Dosing Idea (Not sure if it would work)

Cool. So you think bumping up mag would have some sort of positive affect .. or effect (i always forget the right one) on my alk lvl?

Also, any easy way to figure out drip rate? I know a lot of factors play in here but at what times would you test to try and figure out about how many drops you need per minute?

I have been good too. Just been workin and sleeping and doing water changes haha.

 

You have to keep the big three (mag, cal, and alk) in check to keep everything stable. I agree 100% with Dingo, get your mag up first, then cal, then alk. If you son't do it in this order you will just chase your params around and never get them where you want them.

Here's another thread that talked about it http://www.3reef.com/forums/water-chemistry/mg-cal-alk-order-129118.html.

 

awesome sounds a plan. if i bring mag up to the desired level now, how long do you guys think i should wait to dose a little Ca? .. and then alk?

I have raised my mag levels a lot in 1 day w.o any negative effects and I dont think my Ca needs to be much higher then it is. Maybe I can go from bringing my mag up and go to dose alk?

 

Your Mg isn't exactly low, but 1400 isn't exactly crazy either. Ca is plenty as it is. 420-450... no point in it being significantly elevated.

Your alk is indeed pretty low. You are sure you are not talking meq/l right??? I know Salifert does Dkh, just checking. 7-11 is good. You do not want to move that around much or swing it all the time. I always wanted it right in the middle to account for errors. You need to bring that up.

You need to do the math... actual water volume, what you have, where you want to go, how much it will take to get there with the calculator, and spread it out over a few days to get there.

Ca and Alk should be used on a one to one. No reason to always only add one. You are getting plenty of Ca from your salt mix. Now there can be reasons that it isn't always exactly one to one and that you may add one or the other more here and there... but not always one.

Get the calculator here, do the math and get your levels where they need to be... then we can work on daily usage and see where thing are going and by how much.

 

Yes mag up first. Your ca will likely not change much while your adding it. When your done with your mg divide that by 3.1 to get what your ca should be at. This isn't as important but should at least be close. And then lastly you will do your alk. Your alk is the easiest to adjust and that is why it's last. Plus it will not stay stable if you don't have the other two in check.
Also, check the values of your water c hange. I am assuming that you or your gf has a good handle on chemistry. This is the same as equilibrium. When you add water that is different it will effect all your values.
Also for drip rate it is a function of chemistry also. You take the amount of ppm you need to raise in your tank and then do the math to find how much product you will need to make the change (there are reef calculators online if you need them) and then you dilute the substance in rodi. Then drip rate is calculated by counting the drips for 30 seconds. Then multiply by 2 to get drip rater per minute, then multiply this by 60 for drip rate per hour.

 

I'm having same issues with low ALK. CA=420-Mag=1400 and my ALK=6.4 been like this all winter. A.m ph 7.8 and p.m. Is 8.4

 

Thank you guys. We are gonna do mg today, most likely after we do a water change.. have to go out and get some salt, we're all out.

 

Alright guys, so I bumped up the mag to 1380 last night. We decided to do the water change with water that was 1.021 because we knew that the mag supplement is a salt and would raise the salinity. After the WC I dosed the mag. I then tested the calcium to be somewhere below 400 (it was probably low because of the dilute water change).

About an hour after the mag, I dosed enough calcium to make the final concentration about 420 ppm (50 ppm higher). I read on BRS that you shouldn't increase your calcium more than 50 ppm/day. 420*3.1=13.02 mag --> 1380 is fine.

I figured that this was fine to support a little bit higher alk so I bumped it up 6.7 dKH (1 dKH higher).

I plan to bump up the mag a little bit more tonight (to the 1400 range). Then the calcium to around 460. I will then bump the alk up 1 dKH/day until I reach my target of 9. My pH before adding the alk was 7.93, and after was around 8.12. Now it is 7.84, probably because the lights are still out. If it bumped it up that much by just adding 1 dKH, how will I add 2.3 more? Will the pH even out?

Also, any ideas on how long these solutions will last? I am using the BRS stuff (recipe 1 obviously). I got them a year or year and a half ago. I made the solutions back then but didn't really keep up with it. The frequent wc's kept up with the levels. I am assuming the solutions are still good. I have worked in molecular biology labs, and I have seen similar solutions there that date back to 1998... They were autoclaved so they have been sterile, but I doubt any type of organism could survive those harsh conditions. If they could, then they would likely die upon entering the tank. If the solutions were contaminated than they would not be clear, and they are. I am sure the alk solution is fine, I added the amount from the BRS calculator to raise it 1 dKH, and it was almost dead on. On the other hand, I had to add much more mag solution to raise the level, than the BRS calculator told me to. I'm not sure about the calcium because I only had a vague idea of the starting level (lost count of drops when testing, but def below 400). Lol I guess I just answered my question.. the alk solution is fine, the mag is not.. Oh well, everything is alive and well.

Thanks for your help guys, any more info you could provide would be helpful. Feel free to rant. Oh and Dingo, I'll probably be asking about those LED's soon, one issue at a time!

 

real quick, a few things to add:
Ca above 450 does not increase calcification, however even at these levels, when the three are kept in perfect ratios to that of NSW calcification is still fast.

From now on try to match w/c water before you change with that of your tank because if you dont it will throw your levels out of whack again.

The Mg was probably off because it may not have been the same concentration. it is hard to get Mg to the perfect concentration because it absorbs water vapor out of the atmosphere, adding to its weight.

and lastly, it is MUCHHHH cheaper to do 2 part with "randy's recipe". It has been a while since I have made any but I believe it is calcium chloride and simple baking soda. An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

This all makes sense. Thanks for the info, you just prevented 4 problems: I would have wasted calcium and went above 450. I would not have dosed my wc water and I would have thrown off my levels. I would have poured my mag solution down the drain (I may test it by diluting it and find out the real concentration). I also would have wasted money on more BRS stuff instead of researching the DIY-like alternative. Thanks for the link, I will check it out when I get some time on my hands. I have enough of this BRS stuff to last me a little while.

My levels today are Mag 1440, calc: 420, alk 6.6. Not too much lower than yesterday. I will continue to bump up my calcium then alk.