Good afternoon Dr.,
TL;DR: Magnesium and Calcium have always been high in my tanks. My questions are:
1. Why are they not coming down?
2. Is this holding back my coral growth, or causing damage to my corals?
Details that may help in providing analysis follow:
I have two separate 300 gallon tanks in my house, with the older one running for almost three years the newer one for about 2 years. In both tanks, tests since the beginning have always been high on Calcium and high on Magnesium. The other parameters have seen their ups and downs, but have been stable for at least 6 months, but always the same for Calcium, with my Hanna checker reporting over 600 (it just flashes), and Magnesium has typically been over 1585.
While my corals seem happy, they are mostly soft corals with more tolerance for variation. I'd like to get toward stony corals, but each time I've tried has been a crap shoot with only a few surviving. Here's today's parameters:
PH 8.0
Alk: 8.6 dKh
Calc: >600 (Note, my ICP tests from Reef Moonshiner show a lower number, but still well above 400)
N03: 1.3 ppm
PO4: 0.15 (this is unusually high today, typical ranges are 0.05 to 0.09)
Mag: 1684
Temp: 79F
Salinity: 1.026
Let me know if you need any other information - and thank you!
Jason
TL;DR: Magnesium and Calcium have always been high in my tanks. My questions are:
1. Why are they not coming down?
2. Is this holding back my coral growth, or causing damage to my corals?
Details that may help in providing analysis follow:
I have two separate 300 gallon tanks in my house, with the older one running for almost three years the newer one for about 2 years. In both tanks, tests since the beginning have always been high on Calcium and high on Magnesium. The other parameters have seen their ups and downs, but have been stable for at least 6 months, but always the same for Calcium, with my Hanna checker reporting over 600 (it just flashes), and Magnesium has typically been over 1585.
While my corals seem happy, they are mostly soft corals with more tolerance for variation. I'd like to get toward stony corals, but each time I've tried has been a crap shoot with only a few surviving. Here's today's parameters:
PH 8.0
Alk: 8.6 dKh
Calc: >600 (Note, my ICP tests from Reef Moonshiner show a lower number, but still well above 400)
N03: 1.3 ppm
PO4: 0.15 (this is unusually high today, typical ranges are 0.05 to 0.09)
Mag: 1684
Temp: 79F
Salinity: 1.026
- For salt I use Instant Ocean in the orange box and mix per the box instructions. I should note that I don't do frequent water-changes as I am on the Reef Moonshiner system; I do change water when parameters indicate the need, but otherwise, have not.
- I have never dosed calcium or magnesium in three years.
- Although set up primarily the same way, the older tank is bare bottom and the newer tank has a deep sand bed of 3".
- For micronutrients I use Reef Moonshiners (this is new-ish and nothing changed in terms of the above parameters before or after dosing). Daily dosage is typically cobalt, chromium, iron, Vanadium, vitamin mix, and liquid mud, all per RM guidance.
- I have a chaeto reactor, I use socks, an algae reactor, A UV sterilizer, and I dose NoPox daily. I also have biobricks and balls in my sump.
- I currently have an Ozone reactor as well as a carbon reactor intake on my skimmer.
- I feed 1 large nori sheet and 5ML meaty/fatty mixture per tank, per day, with tank load being comprised of 5 tangs, a filefish, a copperband butterfly, a squirrel fish, and a healthy mix of snails, crabs, and urchins in the older tank. The newer tank has 2 tangs, 1 file fish, 1 sand sifting goby, 1 dragonette, 2 clowns (large), snails, urchins, 2 horseshoe crabs, CUC crabs, shrimp, and the tank is fed the same as the older tank.
Let me know if you need any other information - and thank you!
Jason
