with these test results, should i dose at all?......

[kilofey]

My dkh is 9-10 (i dropped 2 drops in at a time, so im not sure if its the 9th or 10th drop that changed the color of the water)
My calcium is between 380 and 400.
The calcium is the one i question. I know its on the lower end of the safe range, but i dont get the growth i should be getting. My green monti cap does not get that 1" per month growth i hear about.
I just got a few new sps, so i know at some point i will probably be needing to dose, so id like to know.... if and when i dose calcium, will it affect anything else? Like my alk or mag or anything else?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilofey http:///t/393397/with-these-test-results-should-i-dose-at-all#post_3499349
My dkh is 9-10 (i dropped 2 drops in at a time, so im not sure if its the 9th or 10th drop that changed the color of the water)
My calcium is between 380 and 400.
The calcium is the one i question. I know its on the lower end of the safe range, but i dont get the growth i should be getting. My green monti cap does not get that 1" per month growth i hear about.
I just got a few new sps, so i know at some point i will probably be needing to dose, so id like to know.... if and when i dose calcium, will it affect anything else? Like my alk or mag or anything else?
I would dose anf try for 450 which is right in the middle.....but only according to the directions, for example if the instructions say one cap per 10 gallons...but because of the rocks I would dose on the lower best guess of tank water volume. It's always easier to add than try and fix it if it goes over.

 

[bang guy]

If your dKH is 9 - 10 and you can keep it there, and your calcium is 350 - 450ppm, and you're not getting good growth, then adding more Calcium will not help. You need to look elsewhere. Are the coral feeding? Is the water temperature appropriate for the species? Is the PH appropriate? Is Phosphate low? Are they getting enough waterflow? Is the light intense enough?

 

[kilofey]

If your dKH is 9 - 10 and you can keep it there, and your calcium is 350 - 450ppm, and you're not getting good growth, then adding more Calcium will not help.  You need to look elsewhere.  Are the coral feeding?  Is the water temperature appropriate for the species?  Is the PH appropriate?  Is Phosphate low?  Are they getting enough waterflow?  Is the light intense enough?
Possibly im too impatient and i expect more from my sps and lps corals than they can do? I mean my green monti cap has been in the tank for about 2 months and it has visible growth and has attatched itself and my pavona has been in the tank about 5 months and it has definately attatched. But my frogspawn (or at least thats what i think they are, one was sold to me as a non branching frog spawn and one as a hammer, but some friends say neither are frogspawns and the one sold to me as a hammer has pink dots instead of scythe shaped tips)... anyway, my frogspawns dont really grow. Ive had my non branching like 8 months but its only grown one full sized head and like 10 baby heads that dont get any bigger. My other frogspawn, which i think is a branching frogspawn, i bought it as an experiment about 5 months ago. It was clearly dying, it had 7 heads and 5 died off, leaving me with 2 heads, now its upto 5.
Am i expecting too much out of them? I mean i only spot feed on occasion cause i think its annoying, but i know they catch frozen meaty foods when i feed the tank because i watch them do it. I keep my tank at about 80 deg. I believe flow is good, i have plenty but its not beating on them and i have led lights, which i did see some growth after getting rid of my mh and switching to led (more light and more intense too). Not sure about phosphate, i dont have a test for it. Ph is 8.4
If phosphate is the problem, how do i fix it? What other test levels could be affected if i fiddle with adjusting it? Why and how does phosphate drop? I really have no knowledge about phosphate. I will buy a test and see if thats my problem, and i will buck up and spot feed more often lol

 

[snakeblitz33]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilofey http:///t/393397/with-these-test-results-should-i-dose-at-all#post_3499349
My dkh is 9-10 (i dropped 2 drops in at a time, so im not sure if its the 9th or 10th drop that changed the color of the water)
My calcium is between 380 and 400.
The calcium is the one i question. I know its on the lower end of the safe range, but i dont get the growth i should be getting. My green monti cap does not get that 1" per month growth i hear about.
I just got a few new sps, so i know at some point i will probably be needing to dose, so id like to know.... if and when i dose calcium, will it affect anything else? Like my alk or mag or anything else?
Unless ca and alk drop in a couple of days after a water change, you shouldn't need to supplement just yet.
Calcium and alkalinity have to be relatively stable and relatively equal ... and magnesium keeps it all "stable" and able to be used and should be right around 1350.
You can dose single supplements - but make sure what you dose will balance out the other parameter.
SPS need food in the water, much like other corals need to eat. dissolved organic matter is mostly where they get their food from - and you have to make that available to them via food supplements. Oyster feast and cyclopeeze is quickly becoming a hobbyist favorite. I also like to add some live phytoplankton every now and then in a reef tank.
Since you are starting to get more into SPS corals, I highly recommend getting a Hanna phosphate checker... and make sure your phosphate levels don't drop below 0.03ppm. Once that happens, STN and bleaching starts to occur. More than that and they will be a bit brown. You want to get right there somewhere in the happy medium.
Nutrition, water quality and stable parameters is what you are looking for as far as the aquarium part. Then, you know that SPS corals require a good quality light source...

 

[kilofey]

Unless ca and alk drop in a couple of days after a water change, you shouldn't need to supplement just yet.
Calcium and alkalinity have to be relatively stable and relatively equal ... and magnesium keeps it all "stable" and able to be used and should be right around 1350.
You can dose single supplements - but make sure what you dose will balance out the other parameter.
SPS need food in the water, much like other corals need to eat. dissolved organic matter is mostly where they get their food from - and you have to make that available to them via food supplements. Oyster feast and cyclopeeze is quickly becoming a hobbyist favorite. I also like to add some live phytoplankton every now and then in a reef tank.
Since you are starting to get more into SPS corals, I highly recommend getting a Hanna phosphate checker... and make sure your phosphate levels don't drop below 0.03ppm. Once that happens, STN and bleaching starts to occur. More than that and they will be a bit brown. You want to get right there somewhere in the happy medium.
Nutrition, water quality and stable parameters is what you are looking for as far as the aquarium part. Then, you know that SPS corals require a good quality light source...
when you mention ca and alk dropping in a matter of days after a water change, would that occour if i had so many stonys that it is consumed at a very rapid pace or are you referring to some other cause? And what is STN?
I used to have some oyster feast, i ran out a while ago and havent picked any more up... but i will along with a phosphate test, hopefully a liquid test for now, since i can immagine those didgital checkers are very pricey and i only have 3 sps, one still being a small frag. If successful with these, ill definately invest.