I can't keep up levels

[spawn]

My tank seems to consume an ever-increasing amount of supplements that I can't seem to elevate levels or maintain them for more than a couple of days, has this happened to anyone else with an sps dominant setup. I'm increasing the dose amounts every time I test which is 1-2 times a week. I want it to level off. any ideas.

[imcosmokramer]

rather than raising each time you should:

1. test
2. make a correction dose (using a reef calculator) which gets your levels where they should be. (if needed)
3. increase the amount you dose for a few days (if needed)
4. go back to step 1

[spawn]

1. done
2.done.
3.done
4.done
......next

[whatcaneyedo]

5. Buy a calcium reactor :razz:

[spawn]

next setup for sure but in the mean time holy sh.t

[mark]

-if your problem is Ca, what's your Mg? ca/mg =~1:3 ratio.
-what's the levels of your SW mix? could be every time you change water you're driving the levels down.
-how much you supplementing? just might be comparable to what others are adding

[spawn]

Mg 1350 on Sat. after water change, today 1350
Ca 420 Same , today 400
Alk 9 dkh Same, today 8.4
New water is mixed to match paras
Ca is added 144 ml per day into 55gal NVW
Alk is @ 138 because I switch between 2 types of salt & alk stays higher because 1 of them is RC which has a slightly higher Dkh while they Ca tends to drop faster, but there are no signs of precipe & the sand bed is soft, there are visible signs of growth & I believe it is due to consumption I just wonder when it may level off. Which makes me wonder will this process be any easier with a Ca reactor. I know that it'll be less work & may cost less but I'm sick of checking it. I want to be one of those people who says " the last Time I checked it" especially with summer coming up, I want it dialed in.

[spawn]

I likely will become one of those who say that regardless of whether or not it's dialed in just out of frustration rather than achieving it.

[reefermadness]

Test.....wait 24hrs and test again. Go to the reef calculator and find out how much you will need to dose daily. Maybe tweek a bit but this method has always worked well for me.

Just an FYI but many tanks including mine can drop 1dkh or more in 24hrs.

[spawn]

Tested today after work ,24 hrs,
Ca read @ 410 after being topped to 420 yesterday
Alk read @ 8.9 on a hanna after being topped to 9 dkh yesterday I find it odd that Ca is dropping faster even though it's added @ a slightly higher dose, again because of the salts, Ca is now added @ 144 per 24 hrs, & Alk is @ 138ml per 24. will check again tomorrow, but a 10 ppm drop in Ca is 56 ml more & the drop in alk is only equal to like 11. So ummm... like WTF.

[StirCrazy]

how bigs your tank and how much SPS do you have in it? thoes drops are what I would expect is a average to above average sps tank.

Ca reactor is the way to go then you can drop testing down to once a week :mrgreen:

Steve

[mattdean]

I think you are stressing too much on having the "perfect" numbers. I have a 125 gallon mixed reef. I dose 260ml of Ca EVERY DAY and can't get my levels over 400! In fact, I usually get a reading of 350. My Alk is 9, my Mg is 1350 to 1400 (still trying to balance it better), BUT.......I have about 140 SPS,LPS, zoa corals/frags/clams in my tank - everything grows like a weed in my tank and all my corals are happy and healthy. My tank is gorgeous, so I will try to up the dosage a little more, but I'm through stressing over it.

So, use your coral's health as an indicator and the numbers just as a reference/guide. If you have a lot of SPS/Clams, etc. using up calcium, you are going to have to dose more.

[whatcaneyedo]

Holy crap thats over 100 more coral in your 125 than I have in my 120gal! What do you plan to do in a few months when they all start killing each other?

[spawn]

I think you are stressing too much on having the "perfect" numbers. I have a 125 gallon mixed reef. I dose 260ml of Ca EVERY DAY and can't get my levels over 400! In fact, I usually get a reading of 350. My Alk is 9, my Mg is 1350 to 1400 (still trying to balance it better), BUT.......I have about 140 SPS,LPS, zoa corals/frags/clams in my tank - everything grows like a weed in my tank and all my corals are happy and healthy. My tank is gorgeous, so I will try to up the dosage a little more, but I'm through stressing over it.

