My tank is a little over a year old. I initially purchased every piece of equipment known to man kind for manual testing, automatic testing and dosing. I assumed after reading every forum I could read and watching every video I could find, including the BRS series, that eventually I would need to dose 3 part, cal, mag & alk. However, my tank continues to struggle keeping my alkalinity between 7 & 8 with daily dosing of alkalinity only, but my calcium & magnesium are forever skyrocketing to levels between 650 to 700 for calcium and 1400 to 1500 on magnesium even though I never dose those items due to already high levels. I have begun to wonder if the old saying "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" is the culprit to my dilemma.
Should I perhaps dose calcium & magnesium as well even though their levels are already way too high? How would I even know how much to dose since my tank is not depleting either of those elements?
I was initially trying to run the Triton method and the test samples I sent in have come back stating all my levels are good but my nitrates are a bit high at 20ish. I finally threw in the towel on that method requiring no water changes and began doing water changes in the past month along with using some NoPox dosing. I have gotten my nitrates down to 1 but my cal & mag are skyrocketing more than ever now and I'm having to chase my alkalinity to keep it up daily so it doesn't plummet.
I have always kept freshwater tanks and finally took the plunge and started a salt tank because friends/acquaintances kept telling me it is just as easy as freshwater once it's mature/cycled. However, I know now they lied!!! It's always something to tweak, change, remove, add or something. It has proven to be a daunting task and extremely expensive.
Anyone that can offer suggestions/ideas regarding my cal & mag challenge will be greatly appreciated.
Before anyone asks, the I am using Tropic Marin Pro salt. Have been doing weekly water changes for the past 4 weeks.
Should I perhaps dose calcium & magnesium as well even though their levels are already way too high? How would I even know how much to dose since my tank is not depleting either of those elements?
I was initially trying to run the Triton method and the test samples I sent in have come back stating all my levels are good but my nitrates are a bit high at 20ish. I finally threw in the towel on that method requiring no water changes and began doing water changes in the past month along with using some NoPox dosing. I have gotten my nitrates down to 1 but my cal & mag are skyrocketing more than ever now and I'm having to chase my alkalinity to keep it up daily so it doesn't plummet.
I have always kept freshwater tanks and finally took the plunge and started a salt tank because friends/acquaintances kept telling me it is just as easy as freshwater once it's mature/cycled. However, I know now they lied!!! It's always something to tweak, change, remove, add or something. It has proven to be a daunting task and extremely expensive.
Anyone that can offer suggestions/ideas regarding my cal & mag challenge will be greatly appreciated.
Before anyone asks, the I am using Tropic Marin Pro salt. Have been doing weekly water changes for the past 4 weeks.