Calcium, alkalinity, Confused??

[Ruth C Lewis]

So heres my question, i just got my test kits for all 3, thinking this will cure my corals and watch them grow. I figured never tested for this before..everything came out good. But i had my first sucky test kit, figured ill check my phosphates..it was high.
So, i still gotta dose calcium and the rest? Or can i use the red sea reef foundation, 2 times a week? Or more. Will that grow algae too?

 

[mnat]

So alk and calcium are the foundation for coral growth bu they have no effect on algae growth. Nitrates and phosphates are what cause algae to grow. So get all of them in check and your sps will grow.

 

[Ruth C Lewis]

So alk and calcium are the foundation for coral growth bu they have no effect on algae growth. Nitrates and phosphates are what cause algae to grow. So get all of them in check and your sps will grow.

So do I dose the foundation as a normal routine

 

[Tyler]

You may not be dosing as a regular routine. If you have a lot of stony corals you may have to in order to keep up with their growth and the best way to do so is measure your levels each day before you dose in order to keep them in the proper ranges. However if your tank isn’t full of lots of SPS corals you shouldn’t need to dose as water changes will keep up with the demands. Soft corals don’t use Ca/alk and LPS do, but grow at a pretty slow rate.


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[mnat]

You need to test your alk and calc and then you adjust your dosing to keep those numbers consistent. It takes a lot of tests and dosing in the beginning to get it dialed in, but that is what leads to success.