Need suggestions, I have this terrible feeling.

[tankstudy]

I've been looking to dose my 30 gallon rimless JBJ for the first time as my water changes no longer seem to be adequate. I've read up a lot on how to dose and finally decided to pick up E.S.V B-Ionic 2-part Calcium. The below is the exact product.

E.S.V B-Ionic 2-part Calcium

I use this as my dosing calculator.

Marine Depot Calculator

My current water parameters are at:

Ca: 420
Alk: 7
Mg: 1200

I want to bring my Alkalinity to 10 and my Ca to 480. On the calculator it shows 75 ml of each which is exactly the 1:1 amount I am suppose to use for the product anyway.

The problem is that when I add just 1 mL, undiluted and slowly, drops at a time, of the Alkalinity buffer, the corals react wildly. 1-2 LPS/softie frags actually have a burnt look. I was thinking about adding the 75 mL of Alkalinity buffer to my 1 gallon auto top off to dilute it. I go thru about 1 gallon a week, so I would technically do 10.71 mL per day and manually add 10.71 mL of the calcium buffer per day since I can't mix the two. However, with the response I got from just a 1 mL amount, undiluted and slowly dripped in, is this a safe idea? The calculator also advises to be careful with not going beyond +/- 0.20 ph change.

I'd like some expert opinions before I "Burn the Forest" down. With the response I've gotten so far from my corals, I'm just too afraid atm to dose any further.:squigglemouth:

Any input at the moment is much appreciated.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

First, I think there may be something wrong with either that calculator or your use of it. Using the Reef Chemistry Calculator (link is in a sticky above), I get this:

In 30 gallons actual water volume, 13.3 mL of normal B-ionic (not the more dilute bicarbonate version) will boost alk by 1 dKH.

Also, I wouldn't raise alkalinity that much in one day, both because the alk rise itself may be a concern, but also because the pH will go up a lot.

Finally, the best way to start with a two part is not to try to blast it up to your target because then you have to back way off on the dosing for maintenance.

There is nothing wrong with your current alk or calcium (it actually matches the ocean exactly), but if you want it higher, my suggestion is to start dosing 5 mL of each per day for a week and see what that does over time. That might be a reasonable daily dose.

As to the coral effect, you want to add it to a high flow area away from corals. 1 ml shouldn't have caused any problem, so I don't know why you observed that. You do not generally need to drip it.