Most people who dose a 2-part will choose one that is "balanced". Basically, 10ml of the calcium solution will support the exact same amount of coral growth as 10ml of alkalinity growth. If you are dosing one of these balanced 2-parts then dose the same amount of calc as you do alk and they should both stay stable.
I would strongly recommend keeping Alk around 8dKH for a new reefer. Maybe even as low as 7dKH. While 9dKH is fine, my experience is that higher alkalinities are more susceptible to problems.
It depends on what supplements you are using but if it is something like BRS 2 part then yes, if you are dosing 40ml per day of alk you should dose 40ml of calc per day to keep things constant.
Sorry, I wasn't clear enough. I wasn't recommending 220ml per day, that would be a disaster. I was only trying to see if you are getting the expected results. If you have dosed a total of around 220ml of alk solution over the last 10 days then the observed 20ppm drop in Calc is exactly what you you should have expected.
Wait until your calcium is where you want it and then start dosing it.
It will be fine if you jump straight into what it takes to match alk.
You did the correct thing.
BRS aren't exactly what I would call "new reefers"
Wait until your calcium is where you want it and then start dosing it.
It will be fine if you jump straight into what it takes to match alk.
You did the correct thing.
BRS aren't exactly what I would call "new reefers"
Here is a snip from, and a link to, a RFH article. You can see natural ocean levels are 7dKH. I find the lower end to be more stable. I personally like 8dKH. I accidentally overshot while raising it last month and got to 9.5dKH and lost a few SPS pieces. This was raising it from 7dKH to 9.5dKH over 3 weeks.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/
I recommend picking a salt mix that matches as close as possible to the tank parameters you are trying to maintain. This way, when you do a water change, you don't cause a big shift in parameters.
I recommend picking a salt mix that matches as close as possible to the tank parameters you are trying to maintain. This way, when you do a water change, you don't cause a big shift in parameters.
I use RedSea blue bucket because at 1.026 it comes close to 8dKH alk and 420 Calc, which is where I like to be.
There are many reefers who do better than I, but I try to learn from them. Reef Crystals is what I started with. It's good for people who want to do smaller regular water changes to maintain alk and calc. Since you are going to be dosing, no reason to use salts with high alk/calc content. I believe stability is key and matching your salt to your desired parameters improves stability imo.
I recommend picking a salt mix that matches as close as possible to the tank parameters you are trying to maintain. This way, when you do a water change, you don't cause a big shift in parameters.
I use RedSea blue bucket because at 1.026 it comes close to 8dKH alk and 420 Calc, which is where I like to be.
What was it yesterday, 7.7?Ok, I used reef crystals.
Reef Crystals 490 13 1440
I guess that will cause a swing a? My local guy does not like Red Sea. He said he lost a ton of fish when switching over but makes sense what your saying. So you keep your calc around 420 and alk around 8 then. "Seems like you know your stuff, so I guess it's ok to follow your way ha."
Good info. Ya, I don’t understand why it would hurt fish. I also agree it don’t make sense.
So I just turned on the calc to 40ml and kept my alk at 40ml. Also my alk went up to 7.9 today from yesterday adjustment.
Yes, 7.7. Ok 36 on both and see what happeneds?
Yup, you are climbing too fast at 40ml. Small changes are good.
I would keep using the RC until it is gone. Not going to be an issue unless you do a large water change and even then you should be ok. I just consider it less than idea but I worry more about Alk than Calc.
