sps somewhat bleaching

[Kigs!]

i noticed some bleaching in few montis and acros, so i tested the water today for Ca and pH. i'm still somewhat new to keeping SPS, so please excuse some of the newbie Q's,

ammonia 0
nitrate 0
salinity was at 1.025
Ca was at 280
pH was at 8.2

i still need to test the kH but I seem to have lost the instruction manual for the ocean master kit...also the smaller tube that comes inside the bigger tube to measure. ;\

I'm guessing my Ca is very low. pH, I'm thinking of adding some buffer to it tonight to raise it a bit. Which supplements do you guys recommend I add to raise the Ca? And any other supplements out there I should consider for the wellbeings of SPS?

 

[twon8]

your ph isn't what is important, it's your alkalinity, i would check out randy's homemade two part, baking soda for alk and calcium chloride for ca+

if your ca is that low, your alk is likely in the basement, i would add a teaspoon of baking soda right now and get a salifert alkalinity test kit

 

[twon8]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

[Kigs!]

wow my head. thank you for that link Anthony,

i'm going to attempt using the 'recipe #2' it sounds easier than #1,

is this the link for randy's two part?
http://www.twopartsolution.com/

for the baking soda, am i dissolving 1 1/8 cups in a gallon and dosing the entire gallon?

 

[gflat65]

Yup. Alk is the leading forgotten cause of SPS death. Getting the balance right (Ca and Alk/dKH) and keeping it balanced is the fun part.

 

[Chelsey]

Yep, I would definatley check alk I'm fairly new to SPS but I would recommend good calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium test kits...I've found that they're crucial for good sps growth/color/overall health.

 

[Kigs!]

i should've been more up to date with it. my fault =\

in the article it says that both dosing should occur at the same time, but i can't make it to home depot right now...only to stop & shop to get baking soda. would it be ok to just dose the baking soda tonight? i'm also guessing that raising the alk will not help the Ca, but Ca will have to be raised seperately?

does anyone use the ocean master kit and have the instructions? i have the test solutions for alk...just lost the instructions, and also need to know how many mL is required for the small tube inside the bigger tube.

should i take out about a gallon before i dose the gallon of baking soda mixed in RO? how do you deal with the salinity drop from the dose, especially in small tanks like mine?

sorry for all the newbie questions. i apprecieate all the help guys. thank you

 

[Chelsey]

What size is your tank?

I have a 40 breeder with a 40 breeder sump. Here's my routine:
-check Alk every other day (this seems to swing the most and have the most impact)
-if alk is low I add one tsp of baking soda and a few drops of liquid calcium (I think it's made by kent marine)
-every 3rd time I add baking soda/calcium I add two tsp of epsom salt (to replentish the magnesium lost due to alk and calcium)

I test calcium and magnesium once a week and this method seems to be working well for me. This is of course dependent on how many sps you have as well as many other factors. To answer your dissolving questions, I manually top off my tank and so I usually add my stuff to the topoff water (which is generally about 2 quarts every other day) and make sure it's mixed well prior to adding it to the tank. Another thing to consider is that when you do a water change you'll have to compensate for the alk/Ca that you take out as well. That was probably an obvious statement, but for occassional airheadedness (which I seem to be prone to) I decided to add it

 

[Kigs!]

thank you Chelsey. I'm still very confused but the help from you guys are definitely helping me freak out somewhat less.

Would it be ok to mix the baking soda in a gallon of tank water and readd to prevent salinity swing?

also, I think I did the math right here, but just to make sure. On that reefkeeping article, recommended dosage level of recipe #2 is 2mL/gallon.

My tank being 29g, I'm guessing about 58mL or 1/4 of a cup of dissolved baking soda everyday?

 

[twon8]

wow my head. thank you for that link Anthony,

i'm going to attempt using the 'recipe #2' it sounds easier than #1,

is this the link for randy's two part?
http://www.twopartsolution.com/

for the baking soda, am i dissolving 1 1/8 cups in a gallon and dosing the entire gallon?

no, you only need to dose however much you need to raise your alk to the level you want,

here is the reef chemistry calc, you input your water volume, what your levels are and what you want them to be, and what supplement you want.
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

 

[twon8]

thank you Chelsey. I'm still very confused but the help from you guys are definitely helping me freak out somewhat less.

