Going thru some ups and downs right now :/ all of my zoas are thriving BUT some of my SPS colonies are bleaching from the bottom. Ever since I switched from ESV B-Ionic 2 part to BRS 2 part dosing, my alk and calc have been fluctuating like crazy. I like my alk at 9-9.5 and my calc to be 440-460. Right now my alk is 10.1 and my calc is 300ppm. So frustrating
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Dan's 90G Reef
- Thread starter Sobo's Reef
- Start date
That's a good question. Haven't checked that in a little while. But I never had to. It always stayed put around 1360-1400. I'll test after work today tho
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Is it possible that you may have got the two mixtures reversed when you mixed them with RODI water? i.e. 2 cups of CaCl instead of 2 1/2, and 2 1/2 cups of soda ash instead of 2. This would give you a Ca solution that is too weak, and an Alk solution that is too strong for the recipe. Another issue is that the ESV is a little more concentrated than the BRS (Randy's) recipe, and you'd need to increase your dosing to compensate.
Nah my mixing was accurate, I made sure of that. It may be the compensating part. I did find myself raising my dosing intervals... I'm gonna test again tonight when I get home to see where I am. Hopefully my colonies pull thru
Dose BRS 2 part do just ca and alk or magnesium too. I was thinking about switching over to a homemade recipe from c balance but thought c balance adds so much more trace elements that the homemade stuff doesn't. Does b ionic have stuff like mag strontium iodine moly that c balance has. That could be an issue with it too. I know mag levels will screw with calc and alk levels.
I have no bio pellets. I had my GFO reactor going but that's on the fritz for the time being. I'm not dosing equal parts however. I have my doser going off every hour. Ex: alk at 1pm for 15 secs and calc going at 2pm for 25 secs. So on and so forth
I never had these problems when I was using B Ionic :/
I never had these problems when I was using B Ionic :/
So at the beginning of every hr both dose? Alk for 15, cal for 25. Is it possible your getting some precipitation while they are dosing at the same time? This might account for the low cal. I would stop dosing for the moment and bring everything to optimum lvls including mag then figure you daily consumption and start again. A friend of mine recently switched from bionic to 2 part and had to readjust dosing also. I guess its possible that the concentration are different
No I have alk.and calc dosing on different hours. alk at 1, 3, 5, 7 etc and calc at 12, 2, 4, 6 etc.. Guess I'll have to stop dosing. Damn this means I'm definitely gonna lose some pieces
You mentioned your reactor being down. In my tank my sps are more sensitive to phosphate swings then anything else. Dosing is probably the root cause however the change in phosphates is not helping things.
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I hear what ur saying but I don't think its that. I tested my phos recently and it was at 0.03ppm. And my corals started bleaching before my reactor went down.
Okay so here's what I got
Alk 10.4°
Calcium 320ppm
Mag 1420ppm
Phosphate 0.00ppm
Not sure why but my phos keeps going from 0.00-0.03ppm. Using the Hannah checker.
I dropped the dosing amount for Alk by 4 seconds each interval. I'm gonna retest tomorrow and see where I am.
Alk 10.4°
Calcium 320ppm
Mag 1420ppm
Phosphate 0.00ppm
Not sure why but my phos keeps going from 0.00-0.03ppm. Using the Hannah checker.
I dropped the dosing amount for Alk by 4 seconds each interval. I'm gonna retest tomorrow and see where I am.
The difference from 0.00 and 0.03 phosphate does not matter, all these testers have a margin of error. Either level is fine.
Also, with a calcium level so low your corals are not going to consume cal/alk as fast as they would with optimum levels. So keep this in mind because your daily measured consumption may not be accurate until you are back at proper numbers.
Also, with a calcium level so low your corals are not going to consume cal/alk as fast as they would with optimum levels. So keep this in mind because your daily measured consumption may not be accurate until you are back at proper numbers.
Alright, so it sounds like I'm gonna have to just stop dosing and reevaluate everything
Calcium swings do not affect coral nearly as much as alk swings. I would bump your calcium up over the next few days. I would def stop dosing alk until you figure out your consumption. Chasing the level with dosing changes is only going to do harm. At least you know your mag is not the issue.
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Yeah, I'm gonna test tomorrow and see where it is. If its still really hi I'm gonna stop dosing alk for awhile
10 is not considered high, you are safe up until a around 13. I see the best health around 8... Its the swings that are hurting them, not the 10 dkh.
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No I know that, I just meant, it keeps rising Lol sorry. I usually have mine at 9 and calc at 460 so my numbers r all outta whack Lol
I agree with salt. The swings is part of the reason I think I had problem with acros a while back. Your mag is solid where it is. I'm willing to bet if you can bring the calcium up it may drop the Alk a bit. While I don't quite understand the chemistry behind it I was reading a great article by randy Holmes Farley that explains it all. Hopefully you can find it or someone (hint hint redfish) can post the link for you.