Help with 1st time dosing

[Ryan Kindle]

My tanks always seemed stable ish, corals live and look okay, but no growth really. I got a big piece of acros and digis. Now Im a big boy and really want to get things good and growing. I did a water change yesterday, used reef crystals. Todays readings (first time really reading levels)

PH- 7.2
Alk- 7.4
Calcium- 533
Nitrates - 40s
Ammonia- 0
Mag- not sure, have a test kit ordered
Salinity- 1.030 (going to bring down to 1.027)
Temp- 79°

My lfs suggested buffer for the ph. And I just got brs 2 part for calcium and alk when i need it. My question is, if I raise alk will that raise ph? Making buffer not needed, or vice versa? Ive read a lot but as first time with dosing and trying to get things balanced and good, looking for some advice.

 

[Jekyl]

My tanks always seemed stable ish, corals live and look okay, but no growth really. I got a big piece of acros and digis. Now Im a big boy and really want to get things good and growing. I did a water change yesterday, used reef crystals. Todays readings (first time really reading levels)

PH- 7.2
Alk- 7.4
Calcium- 533
Nitrates - 40s
Ammonia- 0
Mag- not sure, have a test kit ordered
Salinity- 1.030 (going to bring down to 1.027)
Temp- 79°

My lfs suggested buffer for the ph. And I just got brs 2 part for calcium and alk when i need it. My question is, if I raise alk will that raise ph? Making buffer not needed, or vice versa? Ive read a lot but as first time with dosing and trying to get things balanced and good, looking for some advice.

I would get a second opinion on the tests first. 7.2 ph seems very low.

 

[Ryan Kindle]

I would get a second opinion on the tests first. 7.2 ph seems very low.

Lfs used api, said 7.4, i used red seas, and was 7.2. I would have to order some other kit for another sample.

 

[Jekyl]

Lfs used api, said 7.4, i used red seas, and was 7.2. I would have to order some other kit for another sample.

Using something like a buffer isn't a long term solution and will raise alkalinity at the same time. Might be better off using kalkwasser as a maintainer.

Do you have a skimmer? Sump? There's better ways to make a long term fix for ph if so.

 

[Seansea]

7.2 does seem pretty low. Need to retest this and correct it pronto. Ph below 8 really isnt great for coral growth. Your calcium is high and alk a little on low side. Sodium carbonate will raise your ph and your alk. Its not great at raising ph tho. Kalk raises ph better but will add calcium which you dont need. Have you thought about adding a refugium or algae scrubber. Will help with ph.

 

[Jekyl]

7.2 does seem pretty low. Need to retest this and correct it pronto. Ph below 8 really isnt great for coral growth. Your calcium is high and alk a little on low side. Sodium carbonate will raise your ph and your alk. Its not great at raising ph tho. Kalk raises ph better but will add calcium which you dont need. Have you thought about adding a refugium or algae scrubber. Will help with ph.

I noticed the calcium also but his salinity is high. Once corrected should bring it back in range.

 

[Ryan Kindle]

I did just add a cpr aquatics refugium, filled with sand and macros. Added about 2 weeks ago

 

[Ryan Kindle]

I also just run a canister, no sump.

 

[Lavey29]

I agree with the above posts. With you parameters off how is your tank stable? Why are you bringing salinity down to 1.027? That's still higher then NSW 1.026. Magnesium is a buffer and you do not know your current level. Did LFS say to run tank at 79? What are you planning to dose? Sustaining SPS with your current tank environment will be a challenge.

 

[Ryan Kindle]

From many threads ive read here and reading/watching brs 77-80 seems pretty normal. Stable as in, its been running for 3 years and no torches, hammers, bubble coral, duncans and a few others have died. Just very slow growth. Ive also read many debatable threads about salinity levels.
Im asking for advice, my first post says what I have availabe to dose if needed.

 

[Lavey29]

From many threads ive read here and reading/watching brs 77-80 seems pretty normal. Stable as in, its been running for 3 years and no torches, hammers, bubble coral, duncans and a few others have died. Just very slow growth. Ive also read many debatable threads about salinity levels.
Im asking for advice, my first post says what I have availabe to dose if needed.

Sorry, I missed the 2 part. I use bionic 2 part which is basically the same. You determine dosing needs from alk consumption. Measure alk at the same time over a 3 day period and see how much your tank consumes then you will know how much to dose. Alk and cal typically get consumed proportionally while magnesium get consumed at 1/10th the ratio of alk. These are general guidelines. Have you par checked your lights? Also for reference, I dose 42ml of alk and calcium daily spread over a 24 hour period. I dose 20ml of magnesium once a week.

 

[Ryan Kindle]

Sorry, I missed the 2 part. I use bionic 2 part which is basically the same. You determine dosing needs from alk consumption. Measure alk at the same time over a 3 day period and see how much your tank consumes then you will know how much to dose. Alk and cal typically get consumed proportionally while magnesium get consumed at 1/10th the ratio of alk. These are general guidelines. Have you par checked your lights?

Not once. I usually start corals low and then go up as tolerated to where i would like them. Ive learned like with all my rock anemones that things dont always go where I wanted

 

[Ryan Kindle]

I retested ph with redsea again, its the 7.6 color the closest.

 

[Lavey29]

Not once. I usually start corals low and then go up as tolerated to where i would like them. Ibr learned like with all my rock anemones that things dont always go where I wanted

I had slow growth also couple years back. When I finally par checked my lights I was shocked how low my par was. I used internet par maps to set my light intensity. After checking with par meter I increased intensity to 100% and my corals took off

 

[Lavey29]

I retested ph with redsea again, its the 7.6 color the closest.

If you open a window or get a fan circulating air around the tank it may help your PH.

 

[Flux Capacitor]

Do you have a lid on your tank? Hows the surface agitation?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

pH 7.2 is almost certainly not accurate. Calcium carbonate sand and rock would dissolve, raising alk and pH.

 

[Ryan Kindle]

Do you have a lid on your tank? Hows the surface agitation?

I do have a lid. Covers around 80% legnth wise. I have two jaebo wavemakers on back aimed to the front. And the open part of lid is where the return is from the hob refugium. The surface is in constant motion

 

[Ryan Kindle]

Whats a reliable ph test? Based on my last retest its 7.6 on the redsea chart

 

[Ryan Kindle]

My calc and alk were done on hanna eggs. The rest were redsea with me, and api at lfs