ALK and Calcium with Red Sea foundation

[Iconicjellyfish]

Hi guys, so I just recently got into dosing and am trying to figure out some stuff, one question the salt I use and only just bought mixes to 6 alk, I’d rather be at 9 alk, my DT is at 6.6, I know I can’t just add a drastic amount and raise the DT tank at once, I was wondering if I could dose accordingly to my pre mixed saltwater i have, I mix 30 gallons at a time, can I bring the alk up all at once in the mixing station? 2nd question my calcium in the tank is at 429 and I want to bring it up to 450, can I dose the calcium all at once? There’s nothing that I can find about daily dosing maximums, will dosing heavy bring up my PH? TIA!

 

[Spare time]

What salt is that??? 6 is below natural reef water so I can't imagine that salt being meant for reef tanks. You can raise calcium up to 450 all at once that is fine. Just do a point a day of alk in your display to get it up.


I think you can just raise the alk of your salt mix up but you need to make sure there is a powerhead or somthing stirrig it up. I am not sure how much you could do at once without precipitation in a 30g mixing bin so I'll leave that to randy or someone else who has more knowledge on that

 

[Iconicjellyfish]

What salt is that??? 6 is below natural reef water so I can't imagine that salt being meant for reef tanks. You can raise calcium up to 450 all at once that is fine. Just do a point a day of alk in your display to get it up.


I think you can just raise the alk of your salt mix up but you need to make sure there is a powerhead or somthing stirrig it up. I am not sure how much you could do at once without precipitation in a 30g mixing bin so I'll leave that to randy or someone else who has more knowledge on that

Ok cool I’ll add the correct amount of calcium now, but it’s TMP salt so I think it’s meant for you to be able to make it your own levels? Maybe I’m wrong not sure though I think I’ll just play it safe and add .5 alk a day just in case

 

[Spare time]

Ok cool I’ll add the correct amount of calcium now, but it’s TMP salt so I think it’s meant for you to be able to make it your own levels? Maybe I’m wrong not sure though I think I’ll just play it safe and add .5 alk a day just in case

What salinity do you mix it to and what do you use to measure salinity? Also which Alk test are you using? I aks this because some alk tests such as the API one can be off by a degree or two. If the test and salinity are correct, maybe consider something like Red Sea Salt (blue bucket) since that mixed to your desired alk.

 

[Iconicjellyfish]

What salinity do you mix it to and what do you use to measure salinity? Also which Alk test are you using? I aks this because some alk tests such as the API one can be off by a degree or two. If the test and salinity are correct, maybe consider something like Red Sea Salt (blue bucket) since that mixed to your desired alk.

I mix it to 1.025, and I test with both Hannah and salifert kits just to compare, I’m starting to trust Hannah enough to just use them and not have to double check and do 2 tests I’ve learned my lesson with api never buying that again lol. that is the salt I started with I’ll definitely have to go back I just don’t know what to do with this salt now lol

 

[Spare time]

I mix it to 1.025, and I test with both Hannah and salifert kits just to compare, I’m starting to trust Hannah enough to just use them and not have to double check and do 2 tests I’ve learned my lesson with api never buying that again lol. that is the salt I started with I’ll definitely have to go back I just don’t know what to do with this salt now lol

I would wait till someone can say whether or not you can raise the alk all at once when mixing it. You definitely can raise it though, I just don't know how much you can put in at once without precipitation. You could always just do a point or 2 at a time if you wanna try it out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It's fine to boost new salt water, but it is much more prone to precipitation of calcium carbonate than is aquarium water of the same parameters (due to organic matter reducing precipitation rates).

It should not commonly be needed, but if you want to do this, use baking soda, not any higher pH buffer because you want to keep the pH low to reduce precipitation.