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On a YouTube video from FishOfHex, he strongly recommended that when dosing Alk & Calcium it should be in equal amounts. Is this a best practice?
Thanks Randy, your 2002 article on solving Alk & Ca problems should be really helpful to a lot of us here. I am really grateful to you & another member for bringing this article to our attention.Are you finding some off ratio works better?
Sorry my post 20 minutes ago should have been in response to Larry L postMost two-part calcium and alk supplements are designed so that dosing equal amounts will maintain the balance of ions in your system. You're basically adding calcium chloride (the calcium part) plus sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate (the alk part), so the calcium and the carbonate become available to your coral in the same ratio that they normally uptake from the water to build their skeletons, and the sodium and chloride just end up as salt.
Like @BadPanda said there might be times when you need to raise either calcium or alk relative to the other, but once you reach target levels you should dose in equal amounts (assuming the supplements you are using were designed as a two-part system). There's a good article here by @Randy Holmes-Farley about getting calcium and alkalinity in line with each other (I think it's still a valid URL but for some reason seems not to be working right now):
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry
Thanks Randy, your 2002 article on solving Alk & Ca problems should be really helpful to a lot of us here. I am really grateful to you & another member for bringing this article to our attention.
One thing that isn’t really clear to me is, do I discontinue my use of B-Ionic 2 part while I follow your article’s advise to help bring my tank back into balance? My tank has always been firmly in zone 4 (Alk 7.5-8 and Ca 550-600). I also have been using Seachem’s (orange box) salt for years and wonder if this might be part of my balancing problem.
Thanks.
If you want, you can use just the alk part while the calcium declines. Or you can use a DIY alk supplement during this time, such as baking soda.
Thanks Randy. My question to you about the possible Alk/Ca balancing effects of the salt I am using, I should have written “Instant Ocean” reef crystals. Do you think this salt may well contributed to my balance problem. Sorry about my salt name error, maybe I was having a senior moment
Appreciate your input. ThanksReef Crystals (when properly formulated, at least) is not the cause of high calcium relative to alk. It actually is quite a high alk mix.
I don't want to speak for Randy but I do believe he has mentioned a few times that altering the amounts to stay within your desired parameters is fine. If you do regular water changes your balance won't go out of whack anyway.
Are you finding some off ratio works better?
Not really, I've been dosing now for little more than a year and stability hasn't been good. Maybe that is the reason.