dosing ???

[Joe0813]

Hey everyone just a question on dosing.... i want to start dosing something for my calc/alk but i dont even know where to start. I dont really have that many corals. just the beginner corals... Mushroom, finger leather, devils hand coral, frogspawn, brain coral. i tested my water today and my alk was at 6 and calc was at 360... i do have a ATO. and do water changes every other week with tropic marin salt. so any advice would be awesome.... thanks

[thegrun]

With your tank topping off with Kalkwasser (lime water) would be a better and less expensive way to go. You would first need to boost your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium up to their proper levels, but with a low demanding tank like yours Kalk would be your best bet as it keeps the calcium and alkalinity in proper balance. Run a search on Kalkwasser or look for the stickies in the chemistry forum.

[Playa-1]

I agree with thegrun, I think that would be a good place to start or at least consider.

[daplatapus]

Yeah, I agree too (FWIW). You could also check BRS's site and watch their video series on dosing Ca and Alk too. I found it was a good place to start the learning process as well.
Maybe start here?
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/brs-tv/calcium-videos

[Joe0813]

Thanks everyone ill do a search on kalk and check out the best videos

[sponger0]

What about your magnesium? Did you test that?

Also with mostly softies, I dont think you have a need for a kalk ato. Kalk you do need to be careful with. If you dose too much you can create all sorts of problems. Read more about kalk and if you do go that way, start off dosing a small amount in an ATO.

[Joe0813]

I actually do not have a test kit for mag

[sponger0]

If you dont know your magnesium levels, then I wouldnt suggest going into kalk without knowing what your tank is using up as far as magnesium.

Magnesium, Alk, and calcium are going to be the basic three to test for dosing. The rest of your tace elements should just get replenished with water changes.

[Joe0813]

i just bought a mag test kit off of BRS... ill do some more research on kalk dosing and keep testing my tank. i had my calc up to 420 and now it dropped to 360 within two weeks

[sponger0]

Are you dosing anything? How often are your water changes?

[Palting]

Hi Joe0813. TBH, I am surprised you numbers are that low, given the lack of significant calcium consumers in your tank. What SG do you maintain? How often do you do water changes at what percentage of the system volume? What brand salt do you use? You may not need to dose yet, depending on the answers to those questions.

[Humuhumunuku]

Are you dosing anything? How often are your water changes?

He said every other week, and isn't doing anything yet.

What percent are you changing Joe? And what did you use to boost your calc?

i just bought a mag test kit off of BRS... ill do some more research on kalk dosing and keep testing my tank. i had my calc up to 420 and now it dropped to 360 within two weeks

Wait till you get the magnesium test before trying to raise it again. If your magnesium is too low, calcium will just precipitate right out of the water, and you'll never be able to keep it up.

In the mean time, check out this article.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

[Joe0813]

Hi Joe0813. TBH, I am surprised you numbers are that low, given the lack of significant calcium consumers in your tank. What SG do you maintain? How often do you do water changes at what percentage of the system volume? What brand salt do you use? You may not need to dose yet, depending on the answers to those questions.

My sg is 1.025 I do water changes every 2 weeks at 15 gallons each time. And for salt I use tropic marin

[Humuhumunuku]

My sg is 1.025 I do water changes every 2 weeks at 15 gallons each time. And for salt I use tropic marin

Maybe try Tropic Marin Pro Reef.

According to bertoni, tropic marin has a calcium level of about 375ppm.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505

[Joe0813]

Maybe try Tropic Marin Pro Reef.

According to bertoni, tropic marin has a calcium level of about 375ppm.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1714505

good find... thank you. i will make the switch to pro reef once my regular runs out.

[sponger0]

Another thing you can do is after you have mixed your fresh saltwater, test it and dose to proper levels.

[Joe0813]

Oh ya I could do that too