Confused about balance KH and Cal

Kamila89

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Hi! Everybody! I’m still confused how I can balance it out my CAL with my KH?
I tested my Kh and Cal for the last couple of days and the readings are
Cal:480/500
Kh:7
Ph:7.8/8
Po3:0.11 I need to bring it down
Nitrates:0.5
Mag:1380
Those are my usual numbers but I wanted to raise just a bit my KH/ph so I only dose Fusion 2, 2 days ago and got it to KH:8.4 and Ph about the same. I tested again yesterday and it declined to KH 7.6 so I dose again and I got back up to the same kH:8.4 my Cal still the same and Mag after only use Fusion 2.
My thing is,I’ll have to dose everyday fusion 2 to maintain the #? It’s ok just using fusion 2 for now or I’ll have to use Fusion 1 too? If so when? I haven’t dose Cal because it’s pretty high already so I’m dosing what I need to bring up but am I doing it right? 8 months tank, low nutrients system, just LPS.
 

AdamB

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Your alk will drop much quicker than your calcium
I would calculate how much your daily alk reduction is and adjust dosing schedule and dose both alk and calcium equally . When your alk goes up your calcium will come down . I’ve doser 2 part for equally now and never had an issue with things being stable unless I neglected checking my mag. Every couple of months
 
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AdamB

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I think if you have high nutrient level that your alk can slip as well . Nitrates are high
 
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Kamila89

Kamila89

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Your alk will drop much quicker than your calcium
I would calculate how much your daily alk reduction is and adjust dosing schedule and dose both alk and calcium equally . When your alk goes up your calcium will come down . I’ve doser 2 part for equally now and never had an issue with things being stable unless I neglected checking my mag. Every couple of months
So I’ll have to dose Cal even this high? Will no go higher if I dose it?
 
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AdamB

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Right . Dose Both . Your calcium will go down after you adjust your alk more and get your nutrient level down
I know . When I first started dosing I didn’t get it either .
 
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Kamila89

Kamila89

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Is a little confusing because I was thinking why add something that is already high so I’ll just dose what I need and that’s it but I guess no, plus I don’t have right now a dosing pump I’m dosing manually. My Nitrates are around 5ppm or even lower ,I know I have to lower is my phosphates do you know how? I’m using Phosgard is ok.
 
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AdamB

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I know . It will work itself out . Lot of literature online that I researched about that .
I’ve never used phosguard. Never had a phosphate problem. I would do water changes . Do you know where your phosphate is coming from ?
 
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Kamila89

Kamila89

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Is a little overwhelming at times to much inf out there. My first guess is my water so I just got a new Rodi system so I’ll see, maybe food? I have to feed my little creatures 3 times a day. I do water changes biweekly 15%.
 
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Greg P

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IMO your #s are pretty good where they are for a start. Just stop the Ca dosing to let it drop more into the 4-420 range to match your Alk of 7dKH. Just keep an eye on your Alk so it doesn't drop more. With all your other params, I'd like to see Alk around 7.5 or so.
Once your Alk and Ca are a little more balanced you can re-start dosing both together, and then worry about your N&P. At that point I'd get N up to, say 2-5, and P will come down some as they are both used together.
 
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Kamila89

Kamila89

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IMO your #s are pretty good where they are for a start. Just stop the Ca dosing to let it drop more into the 4-420 range to match your Alk of 7dKH. Just keep an eye on your Alk so it doesn't drop more. With all your other params, I'd like to see Alk around 7.5 or so.
Once your Alk and Ca are a little more balanced you can re-start dosing both together, and then worry about your N&P. At that point I'd get N up to, say 2-5, and P will come down some as they are both used together.
I haven’t dose any Ca because is kind a high just KH to get it a little higher and to help my ph too.
Now just dosing my KH with fusion 2 is around 8.4 and ph too and Cal still around 480.
IMO your #s are pretty good where they are for a start. Just stop the Ca dosing to let it drop more into the 4-420 range to match your Alk of 7dKH. Just keep an eye on your Alk so it doesn't drop more. With all your other params, I'd like to see Alk around 7.5 or so.
Once your Alk and Ca are a little more balanced you can re-start dosing both together, and then worry about your N&P. At that point I'd get N up to, say 2-5, and P will come down some as they are both used together.
 
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Greg P

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LPS are more forgiving than SPS. In the future, don't let your Alk move so much.
From 7 to 8.4 is kinda big, and the elevated pH will drop over some hours so don't expect to see it stay there.
With your current LPS you're in a perfect spot to learn how to keep the tank both stable and balanced.
Keep a spread sheet and track your dosing/testing and become a pro at managing it all.
 
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Kamila89

Kamila89

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LPS are more forgiving than SPS. In the future, don't let your Alk move so much.
From 7 to 8.4 is kinda big, and the elevated pH will drop over some hours so don't expect to see it stay there.
With your current LPS you're in a perfect spot to learn how to keep the tank both stable and balanced.
Keep a spread sheet and track your dosing/testing and become a pro at managing it all.
LPS are more forgiving than SPS. In the future, don't let your Alk move so much.
From 7 to 8.4 is kinda big, and the elevated pH will drop over some hours so don't expect to see it stay there.
With your current LPS you're in a perfect spot to learn how to keep the tank both stable and balanced.
Keep a spread sheet and track your dosing/testing and become a pro at managing it all.
Your right about that big swing‍♀️ I used the BRS calculator and that result I divided in 7 for the seven days of the week and even doing that I got that high very quick. Actually my # are very stable but u know u start leasing people/forums, YouTube and I said to
My self maybe if a rise my KH/ph my corals will look better, grow fast blabla. I started adding corals 3 months ago and I haven’t see a lot of growth, color and maybe raising those 2 I’ll see a difference.
 
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Greg P

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You're not IMO in the low nutrients range. Rather a mix. Low N and higher P

Decide if you want higher Alk (8-9dKH) for faster skeletal growth, which will require N&P in the 5-10 and 0.06-0.1 range for the flesh growth to keep up.

Or lower Alk closer to 7.5 (say, 7.3-7.7) and N&P 2-5 and 0.03-0.06

Stability is the main thing you need to accomplish. And this will to some extent be dictated by the Alk level of the salt mix you use.
 
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