Perameter issues!

I just tested both my tanks and ai have alk and ca issues.

10g reef

Alk is 7.2
Ca 360

15g reef
Alk 7.2
Ca 340

I haven't been able to test magnesium. I need to buy a test kit but low on funds.

I do 10% weekly water changes with ro water and io salt

Whats the best way to get my perams up?
I plan on changing to reef crystals salt cause I'm not happy with the io salt. Last batch not all disolved well yet its in an air tight container

 

The alk isn't terribly low but both can come up. What are you shooting for? Testing magnesium is vital because that keeps the others stable. If your tank is using up the elements quickly you may need to start dosing a quality 2-part. Just a suggestion, look into ESV B-ionic. It's by far the best product I've used and has kept my tank very stable. I've used plenty of others so I'm going off my experience. With parameters you want to keep the numbers where you want them consistently without too much of a swing.

 

NSW has an alk of 7, however you'll see better growth out of harder corals with an alk of about 9-10.

Calc I find I get a happy balance of PE and growth around 425. 450+ really seems to reduce polyp extension for me.

I personally use tropic Marin 3 part original balling method, however there are plenty of good products out there including DIY. After you switch salt, continue checking. I am willing to bet that you'll be fine with water changes on RC. However if not, do some research and decide on a dosing method that works for you.

 

Thank you.
I am doing a water change with the rc today and I'm going to check again tmw.

 

Since I switched to IO salt, my alk has been below 8. I stopped dosing kalk and it dropped to the low 7.

 

You have to really find out what your tank is using. I wouldn't just depend on the salt keeping things stable piano. Test everyday throughout the week to see the tanks uptake. Just remember that stability is far more important than a specific number. Keep it simple

 

Also, when you have SPS corals. These guys knocks the alk down fast. I just took out a bunch of cheap sps corals last night ;

 

I have no sps
I have 1 dendro and 1 small duncan frag for lps

1 leather, xenia(they just keep spreading)
Some small zoo frags and 3 small mushrooms.

I have a ton of hard white spots all over the glass which could be calcium deposits and I have coralline building so that certainly could be depleting the calcium.

I got a little lazy with testing so I will monitor all week and see how it goes.