All For Reef issue need help

[Jaynos]

I have been using A4R for a few years with no problems in a 65 gallon tank. I recently upgraded my tank to a 130 gallon system. After stabalizing my parameters with 2 part i started dosing all for reef. I keep increasing my dose and my calcium keeps dropping. I usually dont test often but i started to lose some coral. With all the same coral and livestock i am now doing 68ml a day in the 130 while i was only dosing 22 in the 65 gallon prior. My parameters are: alk 8.9, cal 330, mag 1410. I use both salifert and hanna checkers for testing and they are similar in results to each other. 68 mls seems pretty high to me. Does anyone have any advice or info that might help?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How are you measuring calcium and alk?

If alk is 8.9 dKH, i do not recommend adding more AFR. You are adding enough to offset real calcium loses unless you are also adding alk in some other way (whether you realize it or not).

Not sure why it is low, but could be test error, or water changes with an off mix, but it is not going down from consumption unless, as I mentioned, you are adding alk some other way.

In any case, if you believe the test kit (try it on some new salt water), I'd just boost it with calcium chloride to 420 ppm over a few days.

 

[Jaynos]

I use salifert calcium test kit and hanna calcium checker. I also use A4R on a smaller 20 gallon tank and ive tested using these 2 test kits to see if maybe it was a test kit issue and recieved similar results within range of each other of 450-460 calcium. Ive also tested a batch of freshly mixed salt water to see whats being added from that and it had 420-430 calcium on the salifert test. Never the less i have ordered new reagents for hanna and a new salifert test kit that should be arriving today.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I use salifert calcium test kit and hanna calcium checker. I also use A4R on a smaller 20 gallon tank and ive tested using these 2 test kits to see if maybe it was a test kit issue and recieved similar results within range of each other of 450-460 calcium. Ive also tested a batch of freshly mixed salt water to see whats being added from that and it had 420-430 calcium on the salifert test. Never the less i have ordered new reagents for hanna and a new salifert test kit that should be arriving today.

So that falls back to the possibility of alk entering some other way. Top off tap water? Nitrate dosing? Any other additives?

 

[Jaynos]

i use rodi water only, i don’t dose nitrates. I’m currently only have a4r in the dosing container. The only other thing i use or put in the tank is food. I use ab+ and benepets coral food. And i only feed frozen mysis

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i use rodi water only, i don’t dose nitrates. I’m currently only have a4r in the dosing container. The only other thing i use or put in the tank is food. I use ab+ and benepets coral food. And i only feed frozen mysis

very hard to understand how you got there, but I’d just fix it and hope it doesn’t arise again.

 

[Pistondog]

I use salifert calcium test kit and hanna calcium checker. I also use A4R on a smaller 20 gallon tank and ive tested using these 2 test kits to see if maybe it was a test kit issue and recieved similar results within range of each other of 450-460 calcium. Ive also tested a batch of freshly mixed salt water to see whats being added from that and it had 420-430 calcium on the salifert test. Never the less i have ordered new reagents for hanna and a new salifert test kit that should be arriving today.

I had issues with the hanna calcium checker. It only samples 0.1 ml of tank water, which is off 50% if you dont shake the drop off the sampler.