Sould I be measuring for ALK/MAG/CAL?

[Troublekitty]

My tanks been getting stocked a bit with coral and I've been wondering if I should start testing for those.

Stock list 10g

Blasotmussa
Zoas
Acan
Ricordea
Frogspawn

I have two clowns and plan on getting a shrimp soon. Either a Fire or Cleaner. Ive been looking into making my own water because I don't know exactly what my LFS uses. Since I'm going for a mixed reef I was looking into getting Red Sea Coral Pro. Would that replenish what was consumed by the corals?

 

[Lsufan]

Yes u should probably be testing. The big 3 ( alk, cal, mag) are the only tests a lot of people do, but that is because they are the most important once the tank cycles & especially when u start adding coral.

As far as water changes being enough to keep your levels consistent, it's hard to say. That's why u test the big 3. Other things besides corals can drain your params. If u have a lot of coralline algea growing for example, it can consume quite a bit of alk.

U have some easier to keep corals but u need to stay in the good ranges on your params but u also need to keep the params consistent. U don't want to have 12 dkh of alk after a water change but it drop to 7 dkh before u do another water change to bring it up. U want it to stay as consistent as possible. It takes a while to get it figured out & that is why it's a good idea to start with easy corals.

It's important at first to test often so u have a idea what your tank consumes. Water changes may get u by for a while but u won't know until u start testing

 

[Ron Reefman]

My tanks been getting stocked a bit with coral and I've been wondering if I should start testing for those.

Ca, alk & Mg tests... yes.

Since I'm going for a mixed reef I was looking into getting Red Sea Coral Pro. Would that replenish what was consumed by the corals?

It depends.

The more lps and sps coral growth you get, the more you'll need to increase the supply of Ca and alk (Mg is depleted much more slowly). Water changes may or may not be enough as time goes by. When water changes prove to not be keeping up proper levels you'll want to look into dosing Ca and alk with a 2 part system. It's pretty easy.

 

[Troublekitty]

Yes u should probably be testing. The big 3 ( alk, cal, mag) are the only tests a lot of people do, but that is because they are the most important once the tank cycles & especially when u start adding coral.

As far as water changes being enough to keep your levels consistent, it's hard to say. That's why u test the big 3. Other things besides corals can drain your params. If u have a lot of coralline algea growing for example, it can consume quite a bit of alk.

U have some easier to keep corals but u need to stay in the good ranges on your params but u also need to keep the params consistent. U don't want to have 12 dkh of alk after a water change but it drop to 7 dkh before u do another water change to bring it up. U want it to stay as consistent as possible. It takes a while to get it figured out & that is why it's a good idea to start with easy corals.

It's important at first to test often so u have a idea what your tank consumes. Water changes may get u by for a while but u won't know until u start testing

Ok. That's pretty solid advice. Almost as solid as our defense was during the last few seconds of FL vs LSU

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[Troublekitty]

The more lps and sps coral growth you get, the more you'll need to increase the supply of Ca and alk (Mg is depleted much more slowly). Water changes may or may not be enough as time goes by. When water changes prove to not be keeping up proper levels you'll want to look into dosing Ca and alk with a 2 part system. It's pretty easy.

Ok thanks. I don't plan on having SPS in this tank...at the moment. I'm still VERY new to this hobby so every week my tank survives I count a blessing.

 

[SpottedMoocow]

With the list of corals you have there, I doubt you'd ever need to dose. WC should be sufficient if you're diligent with them. You will likely need at minimum a once a week WC.

I had a 12G nano, that had 6 euphyllia, candy cane, birdsnest, zoas, and some montis that ran well and was able to keep up with alk/calc/mag with only water changes.

 

[wmo168]

With the list of corals you have there, I doubt you'd ever need to dose. WC should be sufficient if you're diligent with them. You will likely need at minimum a once a week WC.

I had a 12G nano, that had 6 euphyllia, candy cane, birdsnest, zoas, and some montis that ran well and was able to keep up with alk/calc/mag with only water changes.

Can you show us a picture of your tank?

 

[Darth_Tater]

In my 40 gallon the second I added a Monti chunk I had to start dosing.

With the LPS you added, I'd definitely keep an eye on levels for a while to at least find a trend, especially on a tank as small as 10 gallons. As Ron said, dosing 2 part is easy. Look for Randy's recipe in the Chemistry section stickies.

Also, the frequency of water changes will make a difference. More water changes = greater chance you won't need to start dosing for a while, but also = more expensive than home made 2 part.

 

[RedStangGA]

With a 10g, water changes are not expensive at all. I'd say it's always worth testing but do it to figure out what level of WC's are necessary to replenish what's being used.

Also, be sure to test each new batch of salt water before you do your WC to make sure the levels are what you're expecting. By batch, I mean bag/box/bucket. Test the first batch of salt made from a new container and then about half way through if it's a large container. If you buy salt water from a LFS, test it each time you come back from the store with it.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I test ALK and CA once a week, MAG once a month. If my parameters go back to normal after a water change (1 x per week) I know I don't need to dose yet.

Duncan
Candy Cane
Birds Nest
Monti
Frogspawn
Devil's Hand
GSP
Mushrooms
Xenia

 

[SpottedMoocow]

Can you show us a picture of your tank?

Took down the tank about a year ago after upgrading to a larger one, but here's a picture when the tank was maybe 6 months old? Couldn't find a picture of the tank at the end of its life with eveything in it.

 

[Valentini89]

I heard that the only time you test for alk/calc/mag was if you kept sps?

 

[SpottedMoocow]

I heard that the only time you test for alk/calc/mag was if you kept sps?

Not necessarily true. If all you had was softies, you'd probably never really need to know. But if you have LPS or montis and a lot of them, you may or may not need additional dosing. Would also depend on your WC schedule.

 

[Valentini89]

Not necessarily true. If all you had was softies, you'd probably never really need to know. But if you have LPS or montis and a lot of them, you may or may not need additional dosing. Would also depend on your WC schedule.

Thanks for that advice.. I had no idea!