phastroh
Do Not Listen To Me!!!
I have been using the 2 Little Fishes 2 Part for about 5 months. I dose only for my Alk.
My calcium is always fine and my PH is alway 7.9-8.1. It has dipped a hair lower if I let the Alk drop to 125PPM or lower. I do not have the conversion handy but I use a Hannah checker so I know the number I want and how low I don't want in PPM. I want it to be around 160PPM but have had it up to 165PPM.
Ok so my point is that I was reading up on Kalkwasser because I always hear how great it is and on and on, which it seems to be but I just can't see why I would need it so last night I did not order a bucket of it with the rest of my order.
Again here is my tank in a flash.
My Calcium is always good or a hair high
My Magnesium is always good or a hair high
My PH is typically fine
My Alk is always low unless I dose or for a few days after my 2 week water change.
BTW I checked the Alk in my Reef CRystals and it was if I recall 189PPM which is waaaaaaaayyyy beyond what I would want the tank but I googled it and it seems to be normal for this and yes I mix it at a salinity of 1.025-1.026 like stated in this thread. - Reef Crystals = high Alk - Reef Central Online Community
I put in 22 cups of salt for 40 Gallons of water and it is typically 1.025 but I am going to put in 23 cups next time to see if it hits 1.026 consistently.
With all this said I think I recall D2 saying his tank typically has low Alk but he runs dosers I "think" with soda ash. I have yet to get any dosers and with this tank it is somewhat weird with the Alk. It seems to drop at a different rate sometimes.
I found that if I dose the minimum does everything seems ok but my open brains appear to have shrinkage for a day but if I don't dose almost daily I cannot get it to rise up but at a slow rate.
My conclusion is that I would need to test the day after my next water change in 2 weeks and just start a strict dosing schedule to keep it where I want it and this way I am not seeing my open brains look small. I tell you when the Alk is low they seems to plump up the most.
Most of my corals grow well in the tank. I have Canes that grow so fast I gave some to a coral farmer because I don't want them. The heads are fat. It feels like they split into 2 or 3 all the time. The same cannot be said for all the corals though but I have never had a coral die.
Ok anyone want to chime in.
I do bi-weekly changes and I thought maybe doing 20gal every week instead of 40 gal every 2 would be better but I would rather do it bi-weekly so I can enjoy the tank for a week and a half before the barrels come in the house.
Note" The tank and a 220 so it is like 25% every other week but probably more like 20% if I factor in the other items using water. 40% a month.
Note** If you see the tank in person it is clean and clear and everything looks healthy.
My calcium is always fine and my PH is alway 7.9-8.1. It has dipped a hair lower if I let the Alk drop to 125PPM or lower. I do not have the conversion handy but I use a Hannah checker so I know the number I want and how low I don't want in PPM. I want it to be around 160PPM but have had it up to 165PPM.
Ok so my point is that I was reading up on Kalkwasser because I always hear how great it is and on and on, which it seems to be but I just can't see why I would need it so last night I did not order a bucket of it with the rest of my order.
Again here is my tank in a flash.
My Calcium is always good or a hair high
My Magnesium is always good or a hair high
My PH is typically fine
My Alk is always low unless I dose or for a few days after my 2 week water change.
BTW I checked the Alk in my Reef CRystals and it was if I recall 189PPM which is waaaaaaaayyyy beyond what I would want the tank but I googled it and it seems to be normal for this and yes I mix it at a salinity of 1.025-1.026 like stated in this thread. - Reef Crystals = high Alk - Reef Central Online Community
I put in 22 cups of salt for 40 Gallons of water and it is typically 1.025 but I am going to put in 23 cups next time to see if it hits 1.026 consistently.
With all this said I think I recall D2 saying his tank typically has low Alk but he runs dosers I "think" with soda ash. I have yet to get any dosers and with this tank it is somewhat weird with the Alk. It seems to drop at a different rate sometimes.
I found that if I dose the minimum does everything seems ok but my open brains appear to have shrinkage for a day but if I don't dose almost daily I cannot get it to rise up but at a slow rate.
My conclusion is that I would need to test the day after my next water change in 2 weeks and just start a strict dosing schedule to keep it where I want it and this way I am not seeing my open brains look small. I tell you when the Alk is low they seems to plump up the most.
Most of my corals grow well in the tank. I have Canes that grow so fast I gave some to a coral farmer because I don't want them. The heads are fat. It feels like they split into 2 or 3 all the time. The same cannot be said for all the corals though but I have never had a coral die.
Ok anyone want to chime in.
I do bi-weekly changes and I thought maybe doing 20gal every week instead of 40 gal every 2 would be better but I would rather do it bi-weekly so I can enjoy the tank for a week and a half before the barrels come in the house.
Note" The tank and a 220 so it is like 25% every other week but probably more like 20% if I factor in the other items using water. 40% a month.
Note** If you see the tank in person it is clean and clear and everything looks healthy.
