Dosing calcium

Jaredf

Reefing newb
I have been dosing calcium for around 2 weeks trying to bring up the calcium, my calcium level is 330 alk is at 12, my question is when i dose my calcium hasn't went up at all , my sps look good but I'm baffled why it won't come up any .I am using tailored aquatics calcium , I have a orange wall hammer coming and I really wanna get my parameters in check. I dose twice a week as well.
 
I have a small pink Bird nest maybe an inch I size a quarter size peice of rainbow montipora a tricolor acropora a mystery acropora both those are around 3inches by 3 I dose twice a week and figured I would see a little bit of increase on calcium.
 
You alk is also really high, and it really really hard to get on parameter in line if the others are screwed up as well. Personally i would do water changes to get both of those back in line, and then re-evaluate and see if you actually need to dose, because considering your coral load, I doubt it.
 
shouldnt need to be dosing like LF said, water changes should be more than suffice , you dont have a big need for calc, what kind of test kit are you checking your calc with?

some salts like reef crystals have more cal in them ( as far as i been told) so if you want to add calc that way instead of dosing,

how much do you dose? cause twice a week is a little much IMO for a 29 gallon tank
 
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I'm using instant ocean salt which sucks but wanna use it all up,I'm using salifert kits , also i have been doing water changes weekly .
 
Also with my parameters being what they do you thick my orange hammer would be alright I'm worried with a rare coral like that I don't want to kill it
 
A hammer would be fine. They are an LPS coral, so don't use up a lot of calcium. I would try to get your alkalinity a little lower before you add it. Yours is just slightly high -- not too bad. Try to get it between 7 and 11.

Give this calculator a look. It can show you how the alkalinity and calcium levels are related.

Reef Chemistry Calculator

Here is an article that discusses ideal parameters for your tank.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
 
Okay so it's taken me till today to figure out and fix my low calcium and high alk , I tested my saltwater before putting it in my tank and it's super low in calcium and high in alk,I have been dosing a ton in that water to increase and decrease my parameters now I am slowly taking out a gallon a day and adding my water that has been dosed to my tank, my corals come thursday hopefully my parameters will be higher .
 
I am really surprised to hear you say that the salt you are using is Instant Ocean and you are having such a problem with it.. I have used it for about 8 years never had one issue with calcium or alkalinity or magnesium.. I recently switched to reef crystals as I am doing mostly SPS now and wanted the little higher levels..
 
Yah I was suprised to the levels were 330 calcium 12.2 alk which I am glad this pail is almost done, dosing is becoming so time consuming but finally figured out how much I have to dose per 10 gallons. Its weird though blall my sps are growing and look stunning only reason I tested was because of rare corals I'm getting really glad I checked now though! But on one not the instant ocean isn't the new stuff it's the old stuff I have had this pail for around 2 years now.
 
If doing SPS you might want to look into jumping up to a salt mix with higher doses of calcium and magnesium.. LIke I stated that is why I switched over to reef crystals and so far so good.. I still dose calcium I like to keep it around 450, the other levels have stayed in check though... Always wondered if salt had a shelf life didnt think it did as long as the container was kept sealed but now I am wondering...:question:
 
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