Can we improve the three-part dosing system to prevent/minimize Ca-creep-up?

Koty

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This is relevant mainly to no-water change reef tanks. The issue is to compensate for: 1. The slightly Lower Ca consumption due to Mg incorporation into the skeletons of corals and other critters in the tank. 2. Salinity creep up which is much less of a problem to deal with (occasional dumping of tank water into the sink etc.).
In my case because of the Ca creep-up, I have to dose different volumes daily which is a pain as you need to follow and fill each container separately.
The problems in dealing with this are: 1. Each tank consumes different ratios of Ca: Mg. 2. As the tank grows these ratios may change based on growth as well as the "rise and fall" of different critter populations in the tank. 3. As mentioned before, Measuring Ca and Mg accurately is not trivial unless you donate a kidney to finance numerous ICPs.
Please join if you have any creative ideas.
If we overcome 3 I was thinking for example of dosing a combination of TM AFR as the basic dosing element and An alkalinity source that will compensate for the Ca creep-up (forget trace and nontrace elements for now).
Measuring Mg with several repetitions each time (n=3) and always combining (normalizing) it with accurate salinity measurements may do the job and the same with Ca.
A note about Ca: RedSea's head of research said that High Ca has a higher effect on coral growth rate than alkalinity.

Here is my current dosing profile:
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geologeek

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So at this point in time is your dosing rates consistent? Granted you have to dose different amounts of each, but are they consistent?

If so, is this not a maths solution for you to work out your dilution amount so that you can dose equal volumes?
 
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Koty

Koty

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They are, but I am still waiting for the Ca to significantly and convincingly drop down. Any way this state as I mentioned is a pain to work with and unbalanced long term. I actually dose Kalkwasser slurry each morning to not increase the dosed volume. Also, I am moving soon to 5 lit containers but that again is not a perfect solution to the issue I raised. The math is not an issue as the inherent ion imbalance of using this path however slow it advances
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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some methods are stuck with a calcium creep, such as kalkwasser. But one should not assume that any other method is not already adjusted for these effects, though some that can be are not (such as AFR, which could be). A two or three part system, for example, may already be designed to prevent it, and if it appears to not do so, just adjusting the concentrations or amount dosed by a tiny amount should fix it.
 

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