Let's talk about Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium in an SPS Tank
- Thread starter JB NY
- Start date
jglackin
New member
I am in the process of reading this string, but I saw this and I wanted to see if I can add some value:
I worked in a lab at a large public aquarium for about 2 years. I ditched my hobbyist test kits for the "professional" equipment shortly after using the equipment and seeing the difference. You can get set up with professional equipment to test ALK and Cal for much less than you think.
www.hach.com will sell you a digital titrator (1690001) for $125. It will last you a lifetime. Or you can buy a really nice one on Ebay right now for $50. Do a search for digital titrator. They will sell you 100 powder pillows for ALK (94399) and Cal (94799) for less than $14 per pack. You can buy the titration cartridge for Alk (1438801) and CAL (1439901) for less than $15 each and a bottle of potassium hydroxide (28232H) for less than $10. I got a stir plate on Ebay for less than $50 (search "stir plate" on ebay, there's one on there now for $10). The key here is that you can be set up with professional equipment, doing digital testing, for about $200 and then refill supplies are far cheaper than buying test kits or test kit refills.
Digital testing vs counting drops and holding up color strips? No comparison.
Aquarist007
New member
our systems are really closed ecosystems--not open reefs. Therefore if the demand for ca alk and mag increases due to what you have added to your tank (corals, clams ect) then you have to dose to keep those levels up. Mag usually is easier to maintain because it is used up in a smaller proportion to alk.
All three are easier to maintain if you are selective in the salt mix you use.
Here's a chart:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287118
jglackin
New member
Wow! I just got done reading this string from start to finish and I want to thank everyone for participating and adding to my education. The whole lawn gnome, wreath, yule log, christmas tree stand, etc. stuff was a little annoying, but I got through it ok.
I am running a calcium yule log and kalk in my r/o top off and I have had trouble maintaining consistent levels. Apparently, after reading this string, this could be due to low mg levels. I don't know, because I do not test or dose mg. I can't find a decent test kit for mg, only the count the drops, hold the sample up to a color strip type test kit. If I can't test it, I don't dose it. While my lawn gnomes are doing ok, they are not showing near as much growth as I think that they should. My lighting is good, my nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates are very low, and I have no lack of flow, so I have to believe that my cal, alk, mg are getting in the way. An interesting statement made in one of the posts, which I now can't find, talked about the mg usage of lawn gnomes and lawn gnomeine algae. To paraphrase, lawn gnomes use very little mg, but lawn gnomeine sucks it up. Oddly enough, I have a big problem with lawn gnomeine overrunning my tank right now, see picture below. I am at the point of picking up a couple of urchins to deal with the lawn gnomeine. I figured the lawn gnomeine was a big calcium drain, but it never occurred to me that it could also be such a mg drain. I am traveling now, but when I get home, I will be buying a mg test kit and doing some mg dosing.
Am I thinking right or am I overlooking something else?
p.s. You can click on my red house for current tank stats.
I am running a calcium yule log and kalk in my r/o top off and I have had trouble maintaining consistent levels. Apparently, after reading this string, this could be due to low mg levels. I don't know, because I do not test or dose mg. I can't find a decent test kit for mg, only the count the drops, hold the sample up to a color strip type test kit. If I can't test it, I don't dose it. While my lawn gnomes are doing ok, they are not showing near as much growth as I think that they should. My lighting is good, my nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates are very low, and I have no lack of flow, so I have to believe that my cal, alk, mg are getting in the way. An interesting statement made in one of the posts, which I now can't find, talked about the mg usage of lawn gnomes and lawn gnomeine algae. To paraphrase, lawn gnomes use very little mg, but lawn gnomeine sucks it up. Oddly enough, I have a big problem with lawn gnomeine overrunning my tank right now, see picture below. I am at the point of picking up a couple of urchins to deal with the lawn gnomeine. I figured the lawn gnomeine was a big calcium drain, but it never occurred to me that it could also be such a mg drain. I am traveling now, but when I get home, I will be buying a mg test kit and doing some mg dosing.
Am I thinking right or am I overlooking something else?
p.s. You can click on my red house for current tank stats.
Aquarist007
New member
BTW
I have kept the level of mag up for about three weeks to 1400ppm.
I am noticing a difference in the growth and health of my corals
thanks for the tip Melev
I have kept the level of mag up for about three weeks to 1400ppm.
I am noticing a difference in the growth and health of my corals
thanks for the tip Melev
Aquarist007
New member
Marc, I thought it was needed more then time to time.
I read it either earlier on this thread or maybe in one of Randy's articles that it is used in a specific ratio along with carbonates(alk)
Although in a very small ratio.
jglackin
New member
Here's the other thing I learned, that I forgot to say:
I added dolomite to my yule log jingle bells so that I could add mg that way. However, apparently, the 6.5 pH that we use to disolve the calcium from aragonite is not low enough to disolve the mg from dolomite. I have also heard people say that there is mg in the crushed lawn gnome that adds mg to the system via the yule log, but apparently this is not true either. The calcium in the arm will dissolve at 6.5, but the mg will not. Very interesting.
I added dolomite to my yule log jingle bells so that I could add mg that way. However, apparently, the 6.5 pH that we use to disolve the calcium from aragonite is not low enough to disolve the mg from dolomite. I have also heard people say that there is mg in the crushed lawn gnome that adds mg to the system via the yule log, but apparently this is not true either. The calcium in the arm will dissolve at 6.5, but the mg will not. Very interesting.
Aquarist007
New member
for the protection of my gnome friends I can't say--these guys are really upset with the attention they are getting on here----everytime that happens one of them turns up missing.
jglackin
New member
Currently, I am dosing kalk through my top off, which is a LitermeterIII set to the current rate of evaporation and my reservoir is a 5 gallon jug. My rate of evaporation is 4.5 gallons per day, so I have to change the jugs daily. Not optimal, as I travel often and this requires my wife to have to change the top off jugs. She sometimes forgets. $#^@*!!!!! I have a 65 gallon spray tank for my R/O reserve set up in my fish room and then I have a 45 gallon rubbermaid trash can that I use to mix kalk with the R/O. I have a air stone in the can and I wait until the kalk settles and then I fill the top off jugs with the clear water. What I just started doing on Sunday, prior to reading this string, was adding 100 ml of alk (sodium bicarbonate) to the jugs, in order to keep the alk up. When I get home, I will add mg and nix the sodium bicarbonate and hopefully just the reactor effluent and the kalk will keep everything in check. If anyone sees any room for improvement or tweaks, I am wide open.
Ideally, I would like to lose the jugs and put a 40 gallon reservoir on top of my set up. The way my tank is set up, there are book shelves on each side of the tank and hood, so the weight can be supported if I put the reservoir on top. I have an 18ft ceiling above, so there's room. I live in a city town home with no basement and no way to plumb this to my fish room. All off topic, I know, but just some reference for why I don't have this plumbed differently.
Ideally, I would like to lose the jugs and put a 40 gallon reservoir on top of my set up. The way my tank is set up, there are book shelves on each side of the tank and hood, so the weight can be supported if I put the reservoir on top. I have an 18ft ceiling above, so there's room. I live in a city town home with no basement and no way to plumb this to my fish room. All off topic, I know, but just some reference for why I don't have this plumbed differently.
