your tank has settled a bit.
Not until, also, you have test kits and have used them to establish your parameters over several days running---ie, are you getting the same results?
Here's the deal: read your salt mix label. See all those trace elements? That's exactly how they're supposed to be, for your new tank.
There IS a need to track alkalinity quite closely. That is related to calcium AND to magnesium levels, and as you get life in your tank, those numbers will move. Your magnesium should always be about 1350, your calcium should be at 420 if you have stony corals or clams, and it's not a bad reading for general purposes. Fish-onlies can be lower in calcium, but must maintain good mag and alk levels.
HOWEVER, alkalinity is how we judge the 'comfort' of the water and its ability to dissolve other elements. It should be between 7.9 and 9. I prefer 8.3, which is good and comfy. If you're from freshwater, note that ph is not generally worth worrying over: it bounces up and down all day. ALKALINITY is the reading that tells you no lies, and is behind most tank problems.
If it's off, adjust your magnesium (dose then wait 8 hours to test again) to 1350, THEN dose and set your alkalinity. Keep those two in line, whether reef or fish-only, and you will have much better success.
For your first year, do not be sucked in by claims of wild growth, color, or whatever---Your tank, newly made, is in its 'honeymoon' period of good balance of elements, maintained and supplemented by your water changes. Anything you add in the way of elements or miracle doses is quite likely to screw it up. Be aware that these chemicals ARE 'food' in the sense that, with these and proper light, your fish are happy and your corals are already being fed. Corals use photosynthesis to produce sugars in their tissues. LIGHT in the proper spectrum is what corals 'eat', along with calcium and magnesium. So if you want to worry and fuss, fuss over proper lighting, proper positioning for the light, and the constant supply of calcium and magnesium at the right alkalinity. Fish-onlies can 'feed', since their charges don't photosynthesize, and they do not eat light. But don't over-do. A day or two without food won't hurt your typical fish: but a day or two of over-feeding can hurt their breathing by ruining their water.
Hang this on your sump door: DO NOT DOSE WHAT YOU DON"T HAVE A TEST FOR. TEST FIRST, THEN DOSE. WAIT 8 HOURS TO TEST AGAIN.
Once you get clams or stony (hard) coral, you will need to be sure of that 420 calcium, too.
Not until, also, you have test kits and have used them to establish your parameters over several days running---ie, are you getting the same results?
Here's the deal: read your salt mix label. See all those trace elements? That's exactly how they're supposed to be, for your new tank.
There IS a need to track alkalinity quite closely. That is related to calcium AND to magnesium levels, and as you get life in your tank, those numbers will move. Your magnesium should always be about 1350, your calcium should be at 420 if you have stony corals or clams, and it's not a bad reading for general purposes. Fish-onlies can be lower in calcium, but must maintain good mag and alk levels.
HOWEVER, alkalinity is how we judge the 'comfort' of the water and its ability to dissolve other elements. It should be between 7.9 and 9. I prefer 8.3, which is good and comfy. If you're from freshwater, note that ph is not generally worth worrying over: it bounces up and down all day. ALKALINITY is the reading that tells you no lies, and is behind most tank problems.
If it's off, adjust your magnesium (dose then wait 8 hours to test again) to 1350, THEN dose and set your alkalinity. Keep those two in line, whether reef or fish-only, and you will have much better success.
For your first year, do not be sucked in by claims of wild growth, color, or whatever---Your tank, newly made, is in its 'honeymoon' period of good balance of elements, maintained and supplemented by your water changes. Anything you add in the way of elements or miracle doses is quite likely to screw it up. Be aware that these chemicals ARE 'food' in the sense that, with these and proper light, your fish are happy and your corals are already being fed. Corals use photosynthesis to produce sugars in their tissues. LIGHT in the proper spectrum is what corals 'eat', along with calcium and magnesium. So if you want to worry and fuss, fuss over proper lighting, proper positioning for the light, and the constant supply of calcium and magnesium at the right alkalinity. Fish-onlies can 'feed', since their charges don't photosynthesize, and they do not eat light. But don't over-do. A day or two without food won't hurt your typical fish: but a day or two of over-feeding can hurt their breathing by ruining their water.
Hang this on your sump door: DO NOT DOSE WHAT YOU DON"T HAVE A TEST FOR. TEST FIRST, THEN DOSE. WAIT 8 HOURS TO TEST AGAIN.
Once you get clams or stony (hard) coral, you will need to be sure of that 420 calcium, too.
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