NEED ADVICE ON RAISING MG/ALK/CA

[saltwater newby]

I'm still new to this hobby and I've been learning as I go. I have been checking my ca, alk, and mg using the Red Sea reef pro kit and I have noticed my parameters low. This has been going on for weeks. I purchased 2 part dosing A and B But I haven't seen much improvement yet. I have no doubt that user error is to blame as I'm a beginner and don't know what I'm doing. My parameters this morning were Mg 1300 CA 365 and Meq 3.4/ 9.5 dkh
I dosed A and B after that 20 ml of each but I haven't checked it, I will tomorrow morning. I have a 75 g dt and 18 g sump. I'm also running and algae scrubber for about 3 weeks now and today I started using Red Sea spec activated carbon. I have a nice frogspawn which has lost two

heads recently and I'm thinking my parameters are to blame plus I have a couple other euphyllia lps and zoas. Please help I don't want to lose my corals over this. I attached a pic for a better look at my tank. Thanks in advance.

 

[Sabellafella]

I'm still new to this hobby and I've been learning as I go. I have been checking my ca, alk, and mg using the Red Sea reef pro kit and I have noticed my parameters low. This has been going on for weeks. I purchased 2 part dosing A and B But I haven't seen much improvement yet. I have no doubt that user error is to blame as I'm a beginner and don't know what I'm doing. My parameters this morning were Mg 1300 CA 365 and Meq 3.4/ 9.5 dkh
I dosed A and B after that 20 ml of each but I haven't checked it, I will tomorrow morning. I have a 75 g dt and 18 g sump. I'm also running and algae scrubber for about 3 weeks now and today I started using Red Sea spec activated carbon. I have a nice frogspawn which has lost two

heads recently and I'm thinking my parameters are to blame plus I have a couple other euphyllia lps and zoas. Please help I don't want to lose my corals over this. I attached a pic for a better look at my tank. Thanks in advance.

Well theres a first for everything! First things first Do you do water changes often?

 

[saltwater newby]

Well theres a first for everything! First things first Do you do water changes often?

I do 10 gallons weekly.

 

[Sabellafella]

I do 10 gallons weekly.

What kind of salt mix? Some salt mixes/batches can be low in calcium nd could be lowering your calc everytime you do a wc. I would first test your saltwater, then you could always dose the fresh mix up to par.

 

[BoneXriffic]

Mag isnt terrible and alk seems ok. Sounds like you need to double check calc and maybe add more part a to raise calc but not alk. I have to dose double the part a to keep my.calc up. Every tank uses different amounts of these....though the expert here can probally assist you better. Just my 2 cents

 

[Sabellafella]

If your tank isnt packed out with massive sps corals, water changes along with hand dosing a couple times a week should do the trick. First i would test your wc water, dose the makeup water to were you want your parameters to be , then do 10-20% changes weekly untill you reached your desired level. Then learn your tanks consumption, then dose equal parts accordingly. Keep in mind you have to test everyday around the same time. Trying to up your levels to where you want them to be with 2 part in a short period of time is sort of a bad idea and would take a couple hundred mls.

 

[saltwater newby]

What kind of salt mix? Some salt mixes/batches can be low in calcium nd could be lowering your calc everytime you do a wc. I would first test your saltwater, then you could always dose the fresh mix up to par.

I buy my water from my LFS here in Orlando i believe they use instant ocean.

 

[saltwater newby]

Mag isnt terrible and alk seems ok. Sounds like you need to double check calc and maybe add more part a to raise calc but not alk. I have to dose double the part a to keep my.calc up. Every tank uses different amounts of these....though the expert here can probally assist you better. Just my 2 cents

Thank you!

 

[Sabellafella]

I buy my water from my LFS here in Orlando i believe they use instant ocean.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_educationcenter_calculators_reef_chemistry_calculator.html
Heres a calculator you can use in the meantime, also if you want you could message me to get a better understanding and i could walk you through everything about dosing

 

[saltwater newby]

If your tank isnt packed out with massive sps corals, water changes along with hand dosing a couple times a week should do the trick. First i would test your wc water, dose the makeup water to were you want your parameters to be , then do 10-20% changes weekly untill you reached your desired level. Then learn your tanks consumption, then dose equal parts accordingly. Keep in mind you have to test everyday around the same time. Trying to up your levels to where you want them to be with 2 part in a short period of time is sort of a bad idea and would take a couple hundred mls.

What do you recommend I do being that it's purchased water. And what parameters should I aim for. I have no sps but I would like to have one of the most forgiving sps coral that I can get, once I have things under control.

 

[saltwater newby]

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_educationcenter_calculators_reef_chemistry_calculator.html
Heres a calculator you can use in the meantime, also if you want you could message me to get a better understanding and i could walk you through everything about dosing

Thanks bro
Super nice and helpful!!

 

[Sabellafella]

What do you recommend I do being that it's purchased water. And what parameters should I aim for. I have no sps but I would like to have one of the most forgiving sps coral that I can get, once I have things under control.

Well the thing about purchased water is you 100% should test it every single time. Because you simply dont know untill you findout yourself. The parameters are up to you, i keep my alk at 9 calc at 450 and mag at 1350. With regular IO i have to dose my wc water to get the calc and mag to where i want them before i do a water change.

 

[saltwater newby]

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_educationcenter_calculators_reef_chemistry_calculator.html
Heres a calculator you can use in the meantime, also if you want you could message me to get a better understanding and i could walk you through everything about dosing

How much dosing is considered safe? I really don't want to dose more than my tank can handle at one time.

 

[Sabellafella]

How much dosing is considered safe? I really don't want to dose more than my tank can handle at one time.

Yea i forgot to add be careful, the rule of thumb is no more then 20ppm of calc. Alk no more then 1 dkh(imo) mag no more then 100. I would raise the calcium 10ppm a day untill you reach your level, but keep in mind, make sure the wc water is higher then your current level or itll start to drop

 

[saltwater newby]

Yea i forgot to add be careful, the rule of thumb is no more then 20ppm of calc. Alk no more then 1 dkh(imo) mag no more then 100. I would raise the calcium 10ppm a day untill you reach your level, but keep in mind, make sure the wc water is higher then your current level or itll start to drop

Ok . One more wuestion. is there a time of day you recommend I dose and do testing?

 

[Sabellafella]

Ok . One more wuestion. is there a time of day you recommend I dose and do testing?

Alk will raise ph, i usually dose alk in the mornings and at night. You can dose calc whenever you want, just as long as its not the same time as alk. I would wait atleast a half hour inbetween doses. Also dont pour it all in at once if your doing it by hand. Pour little by little

 

[saltwater newby]

Alk will raise ph, i usually dose alk in the mornings and at night. You can dose calc whenever you want, just as long as its not the same time as alk. I would wait atleast a half hour inbetween doses. Also dont pour it all in at once if your doing it by hand. Pour little by little

Ok.
Sounds good... Let's see if I can fix this problem soon. I want to keep things in check the best I can.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, you only need to dose calcium.

 

[saltwater newby]

Alk will raise ph, i usually dose alk in the mornings and at night. You can dose calc whenever you want, just as long as its not the same time as alk. I would wait atleast a half hour inbetween doses. Also dont pour it all in at once if your doing it by hand. Pour little by little

How many ML is safe to dose at a time?

IMO, you only need to dose calcium.

is that from experience??

 

[Sabellafella]

How many ML is safe to dose at a time?

is that from experience??

Its going to take around the neighborhood of 150mls to up calc to around 380-390. So i would just be safe and dose 100ml every day for 5 days then test to see where your at