Basic Chem levels won’t go up!

[MadCaddy]

I’m working to up the Ca, Mg and KH of my tank in preparation for adding corals. I’m starting with smaller frags so was hoping for a chemical level that would facilitate faster growth. I thought I’d try one of the Red Sea recipes recommended for exceptional growth. It calls for 465 ppm Ca, 1390 ppm Mg and 12 dKH. I had quite a ways to raise my levels to get there so I’ve been dosing supplements daily for the last week or so (Seachem reef builder for KH, Seachem reef advantage do Ca, and Red Sea foundation C for Mg. I’ve notice that the levels seem to have topped off at 400 ppm Ca, 1275 mg and about 10 dKH. When I add more of each supplement the Ca and Mg either stay about the same (or even go down?). And the KH seems to fluctuate. I had it up to 12 but has since dropped to 10. At any rate, can anyone tell me why I can’t get the levels up consistently to my target? I haven’t noticed any excess precipitate and my pH seems steady at about 8.3.

 

[Timfish]

There's a lot more to growth in corals than just basic parameters, both spectrum/intensity and genotype play important roles among others. So I wouldn't worry about getting fast growth right away. Once you get youir corals growing you can try tweeking parameters. All the biology in your system will be messing with numbers so expect numbers to be constatnly changing. Just FYI, trying to get fast growth can compramise the health of your coral.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3758286/
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.1912
https://peerj.com/articles/13158/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.623963/full
https://reefs.com/magazine/coral-coloration-and-incident-light-a-photographic-essay/

 

[Doctorgori]

why are you concerned with elevating the levels?

(I did see your mg is kinda low)
Nothing wrong with NSW levels either …. Alk at 7ish might be “riding the fence” but maybe not if you test regularly …
I like 8ish anymore and there is a thread around here somewhere about lower alkalinity ,,,
anyway, Alk, mg, Ca … would be the one area to apply the ole “stability is the key” mantra ….