Water change

[Funtrader]

Good morning. My question is, my corals and fish are looking great. Hammers are growing multiple heads, torches same, zoas are growing ( slower than I want but growing) but I recently tested my water and I feel as my levels might be to high in mag and calcium and might want to reduce it. I am afraid that if I start doing water change every 2 weeks I might mess to mich with the corals and all and maybe take a hit and everything will start going bad. I don't do water change that often or at all I had the tank for over a year and a half now and can't really remember a water change. Again just tested my water 2 days ago. So what do you guys think? Should I start doing water change every 2 weeks like maybe 10 to 15% or is there another way to reduce may calcium and mag? My corals aren't consuming it that much. My tank is 125 gallons.

 

[danimal1211]

Water changes iIMO don’t usually bother corals in fact they usually seem to do more good than harm. With that said I would do multiple small water changes over the next two weeks to gradually brink Alk, CA, and MG down. The CA and MG aren’t horribly high but the alk certainly is. Your dosing wayyy to much if that alk is accurate.

 

[Garf]

Good morning. My question is, my corals and fish are looking great. Hammers are growing multiple heads, torches same, zoas are growing ( slower than I want but growing) but I recently tested my water and I feel as my levels might be to high in mag and calcium and might want to reduce it. I am afraid that if I start doing water change every 2 weeks I might mess to mich with the corals and all and maybe take a hit and everything will start going bad. I don't do water change that often or at all I had the tank for over a year and a half now and can't really remember a water change. Again just tested my water 2 days ago. So what do you guys think? Should I start doing water change every 2 weeks like maybe 10 to 15% or is there another way to reduce may calcium and mag? My corals aren't consuming it that much. My tank is 125 gallons.

Are you dosing Alk, calcium and magnesium? What is your salinity, and how do you check it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you did not overdose calcium and magnesium, it came from your salt mix and water changes won’t lower it.

 

[Funtrader]

Water changes iIMO don’t usually bother corals in fact they usually seem to do more good than harm. With that said I would do multiple small water changes over the next two weeks to gradually brink Alk, CA, and MG down. The CA and MG aren’t horribly high but the alk certainly is. Your dosing wayyy to much if that alk is accurate.

Alkalinity thought it was fine. Maybe I am getting the math incorrectly. I thought in order to convert ppm ( mg/L) into degrees of KH, is by multiplying by 0.056 and that will put my alkalinity at 8.86. Again maybe I have the problem incorrectly and I am doing way wrong lol.

 

[Funtrader]

Are you dosing Alk, calcium and magnesium? What is your salinity, and how do you check it?

I was using all for reef before but for father's day my wife gave me the red sea complete reef care and using that now. Salinity is at 1.025 and the lfs checks it with some sort of machine there not sure of the name.

 

[danimal1211]

My mistake I didn’t realize it was ppm

 

[Funtrader]

If you did not overdose calcium and magnesium, it came from your salt mix and water changes won’t lower it.

Could it have been maybe I was dosing to much all for reef? I was using until last week when I got a red sea complete reef care as my wife told me that it was better as I also had the red sea doser and it was just going to do all the math for me by testing just the calcium lol

 

[Funtrader]

My mistake I didn’t realize it was ppm

Is ok it was my mistake I should of said it on the original post. But I apriciate your advice.

 

[danimal1211]

How are you determining how much to dose? Also what are you using to measure salinity?

 

[Dom]

If you did not overdose calcium and magnesium, it came from your salt mix and water changes won’t lower it.

Would there be something wrong with allowing time to lower these levels? That would be my approach.

 

[Garf]

Salinity is at 1.025 and the lfs checks it with some sort of machine

Personally I wouldn't be relying on an LFS to test this.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Alkalinity thought it was fine. Maybe I am getting the math incorrectly. I thought in order to convert ppm ( mg/L) into degrees of KH, is by multiplying by 0.056 and that will put my alkalinity at 8.86. Again maybe I have the problem incorrectly and I am doing way wrong lol.

