Reefer_Madnes
New member
Great info for a noob like me
Dirt-simple chemistry MUST-knows for tank health
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
prsnlty
New member
My Alk tends to run high for some reason. I know about balancing it out with CA because if Alk is high usually Ca is low. Not in my case. My Ca is 480 and dkh is 13, mag at 1305. I have leathers, xenias, birdsnest (it's turning white at its base) candy canes, monti, torch and frogspawn. All are doing terrific but the birdsnest and I think it's due to the Alk level, yes? I just did a water change and it didn't come down either. I'm also not dosing Alk. I have a 125g tank... How do you get the Alk down without lowering anything else?
ItzJustinN
Nano-Reefin' Newbie
NMC
New member
Tank info at bottom. Just added some small corals yesterday...5 head candycane a small frag of montipora, a ricordia. Also got a teeny tiny twig of green birdsnest for free and a teeny tiny ricordia.
I gots issues.
I've been using Kent reef salt. I'm going to change that up soon. My calcium runs very high, was 600 today. (not dosing any Ca). My pH was fine, but my dKH dropped to 6.4 so I've been dosing dKH. I got it up to 7.4 over a few days of dosing. Trouble is, dosing the alk is making my pH rise....up to 8.6 today.
No fish in there yet (I have a firefish in QT).
Do I continue to dose ALK and raise pH still further or just leave it? My new corals don't seem to mind the current situation, my candycane actually ate some shrimp last night. My snails seem fine. That's all that's in there other than BRS rock and oolite sand. On the chemistry forum, no one could really say why the Ca++ is so high. Same salt mix in qt has Ca++ of 460.
Not sure what to do about high Ca++, low alk, High pH (that goes higher when I dose ALK). I have brand new test kits, Salifert for the ALK, Ca++ and Mg (the Mg is 1375). Other parameters in line: SG 1.025, temp 79, no amonia, no nitrites, no nitrates.
My teeny tiny birdnest stick seems fine, so should I assume that the water quality is fine and quit messing with it? What would you do with these numbers? I just did a partial water change (probably about 25%) 2 days ago.
I've been told Kent salt has issues with High Ca++. All in all, it doesn't seem a very well balanced product, at least for my tank. I've ordered a different salt and will change up soon.
I gots issues.
I've been using Kent reef salt. I'm going to change that up soon. My calcium runs very high, was 600 today. (not dosing any Ca). My pH was fine, but my dKH dropped to 6.4 so I've been dosing dKH. I got it up to 7.4 over a few days of dosing. Trouble is, dosing the alk is making my pH rise....up to 8.6 today.
No fish in there yet (I have a firefish in QT).
Do I continue to dose ALK and raise pH still further or just leave it? My new corals don't seem to mind the current situation, my candycane actually ate some shrimp last night. My snails seem fine. That's all that's in there other than BRS rock and oolite sand. On the chemistry forum, no one could really say why the Ca++ is so high. Same salt mix in qt has Ca++ of 460.
Not sure what to do about high Ca++, low alk, High pH (that goes higher when I dose ALK). I have brand new test kits, Salifert for the ALK, Ca++ and Mg (the Mg is 1375). Other parameters in line: SG 1.025, temp 79, no amonia, no nitrites, no nitrates.
My teeny tiny birdnest stick seems fine, so should I assume that the water quality is fine and quit messing with it? What would you do with these numbers? I just did a partial water change (probably about 25%) 2 days ago.
I've been told Kent salt has issues with High Ca++. All in all, it doesn't seem a very well balanced product, at least for my tank. I've ordered a different salt and will change up soon.
mgrmax
New member
This is an awesome thread! I have read it a few times and learn something new with each read. I have a question though. I recently purchased a KH test kit made by API. Will this work for the alkalinity test because the test result numbers and the numbers you reccomend are far different.
Thanks!
Thanks!
that is a kh/alk test. that is what you want.
GeorgeMonnatJr
New member
Great thread, Sk8r.
You mention the importance of keeping Mg high above more times than I can quote. I found your Magnesium blog, which was also good. The question I have is how do you boost Mg other than water changes?
I've been following Randy's kalkwasser TO system and purchased magnesium chloride (deicing salts/MAG flakes) and Epsom salt per his articles.
I was lazy and didn't test for almost two weeks, because it seemed like my parameters never changed with high Ca and Mg. But I didn't account for adding more crustaceans and corallimorphs. I tested, and my Mg was low around 1200ppm. I mixed the MAG flakes and Epsom salt for 1 gallon and boosted it up (a little too high), but that one addition used almost half of my expensive MAG flakes. For some reason, it's hard to get cheap deicing salt in Central Texas.
So, do you just use Epsom salt, a commercial supplement, or something else?
You mention the importance of keeping Mg high above more times than I can quote. I found your Magnesium blog, which was also good. The question I have is how do you boost Mg other than water changes?
I've been following Randy's kalkwasser TO system and purchased magnesium chloride (deicing salts/MAG flakes) and Epsom salt per his articles.
I was lazy and didn't test for almost two weeks, because it seemed like my parameters never changed with high Ca and Mg. But I didn't account for adding more crustaceans and corallimorphs. I tested, and my Mg was low around 1200ppm. I mixed the MAG flakes and Epsom salt for 1 gallon and boosted it up (a little too high), but that one addition used almost half of my expensive MAG flakes. For some reason, it's hard to get cheap deicing salt in Central Texas.
So, do you just use Epsom salt, a commercial supplement, or something else?
regalfrank
New member
great write up and very helpfull even to old timers lol
