Calc and PH normal Alk low worth worrying about?

[tk3445]

I have a 20l and a 15 nano reef both tanks are mixed with an assortment of SPS, LPS, softies. everything continues to grow at a reasonable rate.

 

However weekly I test my water with my Red Sea foundations kit and I test PH with an API and a digital PH meter.

 

 

for weeks now I have been testing and they continue to come out

 

Calc - 450-475

PH 8.0 - 8.2

Alk - 7

 

 

so I picked up an API alk test just to compare and make sure I was doing the red sea test correctly it also pulls my alk at 7.

 

 

I picked up brightwell aquatics reef code a and b at my LFS the LFS guy told me to dose them in equal amounts...and the directions also indicate this. I don't think i should be adding calcium as my levels continue to fall in the safe range...

 

would it be safe to just use the ALK buffer or should i skip dosing all together?

 

Thanks,

Tom

[mystersyster]

I would bring ALK up to 8. This will leave you with more room for error. Calcium most definitely doesn't need to be dosed. You could go down as far as 380ppm and be fine.

 

What salt do you use, and what is your water change schedule like?

[tk3445]

Weekly 15%-20% water changes with Reef Crystals.

 

In the past 7-8 years or so I have never seen a drop in calcium or alk with this schedule. brand new to dosing and quite frankly afraid.

 

so it would be safe to just use the ALK buffer?

 

 

side note: Thank you for your service. my family appreciates it.

[mystersyster]

"Note that each aquarium has different requirements for calcium and carbonates (which largely constitute Alkalinity or Buffering Capacity, hence pH-stability); therefore, it is not uncommon for unequal amounts of Reef Code A and B to be required for obtaining and maintaining the desired calcium concentration and alkalinity."

 

This is from brightwell. Perfectly safe just using it to buffer alk. Don't be scared of dosing. Just measure it out correctly. You can test alk 3 days in a row after dosing the first time to get an accurate number for how much you lose over a few days. Then you can calculate how much you need to add a day. Remember to try and not dose more than 1dKh per 24 hours. And thank you for the support.

[gus6464]

The ocean where the corals we have in our tanks come from has a alk of 7. Your parameters are pretty much perfect. Why are you going to mess with that? Continue to do what you are doing to keep the parameters exactly like you posted.

[tk3445]

 

"Note that each aquarium has different requirements for calcium and carbonates (which largely constitute Alkalinity or Buffering Capacity, hence pH-stability); therefore, it is not uncommon for unequal amounts of Reef Code A and B to be required for obtaining and maintaining the desired calcium concentration and alkalinity."

This is from brightwell. Perfectly safe just using it to buffer alk. Don't be scared of dosing. Just measure it out correctly. You can test alk 3 days in a row after dosing the first time to get an accurate number for how much you lose over a few days. Then you can calculate how much you need to add a day. Remember to try and not dose more than 1dKh per 24 hours. And thank you for the support.

 

Thank you for your help I am on vacation this week So i will try testing my calc, alk and mag daily and see what kind of drops I get Thanks for the ideas on how to dose properly.

 

The ocean where the corals we have in our tanks come from has a alk of 7. Your parameters are pretty much perfect. Why are you going to mess with that? Continue to do what you are doing to keep the parameters exactly like you posted.

 

I read most people aim to keep their alk in the 7-9/10 range. I just figured I should be aiming in the middle of that in order to give myself some play on either side. what your saying is, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" ?

 

Thank you for your input as I am new to dosing.

[gus6464]

 

The best reef tanks in the world tend to have a couple of things in common and one of them is running 7 alk. SPS especially thrive in this range. I have used the most common salts out there and my tank never looked better than when I switched to filtered ocean water. I am lucky that I get it for free in my city. The people I know who don't use the NSW, use tropic Marin pro as it tests very similar with 7 dKH.

 

 

Thank you for your help I am on vacation this week So i will try testing my calc, alk and mag daily and see what kind of drops I get Thanks for the ideas on how to dose properly.

 

 

I read most people aim to keep their alk in the 7-9/10 range. I just figured I should be aiming in the middle of that in order to give myself some play on either side. what your saying is, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" ?

 

Thank you for your input as I am new to dosing.