Jestersix

Need advice on my water chemistry

After a response by Gresham on another one of my posts about confusion on my water chemistry, I retested everything very carefully. I am looking for advice on if I should adjust any of the parameters.

PH 8.3 (aiming to hold at 8.4) test API
Calcium 400 (tonight wondering if I should be at 420 or 450)
Dkh 10 ( api test kit)
Mag 1100 (trying to aim for 1300)
P04 0.5 (trying to lower to zero)
Sg 1.025 (using a hydrometer)
 
I 2nd what Anthony said on the phosban reactor and refractometer and . For $40 a refractometer it can really save you tank compared to the risk of a swing arm and a phosban reactor and media can be had for around $50.

400 calcium should be fine, I've had 400 or a bit less for 2+ years and SPS and LPS do fine. Shooting for 420-450 is ideal, but 400 is pretty close. Plus there's variation in test kits & users. For the cost of dosing & pumps, I think you'll get more bang for your buck w/ a phosban reactor & refractometer. I'll stop here since I'm not one of the resident experts. :bigsmile:
 
I definitely agree with the other replies and I would also like to add a bit of my opinion. Your pH looks wonderful and you would be lucky to ever get it to HOLD at a certain number. It is normal for pH to swing up in the day and down in the night. :)

Magnesium is low. It is better to get that up before trying to mess with your calcium level or you may cause it to precipitate. I use B-Ionic Magnesium bought in a 1 gallon container. I literally dose my tank by the cupfuls (dripped in slow) when I add it. My goal is 1300 too. Every time I do a water change (10 gallons), I have to add 100mL of magnesium because the water I add is deficient too.
 
I think a pH of 8.3 is just dandy :)

Having a higher calcium level [than NSW] is preferred by many, mainly to accelerate coral growth; I would pick up some two-part, and use an online reef dosing calculator to find out how much part two you will need to add to your system in order to reach your desired calcium level. Add the needed amount slowly to prevent any large spikes. Do the same with the alkalinity -and then after you get your calcium and alkalinity where you would like them, simply do maintenance dosing to keep things where they are. That's what I did. Others may have a different way of doing things.

I can't give much advice on raising magnesium from experience, but a handful of people just use liquid magnesium supplements (ie. Kent) to bump the levels up in their tank. With most of these supplements you need quite a bit of supplement to raise the magnesium level just a little.

PO4 -cut back on the feedings if you can. If you're overfeeding, well then ... stop :D If you're feeding frozen food, try and rinse it out a little prior to feeding out. Avoid just throwing a chunk of frozen fish food in the tank and letting it thaw in there. Set your protein skimmer to skim a little more wet than dry. Consider using a PhosBan reactor (or any other similar fluidized chamber) and GFO for a relatively easy solution.

SG 1.025 -the best thing I can recommend is consider purchasing a refractometer; if this is not an option, I suggest getting your hydrometer calibrated using another reefers already calibrated refractometer (doesn't do any good to calibrate your hydrometer with an improperly calibrated refractometer).

My .02, HTH.
 
I am already using a reactor with GFR in it an I have yet to see any real change in P04. I tried carbon dosing but the last two time i dosed (slowly according to RK mag) I get a serious cyno outbreak. Probably because my skimmer cant handle the extra load in the water. I am currently dosing my Ca with the Bionic two part product and I have cut my feeding to almost minimal. I am just now starting to dose my mag so I will test tonight to see how that is going.
 
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