Dosing eight.four, ions, calcification help

Blue_thumb · May 20, 2023

I’m new to dosing. (Second week) I am using the products above by aquavitro. My pH consistently runs on lower side 7.88-7.95 which wasn’t a big concern but feel I have room to increase. I wanted to increase my calcium and mag. Process I used was to measure and dose daily what I wanted to increase over the week. My calcium and mag came up nicely (goal 440 and 1350). But my pH only rises and falls while alkalinity started to increase. So I stopped dosing the eight.four two days ago because I’m unsure. So many opinions on the interwebs about alkalinity. My pH number show in the first pic is from Wednesday testing. I saw on my Seneye that the pH dropped to 7.88 right after dosing for mag (which is all I planned to dose this week after Wednesdays testing. Help understanding chemistry and interactions of these chemicals. I welcome any advice also.

I never finish anythi · May 20, 2023

What corals do you have in the tank ??

Blue_thumb · May 20, 2023

I never finish anythi said:
What corals do you have in the tank ??

Mostly softies, also some LPS. I have one SPS. Going for a mixed reef. I have a torch that seems really happy.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 20, 2023

If you want to raise pH, 8.4 is not an optimal product. A carbonate only product will give a larger rise.

Blue_thumb · May 21, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
If you want to raise pH, 8.4 is not an optimal product. A carbonate only product will give a larger rise.

Okay. Thanks for the hint. Any thoughts about the levels overall? Meaning do the alkalinity levels pose a problem.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 22, 2023

I generally recommend 7-11 dKh, but 12 dKH is OK as long as you have sufficient N and P (which you do) to prevent burnt tips on some SPS corals. Other levels look fine.