Please critique my params

[kingdomrush]

Are my numbers out of whacked? I havent tested for PH..should i? all tested were conduct using Sailfert.

My calc is at 520-540 ppm
Po4 0
Nitrate <5 ppm
alk 8ish in the am 10ish in the pm

 

[fishguy597]

Id lower your cal and get your alk stable.

 

[kingdomrush]

What's the magic number for cal? I cant get my alk stable to save my life. Right now Im dripping baking soda so hopefully it stay put.

 

[SpinyReef]

there's no magic number as cal and alk must be balanced. That being sais, at 8-9 alk, cal 450ppm should be alright

 

[franklypre]

Can you check your Mag?

 

[smokenax]

Plus on the mag,in order for ca and alk
To balance out,you need your mag to be right
I would shoot for 1250 to 1350.

 

[stevedola]

you Alk swings from 8 to 10 everyday??!! I wouldnt want my tank to swing from 8 - 10 in a week. you need to dose more often to get that stable.
Its a balancing act with parameters...stablize and maintain and everything will fall in line. What your levels should be is subjective but stability is not. Dont chase "numbers" but rather to keep them stable.

BTW- Mag at 1250 is too low. I wouldnt go any lower than 1300 and that would be bottom. I try to maintain 1400. But like it said, concentrate on stablizing alk/calc.

 

[stevedola]

how do you dose? what do you use? frequency? give us details.

 

[daz the reefo]

i'm with most that have replied so far, balance and consistancy are key for sps, i use this calculator to help with getting levels and balance right:

http://www.reeftime.com/reef-chemistry-calculator.asp

 

[ek9vboi]

The three to keep in check and inline are Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. With that said, most try to keep there levels at:

Calcium: 440-450
Alkalinity: 8-9
Mag: 1350-1500

Like others have asked, how are you dosing and what are you dosing with? 2-part?

Also, why are you testing alk levels twice?

 

[fishguy597]

I recently had my ca in the upper 500's. But my issue was due to running my ca reactor and running Oceanic salt. So while I had my reactor off to bring my ca. down I was dosing baking soda. my alk was all over the place. someone on here made a recommendation to me to split my doses in the morning and evening. I just premixed it in the evening and dosed iiin the morning. It helped a lot not quit solid but helped.

 

[fishguy597]

Sorry just reread and I see your dripping. are you running out of alk. at somepoint during the day?

 

[LISound]

if this is a serious reef tank with some money invested in corals...you need a doser.
you could try lime water, but depending on evap. you may need more alk and ca.

So a doser would be my answer.
i just added an alk doser to my system. considering i was adding about 35ml of each 2 part daily, I couldn't keep my alk from swinging like yours.

Now I dose alk all day long in small amounts and dose my ca in 2 doses. once in the morning and once at night.

Saves me the 80 dollars to get another doser.

 

[kingdomrush]

Last week my alk number was jumping around for some unknown reasons. However it has held steady the last 2 days at 10dhk in the am/pm. I just tested my mag at it's at 1250ppm maybe that's a tad low. I'm currently dripping baking soda in the sump.

 

[kingdomrush]

I couldn't keep my alk from swinging like yours.

N

could you give more details please