Need Dosing Assistance

icedearth15324

icedearth15324

TeamCR
I just did a water change on sunday, and these are my parameters.

Total water volume - 100 gallons

dKH - 7.6 (Hanna and Red Sea)
Calcium - 500 (Red Sea)
Magnesium - 1560 (Red Sea)
Salinity - 1.024 (refractometer)
Temp - 77F (Reefkeeper)
PH - 7.9-8.1 (Reefkeeper)
Nitrate - .5-1 ppm (Salifert)
Phosphates - .02 (Hanna)

My question is, should I dose? I have BRS two-part, but I've never used it before. I bought it on a group buy once.

I've had issues growing any SPS. They do good for a couple weeks-month, then they start dying from the base up to the tips. Softies and LPS do fine, but SPS won't do well. Would this be cause my alk needs to be dosed?
 
dKH - 7.6 (Hanna and Red Sea)
Calcium - 500 (Red Sea)
Magnesium - 1560 (Red Sea)
Salinity - 1.024 (refractometer)
Temp - 77F (Reefkeeper)
PH - 7.9-8.1 (Reefkeeper)
Nitrate - .5-1 ppm (Salifert)
Phosphates - .02 (Hanna)

I like
Salinity 1.026 - 1.027
ALK 8-9
Cal 450 (500 is OK)
Mag 1200-1350
Nitrate <0.5
Phosphate 0.03 - 0.07
 
Alk is a little low but nothing that should be killing coral. Get your SG up to 1.026 (35ppt) and you might see a little alk bump out of the salt. Also, if you use an ATO you could start with a partially saturated solution of lime water, that should be more than enough for a tank with minimal sps.
 
SkullV said:
Alk is a little low but nothing that should be killing coral. Get your SG up to 1.026 (35ppt) and you might see a little alk bump out of the salt. Also, if you use an ATO you could start with a partially saturated solution of lime water, that should be more than enough for a tank with minimal sps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I don't use an ATO, but I do top off every day.
 
for sps you should shoot for 8,7.5 is great too but dont go lower. you need to add sps and test daily to make sure your sps isnt using up your alk causing it to drop, then stn on your sps. kalk is when you got significant alk consumption and you need more than less alk. start with 2 part and imo stick with it. with a 3 head doser pump and 2 part you can plus vinegar and you are set. weekly or bi weekly alk checks and you are good. i keep my tanks at 1.024 with sps. if i was you i would get a ATO first. then doser pump with 3 heads.
 
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Thank you all for the information. I'll start slowly raising my salinity so that by sunday it is at 1.026. I'll then run my alk test a few hours after getting it to 1.026, and will run it every day to find out what happens. I'll keep this thread updated.
 
I ran a test on a fresh batch of saltwater today. The dKH was at 10.024. I'm going to test my tank water after I eat as well. I'll update this post once I do.



Update - Current dKH is 7.39, so it has dropped .21 in about a day.
 
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