Why is my calcium consumed at a much higher rate?

[Reefin' Alaska]

About 2 months ago I started adding coral to my system.

I didn't really test at first, as it was only a small bit of coral I was just letting water changes manage levels, but now I have around 30ish different frags in my 625XXL. I did start tested calc/alk the last 3 weeks.(Started feb 13th.)

My calcium consumption is quite a bit more than my alkalinity. Is that normal? I'm still figuring how much to dose, but, it's dropping about 70-80 points during the week. I had a week where I overdosed and calcium hit 510. Dropped that week to 450. (Tested 24 hours after dosing.)

I now know how much I'm consuming weekly at this point, my ReefDose will be here Tuesday so I'm not manually dosing on Sundays anymore.

Alk starts at 8-8.2 and only drops during the week to 7.6ish. (Hanna tested, 7.6 was the lowest I saw.) I tested today, and last Sunday it was 8.2. Today was 8. I find myself dosing a lot more calcium. Coraline is starting to explode, so I'm sure consumption will go up even more in the coming weeks.

Is it normal to have such a difference in consumption?

 

[phillybean]

I can't speak for everyone, but mine goes up and down. I'm currently dosing pretty similar amounts each day, but have been as high as 700ml of Alk / Day while only doing 300 ml of calcium. The doser will help, my biggest recommendation is test often and keep the levels very consistent.

 

[Spare time]

What brand are you using for dosing products?

 

[mdb_talon]

What kit you using to test calcium?

 

[Reefin' Alaska]

What brand are you using for dosing products?

Brightwell Code A and B.

 

[Reefin' Alaska]

What kit you using to test calcium?

Red Sea.

 

[Jbell370]

I had the opposite, was using 30/35ml of ATI essentials #1 and only 15/20ml of #2. It has been a long while and finally things are 35ml for both bottles, tank has been up about 11 months now. That is not diluted solution.

 

[Spare time]

Brightwell Code A and B.

Consuming calcium more than alkalinity?

Hey, I have a 2.5 year 120 gallon mixed reef. Over last few months my calcium has been dropping to 380. Ive been 2 part dosing for over a year and maintain alkalinity around 8 while my calcium has been dropping from 440 now to 380. I do use api to test calcium and hanna for alkalinity but i...

www.reef2reef.com

Here is something that might help


The only thing I thought could consume more calcium is coralline which, from my understanding (and this could be wrong), can use magnesium instead of carbonate (magnesium calcite?).