Question for all you Cal/Alk Knowledgeable people

[sir mixxalot]

Chemistry question. I have been faithfully dosing the tank for about a 5 days now and when I started dosing the tank was at 400 ppm of cal and 2.0 mel/q for alk. The tank is a 50 gallon tank with a 20 gallon fuge. It’s a SPS frag dominated tank it has about 13 frags of Arcos, Stags and Montis, a hammer, some micromousa, and one acan colony. Today My ALK is at 2.1 mel/q and my calcium is at 425ish (salfert tests) I have been dosing cal and alk about a average of 40 ml of each per day and am thinking about stepping it up a little to 50 ml per day of each for the 50 gallon … I can not seem to get ALK in line with calcium… Should I dose a little more ALK than calcium when dosing to get them in line better or will they eventually even out with each other? I am basing all this off of this chart
Alk/ dKH/ Calcium
0.00 0.00 360
0.50 1.40 370
1.00 2.80 380
1.50 4.20 390
2.00 5.60 400 (My average)
2.50 7.00 410
3.00 8.40 420 (Near sea water)
3.50 9.80 430
4.00 11.20 440
4.50 12.60 450 (My goal)
5.00 14.00 460
5.50 15.40 470
6.00 16.80 480
6.50 18.20 490
7.00 19.60 500
As you can see from the chart the ALK is not in line with the Calcium… why is that? Thanks ahead of time for any information.

 

[9supratt4]

What type of additive's are you using for alk & cal?? IMO 12.6 dKH is high....I personally keep my alk at 10 dKH and my Calcium at 450ppm. Are you also dosing Magnesium?? Have you tested for Mag?? Magnesium plays a key role in allowing Alk & Cal to be maintained correctly. If your Mag is low, the alk & cal will not be able to be raised to where you want it.

 

[sir mixxalot]

Originally Posted by 9supratt4
http:///forum/post/3165539
If your Mag is low, the alk & cal will not be able to be raised to where you want it.
HAAA HAAAA I completely forgot about mag... man... i just gave a small lecture to a fellow reefer about it to... im gonna go measure it when i get home today. so why do you think the dkh is to high for the reef? BTW thanks for the quick response

 

[ifirefight]

Google "chemistry and the aquarium" Great easy to follow article about everything you need to know. 2nd, if you are dosing alk and cal togther (at the same time) they will cancel each other out. You must wait in between. I dose one then wait an hour or 2 then add the other.

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/3165557
Google "chemistry and the aquarium" Great easy to follow article about everything you need to know. 2nd, if you are dosing alk and cal togther (at the same time) they will cancel each other out. You must wait in between. I dose one then wait an hour or 2 then add the other.
That I did not know....I've always added one right after the other and have never had a problem.

 

[sir mixxalot]

Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/3165557
2nd, if you are dosing alk and cal togther (at the same time) they will cancel each other out. You must wait in between. I dose one then wait an hour or 2 then add the other.
really? i never knew that either... so I go home for lunch at noon dose 50 ml of cal then when I get home at 6 dose 50 ml of alk? Or does it matter which one comes first?

 

[eric b 125]

Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/3165557
Google "chemistry and the aquarium" Great easy to follow article about everything you need to know.
i checked out this article, and skimmed through it. seems like a real good resource to have. cant wait to sit down and study it

 

[sir mixxalot]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ifirefight
Google "chemistry and the aquarium" Great easy to follow article about everything you need to know.

i checked out this article, and skimmed through it. seems like a real good resource to have. cant wait to sit down and study it
its blocked at work... damn lol ill check it out when i get home. I am noticing that calcium is going up but could me dosing at minutes between eachother be the reason why alk is not going up? and what in your opinion are good cal and alk levels for crazy growth?

 

[bmkj02]

Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/3165557
2nd, if you are dosing alk and cal togther (at the same time) they will cancel each other out. You must wait in between. I dose one then wait an hour or 2 then add the other.
I have heard the same thing many times. THey also say if you dose it together than dose it at different ends of the tank

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by Sir Mixxalot
http:///forum/post/3165590
its blocked at work... damn lol ill check it out when i get home. I am noticing that calcium is going up but could me dosing at minutes between eachother be the reason why alk is not going up? and what in your opinion are good cal and alk levels for crazy growth?
I get great growth from have alk at 10 dKH and Cal at 450ppm. I also keep Mag at 1350ppm

 

[posiden]

IMO, your going about this a bit backwards. At least the way this thread reads. 2 Part is a supplement. The fact that your have had an increase in you water parameters tells me that you are putting in a little too much 2 part. If you keep increasing the dose to boost the tank up, your next water change will throw it all out of wack. You need to find an amount that will run the tank at a consistant level. Then you need to get calcium and a alk increaser to boost the tank to where you want it to be. Your 2 part will then keep it stable in the mean time. 2 part just puts back what is used up each day.
Also when you get ready to do a water change test the water and put its levels where you want the tank at. You will then take out and put back right where you want it to be. As your corals start to grow they will demand more, so you will respond with more 2 part to keep it stable.
This is where salt choice comes into play. You always see the threads. Pick a salt that will give you water close to what you want to run your tank at. This way you don't have to monkey with it too much.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong.