When to start dosing Ca

[aggie13reef]

So far my tank is mostly softies but have a large octo frogspawn and another frogspawn frag (2 heads). I dose a seachem buffer and kent marine coral vite, along with a weekly iodine supplement. The coral vite contains 4.9% Ca, just curious on y'alls opinions on when to start dosing Ca on its own. I know I need to purchase a Ca test kit prior to dosing, I'll probably go with red sea for that.

 

[StaySalty]

You need that test kit to know for sure when you need to start dosing. When you find that your Ca is constantly below your desired level is when you should start dosing. 400-450 ppm Ca is what alot of people keep their Ca at. Since you have mostly softies, you'll probably be fine keeping it at the lower end of that range. Don't forget that you have to keep Alk and Mg in balance as well. Otherwise dosing the Ca won't do anything. Alk should be about 9 dkH and Mg about 1300 ppm.

 

[aggie13reef]

Thanks for the help! Next thing on the purchase list is a test kit for alk Mg and Ca.

 

[Tweaked]

IMO, nothing more important than an Alk test kit. I recommend testing everything till you get the hang of it and understand the balances between the big three. I now only test alk and work off of that for tweaking of my two part.

 

[aggie13reef]

IMO, nothing more important than an Alk test kit. I recommend testing everything till you get the hang of it and understand the balances between the big three. I now only test alk and work off of that for tweaking of my two part.

Im not sure why I typed next thing on the list is a test for alk CA and Mg because I do have the alk test kit, not sure how good it is but it seems fairly accurate. Just have to get the Ca and Mg