? on salt, salinity and calcium...

[sadie]

My calcium was 420 for a while (though I only got the test kit about a month ago).  I wanted it a little higher (going to get into LPS).

 

Lately it's been around 300.  I add Nano A & B every day and test maybe an hour after adding.

 

I made up a gal of water yesterday (not the reef crystals) and tested it today and it was only 260, but the salinity was perfect at 1.025.  I use Instant Ocean salt and the reef crystals when they have them.  I was going to switch to the reef crystals, but noticed my salinity going down.  when I tested a fresh made gal of the reef crystals, the salinity was really low and I had to add an extra 1/4 cup to get the salinity up to 1.025, which I didn't like.

 

I'm not sure why my calcium is so low, or how to raise it.  I also don't know why the calcium is so low in a fresh made gal of salt water. I don't know if it's a good idea to keep switching my salts back and forth (in the past I stuck with the reg. salt). I thought the salt mix was made to keep our parameters where they should be, the right level of salinity, calcium, mag etc.

 

 

[Clown79]

No switching salts constantly is not good.

 

Each salt has different parameters, therefore your parameters will change.

 

Ca should be anywhere between 380-450.

 

The main focus should be alk though. That's the more important parameter and it works with ca.

 

If your mag is low the 2 above parameters will not be balanced.

 

Dosing is not meant to be used to hit a number you want. Dosing is meant to be used to replenish daily drops in alk and ca that is consumed by corals.

 

Your target numbers to maintain is what your salt mixes at.

 

So using a salt with numbers you prefer is best and sticking with 1 salt.

 

Each salt uses different amounts of salt to reach the correct salinity and each brands mixing instructions, storage time, and parameters are different.

 

Io is the most basic with no batch controls, so consistency isn't always there.

Reef Crystal's is ok, not a brand I liked myself. Notorious for low mag.

 

Both have different parameters as well as different mixing instructions.

 

Io should be mixed for 24hrs whereas Reed crystals is 4hrs.

[sadie]

thanks for explaining all that.  I wish my LFS carried something different than IO.  I have a not so local LFS and maybe it would be worth the hour drive to get a better salt.

 

I don't dose to hit a target #, I thought the salt did that for me, but now I see better how that works.  It's funny, cause if everything has to do with everything, my mag is 1470, which seems high and my HK is usually 9, though today it was a little low at 8, so you would think my calcium would be a little higher. 🤔

 

I started using the Nano A& B back in 2000, someone told me to and that it helped balance such a small tank so I did.  I am trying to get my tank back to the way it was, so I am going back to what I use to do when I first started.  But back then I didn't fully understand how it all worked.  I did what ppl said and it worked, my tank looked great, but I had no idea what or why.  Now I want to understand the what and the why, though it is all a little confusing.  

 

so thanks again!  

[Clown79]

I have to order my salt because here all the stores sell IO and Reef Crystal's.

 

Theres not a lot of info regarding issues with high mag.

Low mag is the the issue.

 

The best thing you can do is get 1 salt and stick with it.

 

Focus on alk as it's the really important parameter.

 

Test your alk every day from waterchange day to the day of the next waterchange. 

 

Monitor the alk drop.

 

Dose only to replenish the daily drop.

 

Using 2 part dosers is very easy. You focus on the alk consumption and dose equal amounts of alk buffer and ca buffer. This keeps them balanced.

 

[sadie]

The Nano A&B is a 2 part doser.  It says it increases alk, and maintains a stable PH.  It also contains calcium,magnesium, strontium, iron  and other needed things.  I add it every day in the morning at 7:00 am.

 

I will call my not so local LFS and see what they cary for salt.  I will also look into ordering salt, but S&H seems like it would be crazy.

 

What kind of salt do you use?

[Aurortpa]

Reef Crystals had 250 cal?! 😳

 

Honestly I use instant ocean most of the time.  The mag is sometimes low but I dose that twice a week anyway. Alk and cal are about right. Im trying to get to a just once every two weeks 25% change but still am on once a week schedule still.  I don’t rely on changes to reach my ideal range...I used to, but hasnt worked out for me in the past.

 

Coloration, growth...all definitely different since I watch my numbers very well now.

[sadie]

5 minutes ago, Aurortpa said:

Reef Crystals had 250 cal?! 😳

 

Honestly I use instant ocean most of the time.  The mag is sometimes low but I dose that twice a week anyway. Alk and cal are about right. Im trying to get to a just once every two weeks 25% change but still am on once a week schedule still.  I don’t rely on changes to reach my ideal range...I used to, but hasnt worked out for me in the past.

 

Coloration, growth...all definitely different since I watch my numbers very well now.

no, not the reef crystals the reg. IO.  I just did a quick search on the best salt and funny, most of them said in the end, it was IO.  Maybe it is just because I am using both, like clown said.  The store I usually go to has the IO salt.  I will stick with that and see what happens.

[Aurortpa]

17 minutes ago, sadie said:

no, not the reef crystals the reg. IO.  I just did a quick search on the best salt and funny, most of them said in the end, it was IO.  Maybe it is just because I am using both, like clown said.  The store I usually go to has the IO salt.  I will stick with that and see what happens.

Yup, actually where I work at the Florida Aquarium, we use IO, entire 6 foot tall pallets worth of them lol.

