What am I doing wrong?

I have been trying to raise my KH using Kent Pro Buffer dKH. I have been putting this stuff in my tank everyday and testing but my level never increases. Now I am doubting what I am doing is right. Please help.

 

Can you provide a Ca and Magnesium level please.

That will help to narrow it down.

 

The powdered stuff works better, and plus one on the readings

 

I don't have a magnesium Test kit but my calcium is 440.

 

You will definitely need a Mag. kit in order to keep your parameters stable.

 

The dude at LFS said I really didn't need a mag kit and said I could multiply my Ca by 3 and get an idea what it was. I should have known not to listen to them lol!

 

Well he was partially right it is a good idea to keep your Mag. level at 3 x the Calcium level. If the Mag. level drops it will cause the Cal. and Alk. levels to bounce up and down like a ping pong ball.lol

 

+1 to giving us some Chem levels. Another thing to consider is the unlikely possibility that your test kit has expired or is faulty. Take a sample of water to your LFS and ask them to check it to ensure consistency with your kit.

I don't have a Mag test either, though I'm sure it would be beneficial. I feel as though from what I've read, that Mag levels drop very slowly, and you are better off allowing water changes to manage your Mag level.

I do test my Ca and dKH on a daily basis though, and generally have to dose daily to keep my dKH above 9.

At one point in time, my Alk had fallen below 6, and a simple water change of 10 gallons, to my 90 gallon setup brought it up significantly. With daily dosing of Reef Code A + B by Brightwell Aquatics, I'm able to keep my Ca and dKH in check.

But once again, a good place to start would be giving us some chem values, and double checking that kit.

 

This is true Mag. levels usually do drop slowly depending on the ammount and types of corals in the system but some salts have lower Mag. levels then others and it is necessary to dose it to bring it up a little.