Hey gang,
Wondering how much Ball Pickling Crisp I can safely use per day per gal to raise my Ca from current, 360, back to target, 425? Anyone have a data point? It’s food grade and pure indents, so I’m confident about it being reef safe. And sure there are products available. Just that I have a big jar of Pickling CaCl on hand, and I’d like to resolve my chemistry problem without further delay. Looking for advice on how many tsp/gal to raise by X ppm Ca, or if there’s such a thing as too fast threshold to be mindful of when it comes to CaCl2?
My 24g (probably ~20 with all the rocks) is really low in Ca and Mg right now (360 x 1150). Previously had been stable 420-450 and 1250-1400 with dosing Tropic Marin AFR plus occasional Mg supplement. An important factor to consider is I have fairly high alk consumption relative to Ca (basement tank) and so also dose Red Sea Alk, target 9-10ish.
Last week I noticed my normally always happy and easy to please blue ridge coral showing skeleton at the top of a few limbs. Also haven’t seen any polyp extension in over a week. Something’s off, and my first thought was Ca. Checked, it measured low, and then found my AFR dosing line was clogged! Oops. Makes sense…
I replaced the AFR dosing line and upped the daily amount by 25% (will run little more until I recover to >400 Ca). I’ve also been manually adding extra AFR (3-5mL a few times a day) trying to raise Ca. Here’s the tricky part:
Tropic Marin AFR increases alk while supplementing Ca and Mg (among other metals), and my alk is now at 11! I can’t use AFR by itself to raise Ca/Mg further without going into dangerous high alk.
I’ve turned off my alk dosing regimen until we get back under 10. Too many unintended destabilizing changes!!!
Lmk if anyone has any advice on using Ball Pickle Crisp CaCl2. Also if there’s a good way to recover a blue ridge (pictured)
Best,
Jeremy
PS. Two pics are 3/11 and 3/18. Trending downward..
PPS. Blue Ridge has had mushrooms around the base like what’s shown for >1yr and never been an issue. Not ideal, I know, but I don’t think that’s the primary issue.
Last week
today:
Wondering how much Ball Pickling Crisp I can safely use per day per gal to raise my Ca from current, 360, back to target, 425? Anyone have a data point? It’s food grade and pure indents, so I’m confident about it being reef safe. And sure there are products available. Just that I have a big jar of Pickling CaCl on hand, and I’d like to resolve my chemistry problem without further delay. Looking for advice on how many tsp/gal to raise by X ppm Ca, or if there’s such a thing as too fast threshold to be mindful of when it comes to CaCl2?
My 24g (probably ~20 with all the rocks) is really low in Ca and Mg right now (360 x 1150). Previously had been stable 420-450 and 1250-1400 with dosing Tropic Marin AFR plus occasional Mg supplement. An important factor to consider is I have fairly high alk consumption relative to Ca (basement tank) and so also dose Red Sea Alk, target 9-10ish.
Last week I noticed my normally always happy and easy to please blue ridge coral showing skeleton at the top of a few limbs. Also haven’t seen any polyp extension in over a week. Something’s off, and my first thought was Ca. Checked, it measured low, and then found my AFR dosing line was clogged! Oops. Makes sense…
I replaced the AFR dosing line and upped the daily amount by 25% (will run little more until I recover to >400 Ca). I’ve also been manually adding extra AFR (3-5mL a few times a day) trying to raise Ca. Here’s the tricky part:
Tropic Marin AFR increases alk while supplementing Ca and Mg (among other metals), and my alk is now at 11! I can’t use AFR by itself to raise Ca/Mg further without going into dangerous high alk.
I’ve turned off my alk dosing regimen until we get back under 10. Too many unintended destabilizing changes!!!
Lmk if anyone has any advice on using Ball Pickle Crisp CaCl2. Also if there’s a good way to recover a blue ridge (pictured)
Best,
Jeremy
PS. Two pics are 3/11 and 3/18. Trending downward..
PPS. Blue Ridge has had mushrooms around the base like what’s shown for >1yr and never been an issue. Not ideal, I know, but I don’t think that’s the primary issue.
Last week
today:
Last edited: