Alk and calcium level question

[sergio706]

Hey guys I recently setup a new 40 gallon Tank. I cycled the tank and added livestock after it was cycled. Well I decided I wanted to start dosing. Before I would just do water weekly water changes to keep parameters stable. I bought a doser and everything I needed to start dosing. Now I’m just testing the water to see how much my coral consume to get and idea of how much to dose! Well I’ve been testing for 3 days now and everyday I seem to be getting the same results. My ALK stays at 9 DKH and my calcium stays at 420. They aren’t bad numbers but I would think my coral would consume a bit more since I have 2(8-10+ heads) frogspawn colonies, 4 (4-5 heads)torch colonies,large volleyball size galaxia,2 anemones and 2 torch frags. Is it normal or am I just using a bad test kit(API master reef)? Also I’m running chemipure and purigen and have chateo with one clownfish and 1 goby.

 

[sergio706]

Sorry guys I’m new to dosing so I’m not too sure how dosing works. I usually just do water changes to keep up my parameters.

 

[Jvesche20]

Your getting the same results because your corals aren’t consuming a lot of calcium or alkalinity. It doesn’t look like you have any sps so your corals might not be consuming super fast. Once you get more corals that use calcium to build their skeletal structure then you will need to dose. I didn’t start fishing till 4-5 months in and I bought 2 huge colonies. I have a Duncan that’s got 100+ heads and a montipoa that’s 10inch wide. It’s actually my profile picture. I also have some small sps frags and even then my calcium only drops 35 per week while my dkh drops .3 per week. Just keep with the water changes and test every week. If you seem to notice it’s staying below what it should (420 and 9 imo) then find out what you need to dose. Right after a water change test parameters then wait a week test and see how far they depleted then that’s how much you need to add every week

 

[sergio706]

Your getting the same results because your corals aren’t consuming a lot of calcium or alkalinity. It doesn’t look like you have any sps so your corals might not be consuming super fast. Once you get more corals that use calcium to build their skeletal structure then you will need to dose. I didn’t start fishing till 4-5 months in and I bought 2 huge colonies. I have a Duncan that’s got 100+ heads and a montipoa that’s 10inch wide. It’s actually my profile picture. I also have some small sps frags and even then my calcium only drops 35 per week while my dkh drops .3 per week. Just keep with the water changes and test every week. If you seem to notice it’s staying below what it should (420 and 9 imo) then find out what you need to dose. Right after a water change test parameters then wait a week test and see how far they depleted then that’s how much you need to add every week

No sps right now lol but also I wanted to follow the Red Sea mixed reef recipe which is ALK at 11.5 and calcium at 450ppm is that a bit of an overkill?

 

[Jvesche20]

No sps right now lol but also I wanted to follow the Red Sea mixed reef recipe which is ALK at 11.5 and calcium at 450ppm is that a bit of an overkill?

That’s a personal preference. I go with what brs suggest and that’s 420 and 9. That’s also what my lfs keeps their stuff at so when I go to buy it from them it’s not any different switching over

 

[laverda]

I think 9 is a much safer level for ALK. 11.5 is on the high end making it easy to accidentally bump up too high causing problems.

 

[PatW]

Corals do not consume calcium or alkalinity unless they are growing. When you put corals into your tank, it is a shock. Even under optimal conditions, it takes awhile for them to adjust. Once they start growing, you will need to dose. I use bulk reef supply two part dry and mix it myself. Once the coral gets going, it is good to monitor alk closely. Keeping alkalinity nearly constant is important. I test daily for alk but only weekly for calcium. Until you get consistent consumption, you can hand dose. Later, you will probably want to get dosers.