Salt mixing question, for Randy.

[alexkharden]

I've read before that you use regular IO salt. Do you dose any level of alk, cal, or mag to the saltwater before using it for water changes, or do you have some kind of continuous water change system going on and your dosing schedule factors that in?

Thank you!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Long ago I dosed both calcium and magnesium to it, but they raised the levels a while back and I no longer do so.

I use limewater (kalkwasser) for calcium and alkalinity, and that tends to raise calcium long term, so even with low starting calcium mine was over 500 ppm so I did not need any more. Magnesium seems adequate now without extra dosing.

I was changing 1% daily, but that is about to end as I wind down this tank.

 

[alexkharden]

So IO coupled with feedings and normal tank additions cover the mag, which I believe I've read before elsewhere (or maybe here). As far as alk/cal go, I'm not using kalk, so I'll need to dose separately for both. I have a Stenner peristaltic pump that I'm using for a continuous water change (7 minutes per hour, ~5 gallons a day) on about 240 system gallons. Do you think I'd be able to successfully measure and dose daily usage and supplement accordingly even with the ongoing water changes? Right now I have a small zoa in the DT and a Heliofungia plate coral in quarantine, with a lot of invertebrates (and a stomatopod or 5) in the tank, so I know my usage is pretty low at this point, but I'm trying to set up a system that will be able to grow with me and my system as my hobby grows.

Thank you again

 

[alexkharden]

And... winding down your tank? Are you getting out of the hobby?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not leaving the hobby, just not running a tank right now. There is a sticky thread at the top of the forum with my tank description, and the last couple of pages go over the reasons why I'm taking it down and the issues around that.