Dosing CA/ALK/MAG to your water change.....

Tava176 · 01/26/2006, 08:16 PM

Does anyone think it is a good idea to add CA/alk/mag to the water you will use for a water change so that it is the same peramiters as your tank water?

It just seems like extra work to do a water change and then test (knowing that your peramiters will be off due to the new water) and then fiddle around with getting those peramiters back where you wnat them.

I think it may make more sense to bring the water change water up to the same CA/Alk/MAG levels as your display before adding it to the tank.... I mean, we make sure the salinity is equal...why not everything else?

Your thoughts and comments?

Thanks all!

Randy Holmes-Farley · 01/27/2006, 05:44 PM

One can add it to the new water, or the tank, as necessary. For years I did the latter, but now that I make up 88 gallons of new salt water (Instant Ocean) at a time, and have cheap sources of calcium and magnesium, I just add a fixed amount of Dowflake and magnesium chloride (MAG Flake) to it for every batch (without any testing). I actually have the specified amounts posted on the wall over the containers.

The Reefer91 · 01/27/2006, 06:26 PM

i was wondering the same thing

10" Red Devil · 01/27/2006, 11:26 PM

Well wise man once say nothing worth while come easy or something like that. So yeah I make sure my water Im changing is the same params as the tank. Course Im doing delicate sps so they need strong stability. If it were a tank full of softies, I would not worry about it too much.

Tava176 · 01/28/2006, 10:17 AM

Thanks for the replys. I as just thinking that it would be less stress on the fish and corals to NOT have to dose after a water change. I do not have a lot of CA loving livestock. I have been monitoring my CA levels and my tank will only go from 430 down to 410 in 3 days. So It is really only using 10ppm of CA a day. Therefore, I dose Randy's 2 part solution (recipe 1) every 3 days (about .8 of a cup).

I have used his calcuator to design a handy spreadsheet that will tell me how much to add for for my 93 gallon water volume depending on how much I need to raise the levels. I do 30 gallon water changes, so I will figure out how much is needed to bring that up to 430ppm as well.

01/26/2006, 08:16 PM	#1
Tava176 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Sloan, NY Posts: 578	Dosing CA/ALK/MAG to your water change..... Does anyone think it is a good idea to add CA/alk/mag to the water you will use for a water change so that it is the same peramiters as your tank water? It just seems like extra work to do a water change and then test (knowing that your peramiters will be off due to the new water) and then fiddle around with getting those peramiters back where you wnat them. I think it may make more sense to bring the water change water up to the same CA/Alk/MAG levels as your display before adding it to the tank.... I mean, we make sure the salinity is equal...why not everything else? Your thoughts and comments? Thanks all! Last edited by Tava176; 01/26/2006 at 09:07 PM.

01/27/2006, 05:44 PM	#2
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	One can add it to the new water, or the tank, as necessary. For years I did the latter, but now that I make up 88 gallons of new salt water (Instant Ocean) at a time, and have cheap sources of calcium and magnesium, I just add a fixed amount of Dowflake and magnesium chloride (MAG Flake) to it for every batch (without any testing). I actually have the specified amounts posted on the wall over the containers. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

01/27/2006, 06:26 PM	#3
The Reefer91 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 1,250	i was wondering the same thing __________________ Dan "Every day we fade little by little, 'till there's nothing left of us but the lies we've sown." Current Tank Info: 20g L display: 2x65watt Coralife light, Octopus 150 needle wheel protein skimmer, 1 Koralia 2 and 2 powersweeps, and a DIY sump/fuge.....120G in the works!!!

01/27/2006, 11:26 PM	#4
10" Red Devil Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,611	Well wise man once say nothing worth while come easy or something like that. So yeah I make sure my water Im changing is the same params as the tank. Course Im doing delicate sps so they need strong stability. If it were a tank full of softies, I would not worry about it too much.

01/28/2006, 10:17 AM	#5
Tava176 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Sloan, NY Posts: 578	Thanks for the replys. I as just thinking that it would be less stress on the fish and corals to NOT have to dose after a water change. I do not have a lot of CA loving livestock. I have been monitoring my CA levels and my tank will only go from 430 down to 410 in 3 days. So It is really only using 10ppm of CA a day. Therefore, I dose Randy's 2 part solution (recipe 1) every 3 days (about .8 of a cup). I have used his calcuator to design a handy spreadsheet that will tell me how much to add for for my 93 gallon water volume depending on how much I need to raise the levels. I do 30 gallon water changes, so I will figure out how much is needed to bring that up to 430ppm as well.