[Clown79]

I use Red Sea Blue bucket. Love it. Perfect parameters and consistent numbers each week.

 

I also liked aquaforest.

 

 

I use esv bionic 2 part doser.

[1891Bro]

Why call and drive? All this stuff can be ordered and delivered to your front door. 

[sadie]

6 hours ago, 1891Bro said:

Why call and drive? All this stuff can be ordered and delivered to your front door. 

seems the shipping and handling wouldn't be worth it, plus that place usually has nice coral. 

[markalot]

Have you made sure your testing is correct?  I usually doubt the test.

 

Dosing two part should not be done unless your tank is regularly using up Alk and Calcium, otherwise overdosing could lead to all kinds of strange issues as one or the other precipitates out.   Clown said it above, I wanted to re-enforce.  It's important to have enough calcium but anything between  400 and 500 works.  What is super important is Alk, and it needs to be steady.  You measure Alk daily at the same time every day, before dosing, to determine daily usage and then dose 2 part accordingly.  If you need 5ml of the Alk part, for example, then also dose 5ml of the calcium part at a different time in a different area of the tank if manually dosing.  Once you get ALk stable then check weekly and also check calcium every so often, say every 2 weeks, to make sure it's staying in a good range. 

 

I skipped that last part and ended up with calcium way down around 280 due to my doser not dosing enough and a slow imbalance.  Dosing only calcium will drop Alk, dosing only Alk will drop calcium, so getting the balance back is slow.  :)   In addition to Calcium and Alkalinity your two part also contains Mg (some don't) but it's still a good idea to check Mg monthly to make sure it's staying in a good range, say 1300 to 1400 or so.  

 

This article is old but a good reference:  http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

 

I prefer to keep Alk as close to seawater params as possible, usually between 6.5 and 7 KH.  If you are only doing LPS then higher should be just fine.

 

 

[sadie]

I tested my water this morning BEFORE and AFTER I added the Nano A&B.

BEFORE: KH 7    MAG 1470     CAL260    TEMP 83.9      

1 hr AFTER: KH 8    MAG 1460   I didn't get to test my CAL till just now and it was 240  Temp- 83 (now not then) and salinity 1.024

 

I use to have a great tank when I started in 2000.  I did everything ppl told me to do and it was great.  I used IO salt, added Nano A&B every day, put Purigen in, tested every day (not dip strips) and did 10% water change ( well 2 gal a week of RO water on a 12 gal tank).  I did this for the first year of my tank.

 

Life got crazy and my tank suffered for it. 😔  2yrs ago I tried to make it better and made it worse and lost all my softies but 1.  Now I want my tank back to the beautiful tank it was.  I just figured I would do everything I did back then. 

 

I will read the article you posted, because I really do want to understand the how's and why's like I said before.

 

Maybe I will not use the A&B for a week and test my tank 2x a day.  The same time morning and night.  And just see what my tank does on it's own.  The only coral I have right now are my toadstool (baby of the one I orig. bought in 2000) and a very small GSP I bought maybe 2 wekks ago.

 

I also don't have any fish yet.  My snails will be shipped out this week and if all goes well the week after I will add a clown.  We'll see how it all goes.

 

Thanks for all the input and advice everyone.

 

[seabass]

The levels will be higher if you adjust the specific gravity up to 1.026.  Plus, you really shouldn't need to dose anything with just a toadstool and a frag of GSP.

 

Personally, I'd rather change the salt mix than dose elements everyday.  For example, with LiveAquaria Pro Reef (only $50 w/ free shipping to your front door), mixed to 1.026 sg; the calcium should be between 400 and 450 ppm, alkalinity between 8.0 and 9.5 dKH, and magnesium between 1350 and 1450 ppm.

 

Note: eventually, if you get enough stony corals and/or coralline algae, you still might need to dose two part again.

[squamptonbc]

23 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I use Red Sea Blue bucket. Love it. Perfect parameters and consistent numbers each week.

 

I also liked aquaforest.

 

 

I use esv bionic 2 part doser.

I like Blue Bucket, but won't pay the $120 the one and only store in the area sells it for, so I went with H2Ocean which is similar and only $89. 

 

I use the esv 2 part as well, very easy to use. I just wish it was sold locally, I think I am going to buy a years worth at once next time since I have to order it from Quebec and I am in BC and it takes like 10 days to get to me....

[markalot]

Sadie,

 

your calcium test is bad, you won't lose that much in a short period of time.   If I were you I would stop testing calcium, stop adding nano a&b just like Seabass said, and go with just water changes.  Your tank is unbalanced with all the stuff being added, just do small water changes on a regular basis and let it be.   What you did before might have worked by accident. 

[Clown79]

I agree.

 

I think waterchanges are the best course of action. 

 

 

Theres no need to dose with the corals currently in the tank.

[sadie]

alright, this all sounds good.  The article was a good read.  I didn't think about the fact that my tank before had about 4-5 LPS and now I just have 2 small softies.  So that probably why dosing worked back then and is not needed now.

 

I am so glad I posted this all out BEFORE my snails came.   Maybe this is the reason my snails have been dying.🤔  I will do a water change today (I usually do them on Friday)  I will try and raise my salinity back to1.025 and that should raise my calcium a bit.

 

thanks again for all the help!!