HELP! Low KH and Ca

[Justin]

I was using Tropic Marin. I just did a 30% water change with Reef Crystals today. Im not sure exactly what Calcium is at. I was just told 'very low.'



I agree and actually meant to ask if there is something more besides Ca that I should be testing and which brand of test kit I should go with. I always hear debate on which ones are most dependable.

Nick, reef crystals is not "low" in calcium. Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are talkig about. Since you just put your tank up a couple of months ago, I think that you just have a lack of bacteria in your tank. I think you should slow down with your additions, especially fish if your nitrates are in the 30 range. Keep feeding to a minimal.

As others have suggested, you should have 5 things always to test for. Ca, kH, Mg, NO3, and PO4. IMO, these are the most important things to test for, assuming your pH is stable at 8~, salinity at 35ppt, and stable temperature between 76-82

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Either crazy coincidence, or Warner marine has bunk products

My brother in law bought Warner Marine 2 part from mystic reef and we found his alk and calcium very low, even after dosing warner marine. Come to find out the 2 part must have been bad or something. I tested his water, dosed correct amount, then tested the next day and no difference. Went to chads and bought some B-ionic 2 part, dosed and BOOM problem fixed. I know warner marine sells good products, but that is just a wierd coincidence. And my brother in laws tank was mainly softys with a few Lps.


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[Reef Bullet]

KH - 7.5
Ca - 350
PO4 - 0.1
NO3 - 10
Mg - 1120

With a Mg of 1120, I would bet a frag that it's the reason your kh is dropping even right after dosing. It should really be between 1200-1400 or so and I like to keep mine around 1410 because it helps deter algae growth.

You can safely raise Mg 100ppm at once, CA 50ppm, and alk 1.4 dKH I believe. Use the BRS Reef Calculator to determine how much you need to dose of each to get your levels where you want them. You can finds the calculator online by googling 'BRS Reef Calculator'.

Since you said you are dosing 2 part, you may not have any Mg supplement, but you need to get some because that's your biggest issue right now IMO.
I keep my dKH at 7.3-7.7 and everything is happy and growing. I'm not as diligent at keeping up with my CA and sometimes it's 350 when I test so I raise it to 400... but even then, everything is growing well. I test dKH about every 3 days but dose the same amount of soda ash every day because I have figured out my tank's consumption rate and know what keeps it stable. I test CA about once a week and dose accordingly, and I test Mg 2-3 times a month and do the same.

What kind of test kits do you use?