So, use your coral's health as an indicator and the numbers just as a reference/guide. If you have a lot of SPS/Clams, etc. using up calcium, you are going to have to dose more.
Thanks, I know I stress over it to much, like I said I'm sick of trying, everything looks good but I was eager to level it off @ 420 or just a bit higher. guess not. spring is here, time to start kayaking already.

[spawn]

Holy crap thats over 100 more coral in your 125 than I have in my 120gal! What do you plan to do in a few months when they all start killing each other?
This is something I wonder about... how is it that some tanks we see are so packed with sps on top of sps on top of sps with very little issue & others start killing right a away, different types of coral yes but not always with the same results. I think I'll likely run into some issue's as well, as I've got 45-50 in an RSM 250 & they're all growing happily. When I have to start fragging it's gonna be like frag-mas in CT for whoever wants them.

[mattdean]

Well, they are not ALL SPS. About 40 or 50 are SPS - and all frags at the moment - and the rest are Zoas, LPS, Rics, Favia, Acans, etc. However, I am not placing my SPS frags right next to each other. It will fill in nicely and I will simply sell of the frags as I need to trim them. Also, it's a peninsula, so I am placing corals on both sides of the rocks, which gives them more places to grow.

It's laid out fairly nice ATM. Here's a vid to give you an idea :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I89KENiWMEw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq7CSgnlIYw&feature=related

[spawn]

No video, but her is a fresk FTS.
http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae199/spawn26/iphone%201%20coral%20%20tank/Iphonetankshots1april15.jpg

[StirCrazy]

ya I would say your going to have a fairly high consumption.

my recomendation would be to buy a Ca reactor used or new depending on what you want to spend. get the biggest co2 tank you can hide. I used a 30 lb one as it fit under my stand, fill it up and then enjoy the tank instead of testing and dosing every day.

the alternative to this is to buy a stand alone dosing pump and set that up. once you get it dialed in it is pretty nice also.

Steve

[mattdean]

I use a Profilux SA3 standalone dosing pump. I highly recommend it. Works well. I wanted a Ca reactor, but have no room for it. Be careful trying to set up auto dosing cheap. I know guys who have almost killed their beautiful tanks by trying to use aqualifters and normal light timers.

[fishytime]

I keep tellin ya about the profilux man:wink:.......SA2 for me (mag is not added nearly as often as Ca and DKH so I did that manually).....but ya.....once you roughly know where your at, its pretty much set and forget.....and really easy to change dosing increments too......or you could do a Ca reactor...Ive never used one personally so I cant speak from experience as to how they are for adjusting and general maintenance and stuff....not as easy to hide and store reactor/Co2 bottle combo as a cable box sized dosing unit and a couple gallon reservoirs tho



oh and BTW sweet tank man.....that gonna be pure mayhem when it grows up......

[spawn]

I use a Profilux SA3 standalone dosing pump. I highly recommend it. Works well. I wanted a Ca reactor, but have no room for it. Be careful trying to set up auto dosing cheap. I know guys who have almost killed their beautiful tanks by trying to use aqualifters and normal light timers.
That's what I have... in operation... & I'm still having to increase those dose's weekly. Every time I test which is 1-2 times weekly, I use the BRS calculator, top up & increase the dose to accommodate what has been used in the previous 24 hrs. let it go usually 3-4 days check & it'll be low. So then I'll top it up & repeat, top it up & repeat. The reason I got a doser was so that I didn't have to try to maintain by means of testing so frequently..... I can't have a reactor on this setup. I've had this online since Jan. & the daily amounts have been increased every single week with the exception of one. If that's set it & forget it, then I must be missing something because I've yet to achieve & maintain levels yet. My corals are growing & thirsty?? but this is high maintenance.

[mattdean]

What salt are you using? What are the numbers? You may be trying to make up for the lack of Ca in your salt. Or, you could just have a high demand, like me, in your tank and that's the way it is.

[spawn]

Again I test & match the in-going water to existing. Yes I agree high demand but can't help but wonder will it settle out for a while? Ultimately I guess I'm looking for people who've had a similar experience while trying to "dial in" their SA doser.


Why is sps so awesome that I had to fill my 1st tank with them, & then turn out to have this & patience as my biggest issue's so far?