Alk, Cal, Mag Help!!

aaronlp · Dec 31, 2012

Tank Specs:

75 Gallon with 30 long sump
Temp:78.0 on a controller

About 12 chalice frags with 14 SPS Frags(being a sps tank)

Mag-1100ppm
Alk-10.5dkh
Cal-500ppm

I need everything to stay stable, i am using the BRS dosing products. What can i do to keep everything in balance i would like my calcium around 400 alk at 9.8ish and mag around 1300. What can i do to keep these stable and how do i know how much to add daily to keep them that way?

WillKatt · Dec 31, 2012

Your mag is definitely on the low side, start off by dosing some mag manually. I prefer mag to be between 1350 -1400 use the BRS calculator to determine how much Mag Chloride you should dose to get get where you want to be. Don't dose too much at one time take the dosage suggested and break it up into 2 or three doses over the next few days. Looks like youre already high on Calcium and Alk. I would just sit back and let those naturally fall to around 420 Cal and 9dkh Alk.

Once your parameters fall back in place start dosing equal parts of calcium and alk. If you already have fair coral and coraline growth I would start out dosing 10ml of each and check every few few days and adjust accordingly. If you have the BRS dosers and a controller I would also recommend spreading the daily dosage out into several smaller doses to avoid alk/pH swings.

kuyatwo · Dec 31, 2012

let the alk and ca settle to where you want them. test both alk and ca then dose what brs requires ....test again SAME TIME the next day see if ca and alk are at the same level adjust dosage + or - test again 24 hours later see if levels are the same and adjust...continue to do this till you dial in the dosage

Isoprene · Dec 31, 2012

get an ATO if you don't already have one is my advice, I gopt one about two weeks ago...im just starting this same type of tank except 55 bow and got a few softies here and there. I am using reef crystals and doing a 5g WC every Sunday. I add 1 tablespoon of magnesion-P from Brightwell Aquatics to 5 gallons of RO/DI which gets dumped into my ATO container when its lower. At this ratio I have been pretty stable around:

Mg - 1400
Ca - 500
8.5 Dkh Alk

keeping salinity in line and consistent is also important. idk if that helps or not

Singlefin · Dec 31, 2012

Are you dosing manually? It gets old fast. If you can get a pump, it will keep things more stable. Spread your daily amount throughout the days. Before I got my pump, I was using an IV drip line to slowly drip my doses. Cheap and better than manually adding larger doses. My mag has been low also. I think you can only bring it up 100ppm a day. As stated before, BRS has a great calculator and videos to help.

Alabamareef · Dec 31, 2012

Your getting all the right advice here. Your Mg is not far off but I'd get get it in line over the next week. Your Ca and Alk are on the high side but I know plenty of people with similar levels and there tanks are fine. Mg is something you'll not have to dose daily. I check mine about every 4 months and adjust accordingly. It's key to know how much Alk and Ca your dosing on a daily basis, keep a log. Today stop dosing Alk and Ca so that your levels will drop over the next few weeks. This process will take some time. I would check the levels about twice a week. Once you see your levels dropping I would check every other day. When it gets to a level your comfortable with dose half the amount your were dosing to get your levels where they are today. Adjust accordingly after that. Remember if your using two part your Ca and Alk should be in equal amounts. So if you dose 30ml of Alk you should dose 30ml of Ca. My tank has been running like this for 3 years and the levels are stable.
I did buy a dosing pump from BRS and would highly recommend one, but it's not necessary. Also make sure when your dosing your not putting it directly into the display tank, put it in the overflow or sump. Also a auto top off will help keep your levels in check. Good luck and be patient.......