Dosing ESV 2 Part

[DWill]

I have at IM Nuvo 10 gallon. I'm also kinda new to this, not completely but I've been out of reef keeping since mid-2000 until I set this tank up about 7-8 weeks ago.

I would like to run dKH at 9 or very close to that and Ca. at 430 -440

I'm averaging over the last 2 weeks is 8.4 dKH and 436 Ca.
This morning I had 8.3dKH and 455 Ca. The Ca is an average between the Hanna checker (that I'm considering not using any longer) and the Salifert test (Salifert give more consistent results; hence considering dropping the Hanna Checker)

Also, the pH is averaging 7.9. While that's not bad necessarily, I'd like to see it at 8.1 - 8.2. Will pH track with Alk/Ca somewhat. Meaning if increase the Alk will the pH increase some as well?

What I've been doing is dosing 2.6ml of ESV Alk @ 1.3ml per day; basically splitting the total dose over two days then retesting 24 hours after the second dose to try and bring the Alk closer to 9.
I have not been dosing Ca as Ca has been consistently above my target.

So, my question(s)

> Should I be dosing equal parts of ESV Ca/Alk regardless of the Ca test results, or is dosing ESV individually okay ?
> If dosing ESV individually is okay; should I increase the Alk dosage a little above what is calculated ?
> Again, if Individual dosing is okay, should I dose the entire calculated dose in one day maybe split into two doses during the day?
> Since the average is pretty close to my targets should I just stop chasing numbers and let it be?

I've attached the latest picture of my tank for reference. The corals have been in for two weeks, with the exception of the orange lobo; it just went in this past Saturday.

Thank you for your help...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Don’t raise the alk to try to raise pH. That is rarely useful. If you really want higher pH, you need to remove CO2 from the tank, and removing it from the air is easiest.

FWIW, your values all seem good to me.

 

[DWill]

Don’t raise the alk to try to raise pH. That is rarely useful. If you really want higher pH, you need to remove CO2 from the tank, and removing it from the air is easiest.

FWIW, your values all seem good to me.

Thank you. I may not have phrased it properly but the pH thing is really more of a question about pH following alkalinity. What I meant is: os my understanding correct. Does pH somewhat track alkalinity, or more accuratel, does alkalinity influence pH? I do want to raise pH. What I’ve done so far is this ncreaed surface agitation and now that it’s warmer I’m leaving windows open, especially the window in the room where the tank is.

But really what I’m after is can I dose ESV Alk and calcium separately.
I think you’ve answered the underlying question though. Stop chasing numbers.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

I have but some say don’t because it has other traces elements in it. I always have calcium follow alk slowly catching up to equal doses when starting on a new tank, so most of my bottles of ssc are always fuller on the calcium bottle.
mid you want to play it safe just use some baking soda or whatever the diy guys use to raise alk.

 

[DWill]

I have but some say don’t because it has other traces elements in it. I always have calcium follow alk slowly catching up to equal doses when starting on a new tank, so most of my bottles of ssc are always fuller on the calcium bottle.
mid you want to play it safe just use some baking soda or whatever the diy guys use to raise alk.

Thank you !

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thank you. I may not have phrased it properly but the pH thing is really more of a question about pH following alkalinity. What I meant is: os my understanding correct. Does pH somewhat track alkalinity, or more accuratel, does alkalinity influence pH? I do want to raise pH. What I’ve done so far is this ncreaed surface agitation and now that it’s warmer I’m leaving windows open, especially the window in the room where the tank is.

But really what I’m after is can I dose ESV Alk and calcium separately.
I think you’ve answered the underlying question though. Stop chasing numbers.

All other things the same, a doubling of alkalinity causes about a 0.3 pH unit rise.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You can dose them separately, especially for corrections. For offsetting consumption, start with 1:1 to maintain alk, and alter the calcium very slowly as needed.

 

[DWill]

You can dose them separately, especially for corrections. For offsetting consumption, start with 1:1 to maintain alk, and alter the calcium very slowly as needed.

Thank you. That’s exactly what I ended up doing. I wasn’t seeing a rise because the dose was so small and I was splitting it over two days then checking on the third day. What I did was split the dose in half and dose each half 1 hour apart. That worked.
Alk is 8.9 - 9, Calc is 447. I’d the calc at 430 I suspect if I cut the dose back a little it will gradually come down.