JTL
08/19/2017, 10:09 AM
So my tank has been up and running with fish and corals for about a month. The begining and current params are:
Beginning Current
SP 35pts 35
Ph 8 8
Alk 8 9
Nitrites 0 0
Nitrates 10 0
PO4 0 0
Ca 500 480
Mg 1470 1250
I am doing a water change on Monday so the Mg may come up a little. The Ca was as low as 440 but a when I started dosing with Kalk (1 teaspoon per 5 gal of topoff water) it raised it to the current level. The Alk was as high as 11 after using some buffer but has been stable at 9 using the Kalk for 5 days. Ph was 8.4 yesterday afternoon but only 8 this morning. I will check again this afternoon. My questions are: Are the Alk, Ca and Mg in a decent range (I have been adding several lps and sps frags so I assume the Ca will start to get consumed at a faster pace)? I they are too high I could not use any Kalk for a week and see if they come down. My weekly wc of 10% has historically raised the big 3.
The other thing I got to thinking about is my method of dosing Kalk. I am using an aqualifter pump which I read puts out 3g per hour. My evap rate is about 1g per day and the float switch lets the pump put in 1/2 at a time which only takes 10 minutes. This may well be too rapid, perhaps I should tie a loose not in the tubing and slow this down. Thoughts?
I am at the point where I am closely monitoring my params and trying to find the "sweet" spot. Personally, I think the ratio of Alk and Ca is not in sync. Seems like my Ca should be a lower, hence my question of not dosing Kalk for a while.
Last but not least is test kits. I am using API for everything except Mg which is a Salifert kit. I bought these based on a Big Three Shootout Test. I have been thinking about getting some other test kits for at least the Ca and Alk just to be safe and for comparative purposes. Thoughts?
Beginning Current
SP 35pts 35
Ph 8 8
Alk 8 9
Nitrites 0 0
Nitrates 10 0
PO4 0 0
Ca 500 480
Mg 1470 1250
I am doing a water change on Monday so the Mg may come up a little. The Ca was as low as 440 but a when I started dosing with Kalk (1 teaspoon per 5 gal of topoff water) it raised it to the current level. The Alk was as high as 11 after using some buffer but has been stable at 9 using the Kalk for 5 days. Ph was 8.4 yesterday afternoon but only 8 this morning. I will check again this afternoon. My questions are: Are the Alk, Ca and Mg in a decent range (I have been adding several lps and sps frags so I assume the Ca will start to get consumed at a faster pace)? I they are too high I could not use any Kalk for a week and see if they come down. My weekly wc of 10% has historically raised the big 3.
The other thing I got to thinking about is my method of dosing Kalk. I am using an aqualifter pump which I read puts out 3g per hour. My evap rate is about 1g per day and the float switch lets the pump put in 1/2 at a time which only takes 10 minutes. This may well be too rapid, perhaps I should tie a loose not in the tubing and slow this down. Thoughts?
I am at the point where I am closely monitoring my params and trying to find the "sweet" spot. Personally, I think the ratio of Alk and Ca is not in sync. Seems like my Ca should be a lower, hence my question of not dosing Kalk for a while.
Last but not least is test kits. I am using API for everything except Mg which is a Salifert kit. I bought these based on a Big Three Shootout Test. I have been thinking about getting some other test kits for at least the Ca and Alk just to be safe and for comparative purposes. Thoughts?