Switch to kalk wasser?

[Bakki]

Dear all,

My current dosing scheme is:
- all for reef for all dosing
- combination of chaeto refugium + carbond dosing (nopox) for nutrient control

Observations from my last ICP
- PH is on the lower side: 8.1 on the ICP, but it drops to 7.9 at night.
- large part of the trace elements still low / not detectable.
- nitrates and phosphate in an OK range but nitrates are relatively high compared to phosphates.

My guess is that the refugium and my corals are competing got trace elements?

If possible i would like to stay away from element specific dosing methods like moonshiners.

My thought was the following:
- replace all for reef with kalkwasser to boost PH
- add a separate magnesium + trace element dosing
- stop refugium to avoid trace element competition.
- run kalk primarily counter light cycle to stable PH.

My tank is relatively low stocked so im not too concerned about kalkwasser limit just yet.

Any advice on a good single trace element solution?

Thanks for the advice. Added my last ICP report and photo of my tank for coral stocking reference.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

all of our tanks drop in ph at night, its very normal. Its because "corals decrease photosynthesis, which consumes CO2 and change to respiration, creating CO2."

To me, it seems like you are doing a lot of extra work and extra dosing just to avoid a normal tiny .2 difference in ph, that we all have.

And if you really wanted to maintain a stable ph even at night, then the easiest way, and the correct way IMO, is to use the reverse-refugium.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Switching to kalkwasser is certainly fine, but I would not remove the refugium, and if trace elements are lower than you want, adding more is not difficult.

 

[Bakki]

all of our tanks drop in ph at night, its very normal. Its because "corals decrease photosynthesis, which consumes CO2 and change to respiration, creating CO2."

To me, it seems like you are doing a lot of extra work and extra dosing just to avoid a normal tiny .2 difference in ph, that we all have.

And if you really wanted to maintain a stable ph even at night, then the easiest way, and the correct way IMO, is to use the reverse-refugium.

It sounds like a tiny change but given that its a logaritmic scale 8,3 vs 8,1 is almost a 50% increase. If my calcium was 50% lower i dont think my corals would like it very much .

Switching to kalkwasser is certainly fine, but I would not remove the refugium, and if trace elements are lower than you want, adding more is not difficult.

Thanks, I havent find a good single dose trace element solution for refugium yet in the Netherlands. We dont have something like chaetogro. And if possible id like to steer away from having to dose all the trace elements individually.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, I havent find a good single dose trace element solution for refugium yet in the Netherlands. We dont have something like chaetogro. And if possible id like to steer away from having to dose all the trace elements individually.

You don't think a supplement like Tropic Marin A and K is suitable?

I'm not sure macroalgae use trace elements greatly differently than do corals.