parameters????

[reefpeeper]

hey guys and gals. is it possible to have low cal and alk if mag is at about 1300? my cal is about 350 and alk is like 5. ph about 8.3-8.4. what do you think i can do to fix this? i did water change a week ago and always use instant ocean.

 

[subielover]

Sure it is possible, why wouldn't it be?? I would just use 2 part to dose up alk to closer to 8-9, and maybe bump Ca. up to around 400. Instant Ocean is usually low as far as the big 3 are concerned, but with dosing it is a fine salt to use for a reef.

 

[alemanr]

I usually used the 1/3 formula, which means; if ca is 400 the mg should be in 1200. Works for me!!

 

[Triggerman77]

i use to have the same prob bout a year ago i started using ESV, B-Ionic 2part and no more issues and my growth rates increased Too i love the B-Ionic The kent name brand 2 part stuff is a waste of money IMO


BTW i have always used Instant Ocean and it runs kinda low on calcium alk and PH strait outta the bag
a good dose of 2part and its good

 

[reefpeeper]

how much cal and alk can i add in one dosage? is there a cut off point? it is a 29g biocube.

 

[sowellj]

Depends a little bit on what you have in your tank. I would say around 50 ppm/day for calcium. For alk, maybe 0.5/day. I would verify that you are really at 5 for alk, as that is pretty low.

 

[Triggerman77]

5 to 10 ml dose per day i always use a bit less #1 it the alk Bc My Alk tends to rise a little anyway between WC's and dose in the Morn help PH stay more stable

 

[subielover]

It all depends on what kind of additives you are going to use. I go for cheap and use the BRS 2 part myself. There are calculators like this one which tell you exactly how much to add...
Smart Reef 2 and 3 part solutions

 

[jonzee2006]

you need to bring it up gradually I'm not sure what you are keeping but you don't want to bring params up to fast especially your alk. the best way to do it is to continue your current dosing schedule and run test everyday for about a week or so, this will give you an idea of what your tank is using per day. If you don't know what being used how will you know how much to dose in order to raise it? Once you figure this out bring it up slowly this will give you the least amount of stress to your corals/investments. Remember IF YOU DON'T TEST FOR IT DON'T DOSE IT!!!!! trust me I had to learn this the hard way. +1 on the 2 part

 

[beaslbob]

you might want to check out this thread and especially study the diy 2 part link in the first post.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-chemistry-forum/39332-diy-two-part-links.html

also I hope you are measuring alk in degrees KH (DKH), 4-5 meg/l is a relative high alk and could esplain why calcium is a little low.

my .02