Dosing for the first time

[nereefpat]

Those results (other than the very first Mg reading) all look reasonable.

The Ca and Mg are dropping slow enough that they are barely being detected by the kits.

I would bump that alk up. You don't want dKH in the 6s. If you aren't ready to start your doser yet, dissolve some baking soda in RODI water and add it.

 

[bertoni]

I agree with keeping dKH at 7 or above as the daily low, but 6.7 is slightly above natural ocean water. Some extra alkalinity to give leeway for testing errors and consumption is a good idea, though.

 

[Phixman]

Just got my calcium from salifer, started dosing yesterday. My readings for today were
Alk- 7.15 dkh
Calc-415
Mag-1140

It will take 52 ml of Mg to raise my level by 50ppm, how fast can I add the 52 ml to the tank safely?
Hopefully I can get the parameters where I want them and able to maintain them in a smaller range.

 

[nereefpat]

Increasing Mg 50ppm in 24hrs should be more than safe.

I would probably add about half, and then add the other half a few hours later.

You could also slowly drip/pump it in.

 

[Phixman]

Update: Everything seems to be going up nicely, tested before and after the water change. I also tested my Instant ocean reef crystal water with the following levels, used salifer:
430 ppm- Calc
10.9 dkh- Alk
1095 ppm- Mag

I dosed 52ml of Mag which in theory it should have risen my level by 50 ppm according to BRS, not to mention there hadn't been any consumption all week that I tested, levels stayed the same for the most part. The 3 tests what I did were as mentioned before the water change at 12 am, after the water change 1:10am and I tested my IO water. How come my Mag didn't rise, despite me adding a lot and no consumption (I compared the before water change to previous days)

Today I also noticed some crazy coloration, and some crazy recovery in some corals that haven't looked too good over a month.

Thanks for the input.

 

[bertoni]

52 ml sounds like a very small amount of supplement, and 50 ppm might be close to the noise limit in our test kits. How many gallons does this system have?

 

[Phixman]

It’s supposed to be 20 gallons total , but comes to around 13-15 gallons after rock and sand

 

[bertoni]

Okay, the tank is smaller than I though. 50 ppm is reasonably close to testing limits. I'd try 50 ml per day for three days. If that doesn't raise the level, I suspect a testing problem. I might suggest trying to get a second opinion, if you haven't already.