Hey guys,
I'm currently curing the dry rock (in freshwater) I will be using in my 40 gallon reef setup and have been thinking about some of the corals I am interested in stocking. I know I'd like to do a mixed reef with mostly soft corals, but definitely a couple of SPS's. I've already heard that stability is crucial with an SPS tank and I was wondering whether a product like Instant Ocean's Reef Crystals would help lessen the degree to which I would have to dose for calcium and, perhaps, alkalinity.
For those of you unfamiliar with Reef Crystals, the box makes the claim that if the water is mixed to a specific gravity of 1.026, then the calcium levels in the water will be 455 ppm and potassium will also be at a specific concentration (I forgot the exact ppm).
How fast would a few (2-3 and starting off as frags, probably) SPS corals absorb the calcium in the water before the levels are no longer what Instant Ocean claims they'll be at a given specific gravity? Is this any sort of replacement for dosing the calcium part of a 2 part system or am I better off with normal Sea Salt and dosing normally?
TL;DR . . . Can I be cheap/lazy with some SPS corals by using Instant Ocean's Reef Crystals to maintain calcium levels in water?
Thanks!
I'm currently curing the dry rock (in freshwater) I will be using in my 40 gallon reef setup and have been thinking about some of the corals I am interested in stocking. I know I'd like to do a mixed reef with mostly soft corals, but definitely a couple of SPS's. I've already heard that stability is crucial with an SPS tank and I was wondering whether a product like Instant Ocean's Reef Crystals would help lessen the degree to which I would have to dose for calcium and, perhaps, alkalinity.
For those of you unfamiliar with Reef Crystals, the box makes the claim that if the water is mixed to a specific gravity of 1.026, then the calcium levels in the water will be 455 ppm and potassium will also be at a specific concentration (I forgot the exact ppm).
How fast would a few (2-3 and starting off as frags, probably) SPS corals absorb the calcium in the water before the levels are no longer what Instant Ocean claims they'll be at a given specific gravity? Is this any sort of replacement for dosing the calcium part of a 2 part system or am I better off with normal Sea Salt and dosing normally?
TL;DR . . . Can I be cheap/lazy with some SPS corals by using Instant Ocean's Reef Crystals to maintain calcium levels in water?
Thanks!