2.1/5.9

PO4:0.03

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Your demand is very low, and anything you add will be in very low amounts. Because of that, the only important thing it will do is maintain and stabilize alk. I do not think it matters much what you pick because so little will be added.

 

[BTimms]

thank you Randy, I appreciate your input.
While uptake Is low, I am noticing greater changes in levels. Which is why I started handdosing kalk.
And I suppose my question would be, if you had to choose balling light or kalk? Perhaps I could switch to monthly water changes while dosing to maintain levels.
is it a situation where one is better than the other, or use the balling method as i have it to learn and the reservoirs will last a long time. ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A two part would be logistically easier when only occasional dosing is needed,. It would not need pumps. I'd add a dose of both or all 3 parts (depending on the product used) when the alk dropped by 0.3 dKH from your target.

 

[BTimms]

A two part would be logistically easier when only occasional dosing is needed,. It would not need pumps. I'd add a dose of both or all 3 parts (depending on the product used) when the alk dropped by 0.3 dKH from your target.

@Randy Holmes-Farley I sincerely appreciate your guidance. Contributors and mentors such as yourself are the reason I come here for advice, and the education and source for keeping a successful and healthy reef Environment.
thank you!