Would it be ok to mix the baking soda in a gallon of tank water and readd to prevent salinity swing?

also, I think I did the math right here, but just to make sure. On that reefkeeping article, recommended dosage level of recipe #2 is 2mL/gallon.

My tank being 29g, I'm guessing about 58mL or 1/4 of a cup of dissolved baking soda everyday?

that is 58 ml of the solution, not the raw baking soda

 

[Chelsey]

thank you Chelsey. I'm still very confused but the help from you guys are definitely helping me freak out somewhat less.

Would it be ok to mix the baking soda in a gallon of tank water and readd to prevent salinity swing?

also, I think I did the math right here, but just to make sure. On that reefkeeping article, recommended dosage level of recipe #2 is 2mL/gallon.

My tank being 29g, I'm guessing about 58mL or 1/4 of a cup of dissolved baking soda everyday?

It took me a lllloooonnnnnnggggggg time to figure this stuff out too, and I'm still begging Chad for help occassionally. Yes, it's fine to take out some tank water, you don't have to take out a gallon though, baking soda dissolves easily...2 cups will probably work fine. I can't help you on the forumula stuff. IMO it might be better to judge by your tank instead of a formula, every tank is different.

 

[twon8]

i would add the baking soda tonight, maybe a tablespoon dissolved into a few hundred ml of tank water or rodi. alk is more crucial to survival, low ca will lead to slow growth but it wont' cause death ime

 

[Kigs!]

Anthony, that's what I meant to say. 58mL of the solution dosed each day, but still 1 1/8cup of of baking soda dissolved in the entire gallon of solution made like recommended in that article.

I think I'll try to stick with the "recommended" dosage untill I get a hang of it and attempt to figure out what's suitable for my tank as I go.

Chelsey, you mentioned adding these supplements to your top off water. So would you recommend mixing bakin soda and liquid calcium to the top off before being added to the tank?

 

[Kigs!]

oops. just saw that post. I'll try that first Anthony, and try to figure out the accurate dosage amount tomorrow.

just to make sure, in your first post you said 'teaspoon' and in your second, you said 'tablespoon.' which is correct?

 

[twon8]

oops. just saw that post. I'll try that first Anthony, and try to figure out the accurate dosage amount tomorrow.

just to make sure, in your first post you said 'teaspoon' and in your second, you said 'tablespoon.' which is correct?

either would be fine for now, just getting it up is what is important, but since your tank is small go with the teaspoon

 

[twon8]

Anthony, that's what I meant to say. 58mL of the solution dosed each day, but still 1 1/8cup of of baking soda dissolved in the entire gallon of solution made like recommended in that article.

I think I'll try to stick with the "recommended" dosage untill I get a hang of it and attempt to figure out what's suitable for my tank as I go.

Chelsey, you mentioned adding these supplements to your top off water. So would you recommend mixing bakin soda and liquid calcium to the top off before being added to the tank?

no, you can't mix the ca and baking soda or it will just precipitate out 'snow'. i would just add some by hand into your sump at different times of the day.

 

[Kigs!]

Got it. Thank you for all the help so far guys. I'll keep you guys updated after I get a proper alk. test kit tomorrow.

 

[Kigs!]

another question before I head out to the LFS for calcium supplements tomorrow. is it necessary for me to buy bags of calcium chloride dihydrate or can i just use some of the products made by kent such as the liquid calcium mentioned by chelsey? would they have similar effect on raising the ca?

 

[Chelsey]

I've been using liquid calcium and have not had a problem. I have enough SPS in my tank that if the liquid calcium wasn't working I would be having major issues, not to mention a Ca swing when I test weekly. I dissolve the baking soda and then add the drops of calcium RIGHT before I dump the water in the tank. Twon is right, if you just let it sit in the water (like if you had an ATO) it will precipitate out and will do no good. I don't give it time to do that, I mix everything just until it's dissolved and then pour it into my sump.