I've noticed my duncans, goni and euphyllia have been looking a lot better lately with my wavemaker pointed more towards the surface, more surface agitation.. how's your gas exchange? Just a thought...
Do I need to start dosing??
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bvanfish
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Here is the first 5 days, I have been dosing 20 ml of magnesium and that is it. I am seeing that calcium is decreasing and Alk. I can see magnesium being used but I should have probably done this 1 week without dosing magnesium to see how much it dropped naturally.
I am worried my nitrates are dropping even though I increased feeding, and that my phosphate is 0.
I am worried my nitrates are dropping even though I increased feeding, and that my phosphate is 0.
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bvanfish
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@Lavey29 I have done 2 weeks of daily testing, most days 2x a day for ca and mg.
I do think I have a touch of dinos as my phosphate was 0 for a long time. I have been battling them and they are looking much better it seems so far. I know my phosphate is bouncing around a bit but I am learning how to keep it more stable I think.
What are your thoughts on these parameters?
14 Day Averages (slightly skewed)
Salinity: 35.06
Temp: 78.3
Alk: 8.2
Ca: 396
Mg: 1425
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: .05
I do think I have a touch of dinos as my phosphate was 0 for a long time. I have been battling them and they are looking much better it seems so far. I know my phosphate is bouncing around a bit but I am learning how to keep it more stable I think.
What are your thoughts on these parameters?
14 Day Averages (slightly skewed)
Salinity: 35.06
Temp: 78.3
Alk: 8.2
Ca: 396
Mg: 1425
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: .05
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bvanfish
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@TokenReefer I had a hammer that wasnt looking so hot(read to up you mg and it will help), but since I have upped my Mg everything seems fluffier and more happy (favia, acans, hammers etc). Does this seem too high? I saw many people doing 1500+ I want it between 1375-1450
Lavey29
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Numbers look great except calcium slightly low. You want 420 to 450. You only need to check cal monthly. Weekly alk tests also indicate what your cal is doing because they typically move proportionally. Your mag is fine that's where I keep mine. The only missing pieces of the puzzle are trace elements which is why an ICP every 4 months or so is beneficial but weekly water changes should keep those good until you get a full stock of coral then trace dosing may be required.@Lavey29 I have done 2 weeks of daily testing, most days 2x a day for ca and mg.
I do think I have a touch of dinos as my phosphate was 0 for a long time. I have been battling them and they are looking much better it seems so far. I know my phosphate is bouncing around a bit but I am learning how to keep it more stable I think.
What are your thoughts on these parameters?
14 Day Averages (slightly skewed)
Salinity: 35.06
Temp: 78.3
Alk: 8.2
Ca: 396
Mg: 1425
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: .05
Lavey29
10K Club member
Various coral vendors will recommend mag near 1500 to prevent nuisance algae and enhance coral growth by stimulating alk and cal but like most things in the hobby this is debatable and each tank is unique. Some of the big vendors on here that I've talked to do it though.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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I'd stop dosing the magnesium and just observe it for a month or two. The changes you are seeing in magnesium are mostly test error. It never is consumed faster than about 1/10th of the calcium depletion rate, so even 1 ppm per day is a pretty high rate to expect.
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bvanfish
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@Randy Holmes-Farley thanks for the input! I will do weekly testing of Mg the next month or so without dosing and see how it looks. I am using salifert tests, is there anyway to be more precise?
I usually tested once in the morning once in the afternoon and these are the averages
TokenReefer
Valuable Member
Interesting. I'm going to look into this. Thanks.
Sounds like you're on a good path with @Lavey29 op! Not to add any confusion but what salt are you using? I use IO and lately I'm not liking the starting parameters the more tracking I do on my tank. Good luck!
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bvanfish
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@TokenReefer I am still getting my water from my LFS they use the fritz blue. I am working on getting my rodi set up and will probably start mixing my own soon, which will most likely make me have to redo this testing if I change over.
TokenReefer
Valuable Member
Oh ok. Sorry I came to this thread late and just now started reading the beginning lol... a little backwards today. Since you haven't picked a salt brand yet (unless you have) and you're tracking your numbers like you are, you can maybe choose a salt that matches your baseline a little closer to make wc's less of an impact... just something to consider
bushdoc
Valuable Member
I would suggest investing few bucks in a reliable tests kits, like Salifert, they are not that expensive. With few corals you may initially be OK dosing manually, perhaps you just need only single correction, not daily dosing.
Lavey29
10K Club member
RODI are simple. You can just keep it in a closet or on the floor in the garage. Doesnt need to be mounted. Pull it out when you need it and connect a hose. If you live in an apartment it can connect to the sink when you need it. I just make 15g every few weeks and try and use the waste water for your plants or something rather then discarding. Once you have clean 0 TDS water then making salt water is easy.
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