That made it more clear. Thank you Chelsey. I'll look for that product tomorrow at the LFS. What are the readings of alk and Ca that I should be shooting for?
If you can find Dowflake or Pelaflake, that is your cheapest bet for Ca. Many have used Prestone driveway heat and had great results. I was dosing the liquid, but had to dose so much that it got easier for me to start dosing three heaping tablespoons of Dowflake every other day (dry, mixed with RO at the time of dosing) and three heaping tablespoons of baking soda every three days or so (uncooked-dry, but mixed in RO just prior to dosing). This was in a well stocked SPS tank (125), though. I think that should have been too much, but the test kits were tellinh me I needed it. My magnesium was likely off (it seems to help the balance stay stable). One thing you don't want to do is drastically overdose and bring the values up quickly, so start slowly and bring it up over a couple of days. Then monitor frequently until you get the right amount and frequency figured out.
gary, my tank is so small that i think liquid might be a better idea. i'm not sure yet, because i just dosed few drops tonight. i'll test tomorrow to see how much it has went up.
i tested the alk with salifert alk test kit, and this is what i got.
14.4 dKH, 5.14 meq/L
i'm guessing i need to lower my alk now? this is only after dosing baking soda twice over a period of 24 hours interval.
i'll need to test the ca tomorrow.
should i be adding the kent dKH buffer along with the baking soda? i haven't ever since trying the baking soda.
whew am I glad to see your post Chelsey so my high alk is ok?
i'm planning on getting a Mg test kit today. is there a certain supplement used to control magnesium?
i'm scared to mess with baking soda for now. i'll test them again in 2 or 3 days. for now, i'll work on getting the Ca up. hopefully by tonight, it will be upto at least 320 or more. i've dosed about 5 drops over a period of 24 hours.
bleached as in, completely white starting from the base, and some parts losing color. only two things has bleached so far. one tricolor acro which has bleached from the base and shows white discoloration in various spots, and my superman monti which began to lose color from the edge.
i just did a water change about 2 days ago, so i want to avoid doing one. it's such a small tank, and last time i did series of water changes resulted in a near-crash. =\ i'll try to raise the ca slowly over a period of 5 or 7 days.