NEED HELP! RSCP / Dosing / SPS

[SilverCityReef]

I started my 40B build with Red Sea Coral Pro salt which has elevated calcium, magnesium, & alkalinity (12dkh). My goal was to have this build be an SPS dominant tank with a few LPS on the bottom where PAR is lower to fill the empty space with color. I have been looking into dosing and recommended foundation element levels in order to stabilize as much as I can. However, most people recommend running at 8dkh and I am not sure if I should be switching salt or trying to maintain the 12dkh that the RSCP mixes to. If anyone uses the RSCP and also doses to maintain stability, I could really use some advice on how to go about this. I have a few acros in tank right now, I jumped the gun a bit due to a great deal but they are pretty much just stagnant like I expected. I would like to try to get things stable and at good levels for SPS.

 

[AZG]

I’m sps dominate with a few lps. I used rscp but end up switching to blue bucket. I dose Brs 2 part. Rscp would fluctuate my levels too much after water changes. I don’t have any problems with blue bucket. 12dkh is way to high though. Shoot for 8. You’re gonna have to dose alk if you’re going sps. So might as well start practicing and building a schedule for testing and adjusting.

 

[BestMomEver]

My dkh is 11.5. Nothing is suffering!

 

[Duffer]

Red Sea blue bucket also with SPS and LPS on bottom.. the salt mixes around 9 alk and I will dose after it drops a few points...stability is the key and I seem to get that from the blue bucket. I maintain alk around 8.5, calcium around 450 and mag 1350 which I seem to have with blue bucket

 

[SilverCityReef]

I’m sps dominate with a few lps. I used rscp but end up switching to blue bucket. I dose Brs 2 part. Rscp would fluctuate my levels too much after water changes. I don’t have any problems with blue bucket. 12dkh is way to high though. Shoot for 8. You’re gonna have to dose alk if you’re going sps. So might as well start practicing and building a schedule for testing and adjusting.

Is it not possible to maintain the 12dkh that the RSCP mixes to or is that just too close to the high edge?

 

[AdamNC]

If you like Red Sea products I'd start off here, it's what I've been using for a few years now.

https://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-recipes/#recipe_1

 

[SeaDweller]

Is it not possible to maintain the 12dkh that the RSCP mixes to or is that just too close to the high edge?

Of course you can maintain that high of dkh, but most of us who keep sps don’t keep it that high. I’d shoot for 8.0-8.5 at highest for sps, some keep their tanks at 7.0. Why do you want your alk so high?

 

[SilverCityReef]

Of course you can maintain that high of dkh, but most of us who keep sps don’t keep it that high. I’d shoot for 8.0-8.5 at highest for sps, some keep their tanks at 7.0. Why do you want your alk so high?

I've read and heard higher alk speeds growth but its not so much that I want that high of alk, its that I have been running RSCP which mixes at 12dkh and i'm not quite sure how to switch it without any repercussions by dropping alk by 4dkh.

 

[SeaDweller]

I've read and heard higher alk speeds growth but its not so much that I want that high of alk, its that I have been running RSCP which mixes at 12dkh and i'm not quite sure how to switch it without any repercussions by dropping alk by 4dkh.

Switch to Red Sea regular or tropic Marin and let the Alk come down slowly through time, consumption and water changes.