I have a 72 gallon saltwater tank with only a few corals and 4 fish. I do 10 gal water change once a week and top off with RO/DI water with no additives. My Ph is 8.2, Dkh at 7 and cal at 360 and mot mater how much I dose I can't get these values up. The LF store told me I need to use an auto top off system with RO/DI water that has some type of chemical that is used dosing, can't remember the chemical name starts with a k I believe. Can someone give me some ideas of what I should do?
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PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
IMO i don't necessarily think you need to start dosing anything..You don't have a ton of corals that are sucking up the calcium. Are you using salt that has calcium in it? What are your other parameters of your tank? What do you keep you salinity at?
Water temp is 80 and salinity is at 1.024-1.028....what other parameters are you speaking of? I use premixed water for LF store, I assume it has the nutrients I need but I guess I need to test it next time I pick up some. I kind of thought of this, the reason why I am going to start mixing my own water with SeaChem reef salt
Bifferwine
I am a girl
The chemical he is talking about is probably kalkwasser. Kalkwasser can be risky to use unless you research it thoroughly beforehand and are sure about what you are doing.
I don't see a need for you to dose anything. Your parameters are just fine.
I don't see a need for you to dose anything. Your parameters are just fine.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
They are on the low side, but still the low side of normal. If you are using pre-made saltwater from the LFS, they are probably using a salt that is low in calcium and alk. So if you do water changes with the same water, it's not going to bring it up. Your plan to start making your own water is a good idea -- different brands of salt come out with different parameters, so if you want your calcium or alk to be in a specific range right out of the bucket, you can do that.
Even if you don't switch, your parameters are still not off enough to hurt anything or do any harm. They are fine.
Even if you don't switch, your parameters are still not off enough to hurt anything or do any harm. They are fine.
Smitty
Reef pro
I agree the all the above posts...no need to dose anything, you could cause more harm if not done correctly, just keep doing what your doing with the water changes. Your plan to change salts and mix your own water is a good idea.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I like the SeaChem reef salt, but probably the most popular salt is Oceanic if you can find it. SeaChem salt isn't bad though.
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
I use the orange bucket of Instant Ocean Reef Salt. It has calcium and other nutrients in it...I've never used anything else, so I can't compare, but I'm happy with it.
So I got my filtration and everything setup and started doing water changes with the water I filter and mixed. Question, I tested the water I mixed and got the following, sal 1.024-.025, Alk 10, and calc at 380.....my calc and alk still seem to be a little low, do you suggest additives to try and bring up before adding to the tank?
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
Personally, I wouldn't be concerned with dosing. Just keep the water moving, and water changes going. If you raise your salinity into the 1.026 range you'll have a higher calcium reading. But the few corals that you do have aren't aggressively using the calcium in the tank.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
It depends on the types of corals you add. Softies like leathers, zoanthids and mushrooms don't have a very high calcium demand. Neither do LPS corals. 380 is still within normal range, so it's good.
I have a few pieces of hard coral and would like to add more later. If I add the hard corals do you suggest dosing? I do keep up with my water changes on a weekly basis. I was doing 10 gals a week but switched to 15 gals a week. As long as I do the water changes I should be good no matter what I add to the tank?
BL1
.............
Up to a point, I had about 8 or so hard corals in my 75 and never had to dose anything but, if you get a lot of hard corals you'll see your numbers dropping quicker. Instead of dosing though, next time you buy salt try another kind. Try one for reefs, usually their cal, alk, and mag levels will be higher then regular salts.
