Zero Nitrates
I love chalices
I agree. I have found recently through testing that mixed water loses alkalinity over time. If you mix it ahead of time it loses alkalinity. I have tested two different brands including reef crystals.
How stable does stable have to be to be stable?
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mcarroll
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No bacteria to die off! 
It's practically sterile at this stage.
Depletion of alkalinity would only be attributable to precipitation - most likely with calcium. If you don't plan to use your water right away, once it's mixed, remove all heaters, pumps, etc, seal the container and leave it alone until you are ready for it. All those things - even aeration - have the ability to cause precipitation over time.
-Matt
It's practically sterile at this stage.Depletion of alkalinity would only be attributable to precipitation - most likely with calcium. If you don't plan to use your water right away, once it's mixed, remove all heaters, pumps, etc, seal the container and leave it alone until you are ready for it. All those things - even aeration - have the ability to cause precipitation over time.
-Matt
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glb
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Update. I started using RO water with Reef Crystals salt mix two weeks ago and have noticed a big difference in my water stability. Alk, mg are not depleting as quickly and everything looks a little happier. I think I'll be doing a lot less dosing now that I'm using salt mix instead of seawater. Ph is hovering around 8.0 and my handy dandy new refractometer shows my salinity at 1.025. Nothing like good equipment for keeping things steady!
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glb
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So it seems that the seawater was the culprit for my zoa losses. Now that I trace things back, my troubles started when I stopped using salt mix. Now that I'm using reef crystals, the tank looks so much better. The zoas I have left are fully open and I see some new polyps forming. What an odyssey! I considered every possible problem except the water itself. I think this is one case of science trumping nature. More to come...
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glb
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And today's numbers:
Ca: 280 (down 100)
Mg: 1240 up 40
Alk: 164 down 50
No3: 10-15 same
Ph: 7.8 same
I can't believe how much more stable salt mix is. My alk went down an average of 5ppm/day, which is very little. It's sitting at about 9.2 so I'm not going to dose this week. Mg held its own for the first time. Ca was a surprise but may be wrong because I ran out of my Red Sea test and had to use API until I get a new salifert one. I've never had a problem with ca, but maybe because I have more lps now it's getting depleted. I'll get reef fusion 1 tomorrow and start dosing to get it back up. The corals look great!
Ca: 280 (down 100)
Mg: 1240 up 40
Alk: 164 down 50
No3: 10-15 same
Ph: 7.8 same
I can't believe how much more stable salt mix is. My alk went down an average of 5ppm/day, which is very little. It's sitting at about 9.2 so I'm not going to dose this week. Mg held its own for the first time. Ca was a surprise but may be wrong because I ran out of my Red Sea test and had to use API until I get a new salifert one. I've never had a problem with ca, but maybe because I have more lps now it's getting depleted. I'll get reef fusion 1 tomorrow and start dosing to get it back up. The corals look great!
pickupman66
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At 280, your calcium is extremely low. Should be 460 per your alk
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glb
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You're absolutely right. I don't quite trust the test kit so I want my new salifert to come before I start dosing too much. I added 3ml of kent calcium yesterday but when I used the online calculator, it said I had to add a ridiculous amount to get it back to normal. I don't want to do that before I know for sure what the ca is. If it really is that low, do I need to bring it up slowly?
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glb
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Today's ca is 440. Added some Kent's calcium yesterday but got reef fusion 1 today for the future because you can calculate how much to add from the directions. For my tank, 1.5ml will make the ca go up 4ppm.
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glb
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Well my mg tanked this week. Here's the numbers:
Ca: 390
Alk: 150ppm
Mg: 800
I dosed reef fusion 1 and 2 to bring up the alk and ca and dosed mg too. The alk isn't that bad and I'm still trying to figure out the ca dosing because I've recently added several lps. I never had a ca problem before. Also, some of my coralline is turning white, which I think indicates low ca. I have no idea about the mg falling so much so I'll have to keep an eye on it. Here's the latest tank shot:
New LEDs btw!
Ca: 390
Alk: 150ppm
Mg: 800
I dosed reef fusion 1 and 2 to bring up the alk and ca and dosed mg too. The alk isn't that bad and I'm still trying to figure out the ca dosing because I've recently added several lps. I never had a ca problem before. Also, some of my coralline is turning white, which I think indicates low ca. I have no idea about the mg falling so much so I'll have to keep an eye on it. Here's the latest tank shot:
New LEDs btw!
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glb
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Numbers after a 2g water change
Alk: 148ppm
Mg: 1120pom
Ca: 425ppm
No3: 15ppm
Temp: 77
SG: 1.025
Ph: 8.0
After dosing, here are the big 3:
Ca: 470
Mg: 1300
Alk: 178
Now I'm not adding anything for a week to truly calculate what's being depleted. After that, I'll dose daily or as needed. One step closer to stability!
Hard to see tank with LEDs but I'm still acclimating the coral to them. But the corals look great! All the lps are open and the zoas are looking great and growing again. Yay!!
