Is my B-ionic dose too high?

[Chaser]

Thanks for taking a look at my thread. I apologize in advance for it being so long. I've been closely testing my Calcium and alkalinity readings the last few days and have come up with the following test results:

Date Time Ca dKh
Wed 1330 390 7.2
Thur 0815 390 9.0
Thur 2100 385 7.7
Fri 0930 415 8.8
Fri 1945 420 8.0
Sat 0845 415 9.9

I am using a peristaltic pump to dose b-ionic. I am dosing 70ml of each part between 2200 and 0400 into my sump. I've verified each reading by cross checking he results with another test kit (Salifert and Seachem).

My tank is a 40 gal with 3 clams, and 17 lps, sps, and soft corals. It's ben up and running for over a year. Everybody is doing fine.

My question is why isn't the Calcium level going up very much? ESV lists 1mg per gal as a max dose, and I'm nearly at 2ml/gal.

I haven't noticed a blizzard and I don't think my kH is so high to cause precipitation.

Please help before I come to your town and buy up all the test kits!

 

[danmhippo]

Go ahead, come (LA)! I dare you to buy up all the b-ionic here till you broke!

Hmm, how did you do the dosing, are you using 2 pumps and dose them at separate times? Or did you premix the A&B part before pumping it to the aquarium?

 

[tetra]

I beleive it is 4ml/10gal. I have a 60gal. and I use 40ml of each everyday. For a 40gal., I used to do 20ml/gal. 70ml/40gal. could be problematic.

 

[HARRISON]

Does seem a little high. I dose 30 ml for an 80 gallon tank with a 30 gallon refugium. My Calcium is always way high and I have been buffing the water to get the ALK up. I would say it kinda depends on what your tank is using too.

 

[Anonymous]

I did a little number crunching.
You are raising Ca by about 13.3ppm each day. It would take 2g of Ca++ to do that in a 40 gal tank.

13.3mg/l Ca++ * 40gallons comes out to 2g Ca++

At 70ml B-Ionic each day, you are adding 3.8g Ca++ each day.


70ml B-Ionic * 54,000mg/l Ca++ is 3.8g Ca++

If you subtract the two numbers (3.8-2) that should give you how much it takes to maintain your levels--1.8 g Ca++ each day. That's about half of what you are currently adding. My guess is that 33-35 ml/day would work out about right.

Ty