So i am new to dosing anything in my tank. i have to dose calcium and alkalinity and i think i have a slight hold of what i am doing here just want to be confirmed that i am correct. my calcium has been low since i started my 75 gallon reef tank. it was at 200 and then i switched to instant ocean reef crystals which jumped it up to 310. i just did a water change yesterday and my caclium is up to 360 now. i am going to buy a 2 part additive today and a Alk test (already have calcium). heres my question. i am going to dose the 2 part a specific dose every day untill i get my paramerters where they are suppose to be correct? after doing this i planned on dripping kalk through my ato to keep those levels constant. is this the correct way to be using my kalkawasser. and the correct way of going about all this. just need some guidance so i know i am doing everything right thanks guys.
understanding dosing calc/alk
- Thread starter Jarrett
- Start date
You may have to add a different amount of the Calcium and alk. until you get the numbers where you want them. But once you get your levels you may or may not be able to get by with Kalk only. That will depend on how much is used by the corals each day. You will need to monitor for a while to see if it will suffice.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
You are on the right track. Think of Ca. and Alk. as being on opposite sides of a seesaw. As one goes up the other comes down. The goal is to get them to balance in the proper range. Once they are balanced, they can move up or down together depending on the uptake/supplementation levels in your system.
ok so basically i shouldnt rush into dosing anything. i should get all my supplies and monitor my levels and then dose accordingly from their. i assume you dose only once a day? and then take your reading afterwards to see where that dose put you out. or you wont see a change in your levels untill you dose a couple of times.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Yes you want to make changes slowly over the course of several days, but you really won't know what you need to do exactly until you test for alk.
Also which test kit do you have? For Ca and Alk I think Salifert is probably your best bet.
Also which test kit do you have? For Ca and Alk I think Salifert is probably your best bet.
does it tell you on the bottle how many ml (or however the measurment is) will give you a certain calcium or alkalinity level. i was going to go out and get the 2 part b-ionic stuff. i tend to see that on all the videos so figured i would use that.
- Location
- New York City
If you are using a dosing pump I would divide your total by 24
and set the doser to go off every hour. This will keep your tank
more stable.
and set the doser to go off every hour. This will keep your tank
more stable.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
B-Ionic is fine and what I use. They do have dosing recommendations on the bottle. As stated above you need to bring your Ca. and Alk into balance first ( they might be balanced and both just low, we don't know that yet). If they are not in balance, you will need to use more of one of the components.
If I were you, I'd do another large Water change and see if you can bump up and balance things out as much as possible before you start with the B-ionic.
- Location
- Long Island, NY
Joining in on this..
Calcium in my tank has been At 400 and alkalinity At 8 for the longest while.
I have been dosing Kent marine part a and b.
Someone told me to teSt for magnesium as that affects calcium..not sure if that's true..haven't researched it yet..
Corals seem to be doing well though..
Calcium in my tank has been At 400 and alkalinity At 8 for the longest while.
I have been dosing Kent marine part a and b.
Someone told me to teSt for magnesium as that affects calcium..not sure if that's true..haven't researched it yet..
Corals seem to be doing well though..
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Yes magnesium is an important part of the equation, but lets not complicate this for the time being and get the OP to where he should be first.
In your case 400 ppm and 8 dKh is pretty good and certainly in balance. You could bump up the dosage of both parts just a little bit and you'd be perfect--or just leave well enough alone
In your case 400 ppm and 8 dKh is pretty good and certainly in balance. You could bump up the dosage of both parts just a little bit and you'd be perfect--or just leave well enough alone
i am going to the store now to pick up the B-ionic. is their any other test kits that i can use other then salifert for alkalinity that will be accuarate? they dont have any in stock so i would like to pick it up now and get it over with.
- Location
- Bergen Cnty. New Jersey
ok cool thank you. ill see if they have those their. what level alk should i be looking for? like i said my calcium is 360 and i want to raise it to 420 i know that. so what level should i shoot for in the alk that way its all balanced
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Somewhere in the 8-10 dKH range or 3ish meq/l depending on which scale the test kit uses.
- Location
- Westbury NY
I have the Hanna kit and love it. Very accurate and easy to use. It is more expensive though
maybe you guys can just confirm for me that i got this right. my calcium is at 360 and my alkalinity is at 7.6 so obv i want to raise both. i bought the esv B-Ionic supplements and they both recommend 1 ml for every 4 gallons. i have a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump so i just did the math by 75 gallons and got 18.75 ml each is this correct?
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Yes depending on the amount of rock you have displacing water etc. Just round it up to 80g. and divide by 4 so 20 ml each. I'd start with 10ml and work my way up testing daily. You seem to be reasonably in balance so add both parts equally and see how it goes. Make sure you add part 1 into a high flow area.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
No it shouldn't matter.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
