Calcium suggestions

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#1
Hi, I've been going with the flow on my tank for a few years and decided recently I'm going to pay more attention. I got a handful of SPS frags from a fellow reefer, they look great.

So today I tested my water for the first time in about 2 years and this is what I get.

PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitriates <5 (might be zero)
Phosphates (barely something, I'm using the API test kits)
Calcium 360/380 *tested twice cause I think the kit is not accurate.

The corals look good and my LPS are growing.

Should I dose calcium? can I do something simple? instead of getting crazy with a doser and stuff for now.

Dave
 
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#2
I wouldn't change anything, if everything looks "great ". Learned my lesson

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solitude127

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#4
I've ran SPS tanks with Ca levels at 360 before with success. IMO, if the corals look happy, just leave it alone.
[MENTION=5161]djam[/MENTION], what's the Alk at? I find sps needing a very stable alk
 

reefes pieces

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#6
Starting to test is a great start. Also, more importantly have you tested Alk? Mag as well? Hopefully the SPS frags you received will do great. However, as they grow the demand for Cal, Alk, Mag will be greater and something like dosing will be necessary. Maybe not now, but getting in the habit of testing to see any dips in the numbers will dictate whether you'll need to start dosing for stability. Also, ain't no shame in manually dosing by hand vs automated doser lol.
 
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#8
Starting to test is a great start. Also, more importantly have you tested Alk? Mag as well? Hopefully the SPS frags you received will do great. However, as they grow the demand for Cal, Alk, Mag will be greater and something like dosing will be necessary. Maybe not now, but getting in the habit of testing to see any dips in the numbers will dictate whether you'll need to start dosing for stability. Also, ain't no shame in manually dosing by hand vs automated doser lol.
Very true! I completely agree. I would recommend testing your alk, calcium, and mag. Or send out a Triton or ATI test. I wouldn't chase number so much as stability. Low parameters isn't the end of the world, but slowing pumping up your Ca to at least 400 might be a good idea. Plus as the corals grow, the demand for Ca, Alk, and Mag will grow so you'll need to keep on eye on it and adjust your levels as needed.

Side note, if you don't already have a doser, the Jebao one is 4 channel at like $70. I have one, and its been very reliable for me, and is pretty easy to program.
 

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