Keeping Cal, ALK, Mag stable

**Hpimichael02** · 01-08-2013, 08:31 AM

good day to everyone,

just curious to see what everyone regiment for keeping these stable.

I'm dosing two part half dosage everyday, kinda looking for a better way to do things.

Thanks

**Cliff** · 01-08-2013, 09:40 AM

I dose twice daily for dKH, Cal and weekly for Mag. This keeps all of my levels nice a stable now that my tank has matured. I have never been able to use those two part dosing supplements as my set-ups have always seam to use dKH and Cal at different rates which will not allow me to use a two part system.

Small and more frequent doses are certainly the way to go.

**glarior** · 01-08-2013, 03:16 PM

With my past setups I use bulkreef supply kit. I would dose as needed or when I got around to it. The new setup I plan to track how much the tank uses and create an automatic dosing system. I still will have to keep track of parameters but should stay stable unless something malfunctions.

**sheamurai** · 01-08-2013, 10:41 PM

I dose manually daily - most definitely not what I would recommend as a "better way to do things" lol. But it suits my low-tech no-gizmo system.

**kaybee** · 01-09-2013, 03:29 AM

Currently I use kalkwasser in my auto top off (two tablespoons per 2gal of RO/DI water) to keep up with calcium consumption in my reef tank; I have lots of stony corals.

I add sodium bicarbonate two or three times a week to replenish carbonates and keep alkalinity levels up.

My mg levels seem to hold steady 1200-1350 range between water changes, though every now and then I'll have to add magnesium if I go too long between water changes. When using different salt mixes, mg would sometimes have to be boosted up.

**Hpimichael02** · 01-09-2013, 07:46 PM

Ill start a 7 day continuous test cycle to see how much I have to add daily.

Is there a chart to see what cal level matches alk ? I know 380-420 should be dkh 6-11.

Right now my levels are 420,7,1280

**glarior** · 01-09-2013, 07:58 PM

The calculator I use for everthing is

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

**Cliff** · 01-09-2013, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by Hpimichael02

Ill start a 7 day continuous test cycle to see how much I have to add daily.

Is there a chart to see what cal level matches alk ? I know 380-420 should be dkh 6-11.

Right now my levels are 420,7,1280

The low end of those levels are not exactly the best. Ocean water has a Cal of 410 ppm and a dKH of 7.0. I would use that as the minimum.