Need help understanding RedSea Alkalinity B

upstatefamily · Apr 12, 2024

Hello, I have recently started dosing with Red sea Foundations ABC and I am having trouble understanding the parameters on the alkalinity bottle because everything is listed as a range. I am aiming for the mixed reef requirements which the bottle says is 4.15/11.5 my water test performed last night read 9. So am I good? Do I need to add another dose?

Background info. I purchased 3 polyps on March 16th and 1 day a bout a week later they had all disappeared over night (pulsing xenia, clove polyps, green start polyps) , so I started researching and found out I may not have enough nutrients for polyps and that I should supplement to adjust levels and feed heavier to increase nitrates and purchased the Red sea ABC Foundations. Initial test paramenters
Ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate 0
calcium 360
Kh - 6-7
magnesium 1170-1200

after 3 days of heavy feeding and adding Redsea foundations ABC (liquid) and RedSea trace minerals ABCD the levels have increased to
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 -20
phosphate 0.2
calcium 400
Kh 9
magnesium 1500 ( I am not sure how this increased so much as I tested each day before adding each item and when it reached the ideal of 1350 I stopped dosing with it and it raised more over the next 2 days)

Thank info:
75 gallon reef with 30 gallon sump and protein skimmer
live rock and sand bed
mushrooms, toadstool, feather duster, pocillopora, long tentacle anenome, damsels, chromis, clown fish, coral beauty, purple dottyback, hermit crabs, conch, some snails.
Feed is a mix of frozen food, benereef, RedSea AB+, and refrigerated Phyton, tank is dosed 2x a year with cocopods.

Thank you

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 12, 2024

Welcome to reef2Reef!

I recommend 7-11 dKH.

Do not let product manufacturers set your target levels. Come up with them yourself based on your tank needs and goals.

This has more:

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley

[note: edited on 5/29/2022 to update the nitrate and phosphate sections with higher recommended levels.] One of the main roles of an aquarist with a coral reef aquarium is to ensure that the conditions are right for their tank inhabitants. There...

www.reef2reef.com

crazyfishmom · Apr 13, 2024

Your new parameters look great. Tricky part is to keep testing and make sure they stay there. But I think you made the appropriate adjustments. Magnesium at 1500 is not a big deal and you’ll find that in newer tanks dosing a little can sometimes lead to spikes as things settle.

upstatefamily · Apr 15, 2024

crazyfishmom said:
Your new parameters look great. Tricky part is to keep testing and make sure they stay there. But I think you made the appropriate adjustments. Magnesium at 1500 is not a big deal and you’ll find that in newer tanks dosing a little can sometimes lead to spikes as things settle.

Thanks for the feedback the tank is about 4 years old, but I haven't dosed in many years as everything was where I thought it should be. I tested again yesterday and the mg HSA already dropped to the mid 4's. I'm really just not sure about the alkalinity if I need to keep dosing with that? or let it fall back a bit. I just don't understand the range on the bottle.

crazyfishmom · Apr 15, 2024

upstatefamily said:
Thanks for the feedback the tank is about 4 years old, but I haven't dosed in many years as everything was where I thought it should be. I tested again yesterday and the mg HSA already dropped to the mid 4's. I'm really just not sure about the alkalinity if I need to keep dosing with that? or let it fall back a bit. I just don't understand the range on the bottle.

It depends on where your salt normally mixes (better for your corals if they match so they don’t see swings every time you do a water change). I keep my alkalinity between 9-9.5 and my corals are happy. I keep my nutrients a bit on the higher side targeting 15-20 nitrates and 0.1-0.2 phosphate (thought the phosphate is higher than that right now) and my corals are pretty happy.