It is fine. I recommend 7-11 dKH (125-200 ppm calcium carbonate equivalents).

 

[Funtrader]

How are you determining how much to dose? Also what are you using to measure salinity?

With the all for reef I followed the instructions on their website and was testing consumption. Now with the red sea the app haven't added the feature year so I am going by there recomended amount on their website and thats is why I stop dosing because it said that if after testing 3 day my calcium levels are still high to stop dosing. So stopped dosing and hoping maybe the corals and everything else will consume some of it but after a week took the water for a test and notice still high.

 

[Funtrader]

With the all for reef I followed the instructions on their website and was testing consumption. Now with the red sea the app haven't added the feature year so I am going by there recomended amount on their website and thats is why I stop dosing because it said that if after testing 3 day my calcium levels are still high to stop dosing. So stopped dosing and hoping maybe the corals and everything else will consume some of it but after a week took the water for a test and notice still high.

Now thinking about it, maybe it could of been that I could've tested incorrectly and dialed in the wrong number on the doser and it was maybe dosing to much of the all for reef solution?

 

[danimal1211]

I would strongly suggest as others have stated to get your own home test kits and not rely on the LFS’ machine. For less than $50 you could have your own CA, MG, and Alk test kits. I can’t imagine the LFS route being more affordable.

With that said, since your Alk seems fine you could suspend the CA & MG supplements and just dose alk until the others come back down.

 

[Funtrader]

Belive me I am not all about chasing numbers and all but I am about corals and fish being happy. What i am afraid of is being to high like in toxic levels and eventually killing everything. Yes as I mentioned before corals are looking good and even growing heads and all. I would agree that the colors are not the best and they can be much brighter and think it can be from the levels too.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

With the all for reef I followed the instructions on their website and was testing consumption. Now with the red sea the app haven't added the feature year so I am going by there recomended amount on their website and thats is why I stop dosing because it said that if after testing 3 day my calcium levels are still high to stop dosing. So stopped dosing and hoping maybe the corals and everything else will consume some of it but after a week took the water for a test and notice still high.

IMO, folks should not follow the manufacturer directions for AFR and rather dose by alkalinity, not calcium. Calcium moves too slowly and has too much testing variability to adjust an alk dose based on it.

 

[nano reef]

IMO, folks should not follow the manufacturer directions for AFR and rather dose by alkalinity, not calcium. Calcium moves too slowly and has too much testing variability to adjust an alk dose based on it.

I bought some all for reef and want to get started but I am to worried because my mag is also 500! I read that higher mag helps lps grow quicker, not sure how true that is.

Should I wait until its gets lower before I start using AFR? Also I cant seem to get my calcium up where I want it. Its at 390 one tank and 400 in another. I know that acceptable but trying to get to at least 425. I use Brs calcium chloride and for 2 days in a row I cant get it to go up more then 10 points even though I am using enough to up 30 points judging by their calculator.

Could it be calcium has gone bad. Its been mixed up a few years.


Isnt your calcium dose supposed to be the same as alk? If not how can all for reef work?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I bought some all for reef and want to get started but I am to worried because my mag is also 500! I read that higher mag helps lps grow quicker, not sure how true that is.

Should I wait until its gets lower before I start using AFR? Also I cant seem to get my calcium up where I want it. Its at 390 one tank and 400 in another. I know that acceptable but trying to get to at least 425. I use Brs calcium chloride and for 2 days in a row I cant get it to go up more then 10 points even though I am using enough to up 30 points judging by their calculator.

Could it be calcium has gone bad. Its been mixed up a few years.


Isnt your calcium dose supposed to be the same as alk? If not how can all for reef work?

Magnesium cannot be 500 ppm. Is that actually what you meant? Or 1500 ppm?

I’d ignore magnesium, and initiate AFR to maintain alk. Its easy to boost calcium before, during, or after starting AFR.