Dosing questions .

Alan600 · Nov 4, 2014

I been doing some testing trying to get my water parameters right. Today I tested my water and I got 420 cal , 7.7 alk and 1320 mg . My alk is not where it's suppose to be I'm trying to dose alk but I been doing some researching on dosing.i read that I would have to do a two part doses That way I don't to throw off my cal by just adding alk. Can someone help me by telling what can I use ? Or what I would
Have to dose for both ? I have a 40 gal with a 20 gal sump and 50 pounds of LR . I was told by my lfs that I can use soda ash and cal chloride from brs are they any good ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2014

You're alkalinity is fine. I recommend 7-11 dKH.

But, if you want to raise it a little bit, just some baking soda for a one time correction is perfect.

If you find you need more regular supplementation, yes, a two part is better and the BRS materials, which use my recipe, are a good way to go.

These have more:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/re...-coral-reef-aquarium-randy-holmes-farley.html

An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

choff · Nov 5, 2014

Randy, ideally wouldn't he want an alk of 8.283 to be inline with that calc ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2014

Well, IMO, the optimal alkalinity is not tied to the exact calcium value.

For example, if the calcium is 420 ppm or 500 ppm, that doesn't impact the desirable alkalinity.

Alan600 · Nov 5, 2014

I was freakig out because my lfs said it was to low and I needed to rise it up . But once again thank you for share some info with me .

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2014

FWIW, don't rely too heavily on LFS information without at least checking a forum such as this for any important issues. They frequently have incorrect information, and very frequently want to sell products (although i recognize that here they mentioned BRS, which is rather unusual for an LFS to do).

Alan600 · Nov 5, 2014

Yeah that was the first thing he told me get the two part brs cal and alk . He told me just to get on brs website to use there Calculator. So having a 7.7 on alk is fine or it would be better if it would be a little bit higher ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2014

Higher is only better if the measurement might be off. The ocean is a bit under 7 dKH.

Alan600 · Nov 5, 2014

Well it effective the growth on my corals if it stay around 7.5 or 8 rAng ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 5, 2014

Depends on the coral and other factors, such as nutrients.

If nutrients are very low, many SPS corals seem to do better closer to 7 -8 dKH.

If nutrients are normal to higher, then higher alkalinity can sometimes lead to faster growth.