Hi all, I recently purchased an Aquatic Life RO buddy with a DI cartridge so I could save a little money and stop purchasing so much from my lfs. I know that I do not have a state of the art RO system but I am a college student on a budget and I am new to the hobby, please save the 'judgy' comments.
My RO system is installed and working, I filled up a trash can with 12 gallons of water but I am having an issue with low calcium, my numbers are reading at 380, gravity 1.024, and dKH is 10.5. As for the water going through my RO system, it is well water and I live in a primarily slate area. I am not sure if that is the reason for low numbers, I have friends who do not live far from me but live around limestone and their calcium levels are fine.
I do not have a magnesium test yet but I ordered one and I'm waiting for it. I started dosing liquid calcium by Seachem Part 1 and 2 but should I be using the second since my dKH level is where it needs to be? Also, I dosed more than the amount needed and my numbers are not changing. I went and purchased liquid calcium (Coral Life Liquid Calcium) made by Kent. I added 1ml to start but no change, I am now up to 4ml and my numbers are still reading 380, how is this possible? I am using API test kit and have been using the same kit for about 2 months and never had an issue with the readings until now.
Any help would be appreciate! Thanks so much
My RO system is installed and working, I filled up a trash can with 12 gallons of water but I am having an issue with low calcium, my numbers are reading at 380, gravity 1.024, and dKH is 10.5. As for the water going through my RO system, it is well water and I live in a primarily slate area. I am not sure if that is the reason for low numbers, I have friends who do not live far from me but live around limestone and their calcium levels are fine.
I do not have a magnesium test yet but I ordered one and I'm waiting for it. I started dosing liquid calcium by Seachem Part 1 and 2 but should I be using the second since my dKH level is where it needs to be? Also, I dosed more than the amount needed and my numbers are not changing. I went and purchased liquid calcium (Coral Life Liquid Calcium) made by Kent. I added 1ml to start but no change, I am now up to 4ml and my numbers are still reading 380, how is this possible? I am using API test kit and have been using the same kit for about 2 months and never had an issue with the readings until now.
Any help would be appreciate! Thanks so much