Let's talk about Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium in an SPS Tank

[MidwesternTexan]

Sorry it's 21.6 liters per day

So it's about 5400 ml per pump per day , I believed with this qty , it will be much better to be handle by the cheap Chinese jebao DP 4 dosing pump.

For a 110g tank? 21.6L/day? That's over 5g of water/day?
You sure about this?

I have a 320g TWV system, and I probably make up 2-3g/day in ATO.
What are you going to do with that extra volume?

And I'm you enjoy Taiwan. I toured the entire island over about a month with a local/native Taiwanese woman, 20yrs ago.
Free and democratic? Probably moreso than the U.S. is these days

 

[The REeFFers]

What is the Jebo dosing?

a stand alone dosing system dosing alk cal mag

 

[JB NY]

awesome information guys and girls, have a quick question. Right now I'm running a kalk reactor ( two little fishies ) and a jebo doser is there any down fall in doing this or am i just making things harder for myself using 2 devices that do the same thing :debi:

Nothing wrong with it, many people use two methods. I use a Ca reactor and a kalk doser.

 

[fishtankpete]

I seem to be struggling to get my magnesium past 1200 I have put massive amounts in and it just wont go up has anyone got any idea why please.

 

[martinandsarah2]

I seem to be struggling to get my magnesium past 1200 I have put massive amounts in and it just wont go up has anyone got any idea why please.

What you using to buffer it and how you mixing it ect and what's your other levels.

 

[JB NY]

I seem to be struggling to get my magnesium past 1200 I have put massive amounts in and it just wont go up has anyone got any idea why please.

You need a lot of magnesium to raise the levels. I use 7 Tablespoons just to raise the level of my new salt water when doing a water change.

 

[Msleckro]

MAGNESIUM QUESTION:

My tank is currently at 1050ppm magnesium. I need to raise it obviously, but i'm wondering what the best way to raise it would be? I'd like to get it to at least 1200ppm but that is still a lot..

any suggestion would be great!

 

[JB NY]

Magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfide. mix enough to bring up the Mg about 50 ppm a day till you are at your target.

 

[stupiddiver]

Post this in the wrong forum. Need help as my sps coral tank in trouble.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2527022 can pm me with advise.

 

[yeah]

Thanks JB NY. I'm ready to be a chemist now..

 

[JB NY]

You are welcome!

 

[gypsy1203]

Great read... Thank you everyone who posted because as I'm starting a new SPS build, this will definitely help me get an idea of what levels people usually run on their tanks!

 

[jninternational]

Useful article

 

[Jeremy1988]

I'm new to the reefing community, but I plan to keep lps and soft coral, should my PH levels be around 8.3...or will 7.8 and maybe slightly higher be acceptable? This article seems like the higher ph and calcium level demands are more for sps coral? I have heard of natural ways of raising PH like opening windows or having your air tube from your skimmer going outside, which for me would be an easy thing to do.

 

[biecacka]

Question, I was dosing vodka/vinegar to help control my nitrates. They are now under control but the carbon dosing has helped raise my AlK to about 14. What is the easiest/safest way to lower it? It has stressed a few corals out.

Corey

 

[JB NY]

Just turn off whatever you are using for alk supplementation until your alk comes down.

 

[biecacka]

Not using anything for AlK. My calcium reactor is off, however to prevent it from going "bad" I am running water through it......but no CO2. Could that be a culprit?

Corey

 

[JB NY]

That will work. you will continue to get some alk for a while until the reactor has flushed the low pH water from the system. Another way is to keep the reactor running just reduce the effluent to just a tiny amount, that will allow the alk to drop too.

 

[Jeremy1988]

I think key to success in SPS tank is keeping your parameters stable. I nearly went through entire Salifert ALK test kit while fine tuning my calcium reactor. Now I only test for ALK/Calcium once a week.

I've had problems when my ALK was above 9 for some reason. I've experienced tip recession and stn on few of my corals. Now I keep my ALK around 7 -8 dkh, but never above 8 dkh.

Calcium is one the easiest to maintain for me. It's never been an issue. I keep mine 420 - 440 ppm stable.

I get really lazy when it comes to MG levels. I check mine once a month. I have some MG granules in my calcium reactor, so I don't add any MG to my tank. It's always around 1500 ppm when I test my water.

Nice thread Joe.

Hi there, new to the reefing world. I have been doing extensive research though before making any big moves. I plan to have a lps/soft coral tank. I understand the value of keeping the proper water parameters, but are these more strict parameters that the article speak of more in regards to SPS dominate tanks you would say? SPS tank seem for the most part a bit harder to maintain...well not maintain but THRIVE!

 

[90tanknj]

Having issue with cakcium and all and need help. It is a 21 g cube rimless I added coral and Acro including water change twice 3 gallons each time my coral are absorbing calcium. All has been stable at 6 but calcium went down from 360 to 260 in 3 days oh is stable at 8.2. I have liquid seachem reef advantage and reef calcium I am thinking of adding the calcium part wait for 2 days and retest. Let me know your opinion.