Hi community,
I have a 32G bio cube. About 4 years old. Lightly stocked (duncan, paly, gsp, xenia, 1 blue damsel). The tank has been through one near crash and a couple of other problems, but has been problem-free for the past year.
I never used to dose anything. Just do weekly 3-gallon water changes. I've had issues with ph off and on. But I moved recently, and I saw my ph swing dramatically between night and day. My poor duncan would close up completely, and the gsp would usually follow suit.
I was sure this must mean that my alkalinity was off, so I read up on 2-part dosing. I didn't want to mess with calcium levels, because I thought that xenias can't take the same CA levels that LPS needs.
I bought a Hanna alk checker. It read 13.8 and 14.1 dKH on two separate tests. OK, so it's not too low. It's too high. More research suggested that the most likely cause is low calcium. Tested with API, and came out to 380 ppm.
I decided to see whether I could bring it up at least to 400 ppm. I mixed 15ml of Seachem Reef Complete into about a liter of tank water and poured it in the back.
I immediately saw some kind of precipitate in the tank, and now I'm not sure what to do.
All help/discussion/tips/theories are greatly appreciated!
I have a 32G bio cube. About 4 years old. Lightly stocked (duncan, paly, gsp, xenia, 1 blue damsel). The tank has been through one near crash and a couple of other problems, but has been problem-free for the past year.
I never used to dose anything. Just do weekly 3-gallon water changes. I've had issues with ph off and on. But I moved recently, and I saw my ph swing dramatically between night and day. My poor duncan would close up completely, and the gsp would usually follow suit.
I was sure this must mean that my alkalinity was off, so I read up on 2-part dosing. I didn't want to mess with calcium levels, because I thought that xenias can't take the same CA levels that LPS needs.
I bought a Hanna alk checker. It read 13.8 and 14.1 dKH on two separate tests. OK, so it's not too low. It's too high. More research suggested that the most likely cause is low calcium. Tested with API, and came out to 380 ppm.
I decided to see whether I could bring it up at least to 400 ppm. I mixed 15ml of Seachem Reef Complete into about a liter of tank water and poured it in the back.
I immediately saw some kind of precipitate in the tank, and now I'm not sure what to do.
All help/discussion/tips/theories are greatly appreciated!