Alk and calcium

jpcrash1 · May 10, 2019

Hey guys my mixed reef is at 7.0dkh alk and 360 calcium. Do I need to raise or I am ok. If so what do I use. Everything looks good in tank, was hoping to increase growth.

Jvesche20 · May 10, 2019

Do you have corals? If so what kind? I keep mine at 9.0 dkh and calcium at 420

Jvesche20 · May 10, 2019

Calcium or dkh won’t increase growth. Brs did a thing where if pH is at 8.3 then it will make corals grow faster than being lower. Can’t remember exactly what the numbers were. If you search up pH increase coral growth brs then you’ll find it I’m sure.

jpcrash1 · May 10, 2019

Jvesche20 said:
Do you have corals? If so what kind? I keep mine at 9.0 dkh and calcium at 420

Montipora, acans,birdsnest,zoas,frogspawn.

BestMomEver · May 10, 2019

Depends on what you have. As for dkh and calcium not growing corals, I disagree. If you don’t have calcium and buffer, not only will your corals not grow, they won’t live. I keep my dkh a little higher... around 10 because it encourages growth. Keep in mind though... a coral only has a finite amount of nutrients, etc available for growth and color. If the have great color, they might not grow as fast and visa versa. They key is getting a good balance. To keep mine higher I use Red Sea Pro salt and I dose as well. But everyone does it different. There are beautiful tanks at both ends of the spectrum.

If it were me, I would raise it but would do so slowly. Raise it a tiny bit then sit with it for a time and see if you like the results. The key is stability. Raise it a notch and wait a while for results. Raise it a bit more...

I keep mine at about 9.8-10.2 dkh and calcium about 440. Magnesium is higher too at about 1400. Everyone seems happy. I test dkh every second or third day.

jpcrash1 · May 10, 2019

BestMomEver said:
Depends on what you have. As for dkh and calcium not growing corals, I disagree. If you don’t have calcium and buffer, not only will your corals not grow, they won’t live. I keep my dkh a little higher... around 10 because it encourages growth. Keep in mind though... a coral only has a finite amount of nutrients, etc available for growth and color. If the have great color, they might not grow as fast and visa versa. They key is getting a good balance. To keep mine higher I use Red Sea Pro salt and I dose as well. But everyone does it different. There are beautiful tanks at both ends of the spectrum.

If it were me, I would raise it but would do so slowly. Raise it a tiny bit then sit with it for a time and see if you like the results. The key is stability. Raise it a notch and wait a while for results. Raise it a bit more...

I keep mine at about 9.8-10.2 dkh and calcium about 440. Magnesium is higher too at about 1400. Everyone seems happy. I test dkh every second or third day.

I am using regular instant ocean. If I switch to reef crystals for water changes would this help increase alk and calcium?

lapin · May 10, 2019

It should.

Jvesche20 · May 10, 2019

BestMomEver said:
Depends on what you have. As for dkh and calcium not growing corals, I disagree. If you don’t have calcium and buffer, not only will your corals not grow, they won’t live. I keep my dkh a little higher... around 10 because it encourages growth. Keep in mind though... a coral only has a finite amount of nutrients, etc available for growth and color. If the have great color, they might not grow as fast and visa versa. They key is getting a good balance. To keep mine higher I use Red Sea Pro salt and I dose as well. But everyone does it different. There are beautiful tanks at both ends of the spectrum.

If it were me, I would raise it but would do so slowly. Raise it a tiny bit then sit with it for a time and see if you like the results. The key is stability. Raise it a notch and wait a while for results. Raise it a bit more...

I keep mine at about 9.8-10.2 dkh and calcium about 440. Magnesium is higher too at about 1400. Everyone seems happy. I test dkh every second or third day.

I didnt mean its not used for growth. I mean it doesnt increase growth. Of course corals need it to grow. My corals use up close to 1dkh everyday

Larry L · May 10, 2019

This is my go-to article by @Randy Holmes-Farley about recommended calcium and alkalinity ranges, and what to do if you are outside those ranges: https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

jpcrash1 · May 11, 2019

Larry L said:
This is my go-to article by @Randy Holmes-Farley about recommended calcium and alkalinity ranges, and what to do if you are outside those ranges: https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

Thanks ,alot of good info.[emoji106]