Alk, Cal and Mag dosing

[eqbal9947]

Hey guys,
im looking for a consistent brand to dose.
I tried all for reef but it was never consistent with raising or lowering Alk uniformly with mag and cal.
Im now using Fauna marin and the Mag and Alk clog up my dosing lines frequently and my Alk is not consistent at all Ive been upping my dosage and my DKH has been going down, even with the dosing pumps working correctly.

I hate changing stuff up but im thinking of going to ESV.

Any thoughts?>

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I've just switched to Randy's DIY recipes.
Fairly straightforward even to an Englishman(as a nation we will categorically never understand the size of a "cup" despite many logical explanations )
The saving on mixing your own is the big appeal plus you know exactly what your dosing.
I was finding the extensive list of "trace elements" in many off the shelf 2 parts didn't fit in with my goals, id rather dose those myself based on ICP.
So it really depends on your individual goals

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey guys,
im looking for a consistent brand to dose.
I tried all for reef but it was never consistent with raising or lowering Alk uniformly with mag and cal.
Im now using Fauna marin and the Mag and Alk clog up my dosing lines frequently and my Alk is not consistent at all Ive been upping my dosage and my DKH has been going down, even with the dosing pumps working correctly.

I hate changing stuff up but im thinking of going to ESV.

Any thoughts?>

There are lots of ways to deal with such issues, but what exactly was going wrong with AFR dosing? There may be simple ways to solve the issues you mention, and in the short term, AFR should maintain things reasonably easily.

 

[Doctorgori]

I tried all for reef but it was never consistent with raising or lowering Alk uniformly with mag and cal.

FWIW not sure if you are aware that there is some testing latency with AFR …
My tanks swing a lil but easily stay within .5 dkH swing over a weeks time

 

[rsach]

I have observed Calcium levels creeping up with AFR, ALK and Mg is under control. Planning to start using Randy's DIY recipe 1 so I have better control over these parameters.

 

[Cali Reef Life]

bulk reef supply and balling are two great brands.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have observed Calcium levels creeping up with AFR, ALK and Mg is under control. Planning to start using Randy's DIY recipe 1 so I have better control over these parameters.

Yes, that is expected. It has the same alk/calcium balance as kalkwasser, which is a tad overbalanced to too much calcium.

 

[rsach]

Yes, that is expected. It has the same alk/calcium balance as kalkwasser, which is a tad overbalanced to too much calcium.

Thanks for the feedback. Btw will it be ok to use your Recipe 1 for Alkalinity along with ESV B-Ionic Calcium buffer? Or should I stick with your recipe for all three (Alk, Ca, Mg) elements.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the feedback. Btw will it be ok to use your Recipe 1 for Alkalinity along with ESV B-Ionic Calcium buffer? Or should I stick with your recipe for all three (Alk, Ca, Mg) elements.

That’s ok to finish off bottles.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Yes it's a commercial and it's long but full of great information.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

While I do not watch random videos, I will note for those who do that I disagree with Tropic Marin on the best way to determine the desirable dose of AFR. I do not think calcium testing is precise enough to determine how much of a balanced alk and calcium additive should be dosed.

 

[rsach]

That’s ok to finish off bottles.

Thanks Randy! Your contributions to the reefing community are invaluable.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Randy! Your contributions to the reefing community are invaluable.

Thanks and you’re welcome.

Happy Reefing!