Snyder1456
Active Member
Hello everyone.
I've started dosing ESV B ionic calcium buffer in my tank with a doser. I want to know what I should do to get my calcium down. I have been using reef crystals for 6 months or longer. The instructions say to find a salt mix that matches what I want in my tank, and when comparing parameters of freshly mixed salt on one website, none seem to match what I want without some tweaking. They also state that I need to dose both parts in equal amounts because they work together that way, but I've also read many people are dosing unequal amounts (dont remember if they're using the same brand) and I believe I read ESV stating that I can temporarily dose more of one than the other.
My question is should I just switch salt brands to get closer? I still have a lot of reef crystals as I buy in bulk. Or should I be dosing less of the calcium part until I reach my goal and then dose equally to maintain? It's only been a few weeks and I'm dosing 23ml of each per day as the recommended starting point. It's definitely working, as it's keeping my levels from depleting between water changes. Should I wait? Right now they seem to be holding at:
DKH 8.5
Cal 520
Mag 1340
And this is before a water change. I wanna keep my alk where it is, maybe go up to 9.
Before dosing, my alk was around 7.5 and cal was 470
75 gallon tank and if it helps/matters:
Sal 1.026
Nitrates ~2.5
Phos ~.05
Also, with some of the more premium salt mixes, what do other people do? Some of those parameters are pretty high with freshly mixed salt water. I'm a little confused, but I'm only doing this about a year now and this is my first tank. Thanks for any help or advice, it's much appreciated!
I've started dosing ESV B ionic calcium buffer in my tank with a doser. I want to know what I should do to get my calcium down. I have been using reef crystals for 6 months or longer. The instructions say to find a salt mix that matches what I want in my tank, and when comparing parameters of freshly mixed salt on one website, none seem to match what I want without some tweaking. They also state that I need to dose both parts in equal amounts because they work together that way, but I've also read many people are dosing unequal amounts (dont remember if they're using the same brand) and I believe I read ESV stating that I can temporarily dose more of one than the other.
My question is should I just switch salt brands to get closer? I still have a lot of reef crystals as I buy in bulk. Or should I be dosing less of the calcium part until I reach my goal and then dose equally to maintain? It's only been a few weeks and I'm dosing 23ml of each per day as the recommended starting point. It's definitely working, as it's keeping my levels from depleting between water changes. Should I wait? Right now they seem to be holding at:
DKH 8.5
Cal 520
Mag 1340
And this is before a water change. I wanna keep my alk where it is, maybe go up to 9.
Before dosing, my alk was around 7.5 and cal was 470
75 gallon tank and if it helps/matters:
Sal 1.026
Nitrates ~2.5
Phos ~.05
Also, with some of the more premium salt mixes, what do other people do? Some of those parameters are pretty high with freshly mixed salt water. I'm a little confused, but I'm only doing this about a year now and this is my first tank. Thanks for any help or advice, it's much appreciated!
