RockStacker
Reefing newb
My 55gal tank has been running for 3 months after the rebuild and I am starting to fine tune the rest of the water parameters such as calcium and Mg, etc.
Basic stocking info:
4 small fish (amphiprion ocellaris, scooter dragonet, green chromis, lawnmower blenny).
2 Peppermint Shrimp and a Coral Banded Shrimp
Light coral stocking level: 2 toadstool leathers, a few zoa frag bunches, a couple of medium sized zoa/paly colonies, small Duncan coral, a small chalice and small pocillopora.
Snails... lots of snails.
About 10 hermit crabs.
Live Rock: I don't know how many pounds I have anymore as some have been added/removed through the years. LR volume takes up about 1/3rd of the tank volume.
Here is what I have noticed so far:
Regular testing of the big 3:
Ammonia = 0 (API)
Nitrite = 0 (API)
Nitrate = 0 * (API)
* Nitrate test shows 0, but I am seeing green hair algae grow on the rocks so I know nitrates are there but might be assimilated by the green algae before I could test the water.
Probably similar to how my phosphate tests always showed 0 but I had cyano. The cyano went away after implementing a GFO + Carbon reactor combo.
Additional parameters as of testing last night:
Temperature varies from 79F to 81F throughout the day.
Specific Gravity: 1.023 (Refractometer)
pH: 7.8 (API)
KH: 8.5 (Read Sea)
Calcium: 375 (Read Sea)
Mg: 1500 (Read Sea)
The only thing I have been dosing so far is Kalkwasser (dissolved 15ml in RODI water) added once a week to try and bring the pH and KH up. But so far those two have been stubborn to raise.
KH seems to be going up very slightly but pH sticks to 7.8.
I am using Red Sea Coral Pro salt which is supposed to have:
Calcium: 450
Mg: 1340
KH: 12.2
So, comparing what I have vs what I should have:
Calcium: 375 vs 450 - Are my tank inhabitants really sucking up that much calcium? Or is the calcium being removed from the water by something else?
Mg: 1500 vs 1340 - without any dosing specifically for this element, this seems higher than what the salt mix is bringing in.
Are there any adverse effects of Mg readings at this level?
Could the concentration be going up because of water changes and nothing in the tank is using it? I will have to test the newly mixed saltwater and see what the Mg reading is.
KH: 8.5 vs 12.2 - I am dosing Kalkwasser every week to try and slowly bring this up but it has been a slow process. I do not want to overdo it and cause a KH spike.
I am thinking of ramping up the dosing schedule to once every 2 or 3 days instead.
Any ideas on what could be pushing the KH down in my tank?
I am trying to get my levels up/down to ideal ranges but I do not want to change everything at once so I am targeting pH/KH for now and hopefully some other parameter values fall into place.
Any ideas and suggestions would be highly appreciated.
Basic stocking info:
4 small fish (amphiprion ocellaris, scooter dragonet, green chromis, lawnmower blenny).
2 Peppermint Shrimp and a Coral Banded Shrimp
Light coral stocking level: 2 toadstool leathers, a few zoa frag bunches, a couple of medium sized zoa/paly colonies, small Duncan coral, a small chalice and small pocillopora.
Snails... lots of snails.
About 10 hermit crabs.
Live Rock: I don't know how many pounds I have anymore as some have been added/removed through the years. LR volume takes up about 1/3rd of the tank volume.
Here is what I have noticed so far:
Regular testing of the big 3:
Ammonia = 0 (API)
Nitrite = 0 (API)
Nitrate = 0 * (API)
* Nitrate test shows 0, but I am seeing green hair algae grow on the rocks so I know nitrates are there but might be assimilated by the green algae before I could test the water.
Probably similar to how my phosphate tests always showed 0 but I had cyano. The cyano went away after implementing a GFO + Carbon reactor combo.
Additional parameters as of testing last night:
Temperature varies from 79F to 81F throughout the day.
Specific Gravity: 1.023 (Refractometer)
pH: 7.8 (API)
KH: 8.5 (Read Sea)
Calcium: 375 (Read Sea)
Mg: 1500 (Read Sea)
The only thing I have been dosing so far is Kalkwasser (dissolved 15ml in RODI water) added once a week to try and bring the pH and KH up. But so far those two have been stubborn to raise.
KH seems to be going up very slightly but pH sticks to 7.8.
I am using Red Sea Coral Pro salt which is supposed to have:
Calcium: 450
Mg: 1340
KH: 12.2
So, comparing what I have vs what I should have:
Calcium: 375 vs 450 - Are my tank inhabitants really sucking up that much calcium? Or is the calcium being removed from the water by something else?
Mg: 1500 vs 1340 - without any dosing specifically for this element, this seems higher than what the salt mix is bringing in.
Are there any adverse effects of Mg readings at this level?
Could the concentration be going up because of water changes and nothing in the tank is using it? I will have to test the newly mixed saltwater and see what the Mg reading is.
KH: 8.5 vs 12.2 - I am dosing Kalkwasser every week to try and slowly bring this up but it has been a slow process. I do not want to overdo it and cause a KH spike.
I am thinking of ramping up the dosing schedule to once every 2 or 3 days instead.
Any ideas on what could be pushing the KH down in my tank?
I am trying to get my levels up/down to ideal ranges but I do not want to change everything at once so I am targeting pH/KH for now and hopefully some other parameter values fall into place.
Any ideas and suggestions would be highly appreciated.
