Hi - I have a 35 gallon tank, setup for about 1 year, with:
- A rainbow bubble tip nem
- Mostly LPS / few SPS corals
- One soft coral and several Zoas
I've been using the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt, with supposedly (400 ppm Calcium, 13 dKH Alkalinity, and 1440 ppm Magnesium). I noticed a while back that my Alkalinity drops much faster than Calcium and Magnesium, so I've been dosing baking soda to maintain it at around 8.2 dKH. Parameters:
- pH: 8.2
- Salinity: 35
- Nitrate: ~5
- Calcium: 520
- Magnesium: 1500
(calcium and magnesium seem off the chart high and they don't seem to drop noticeably)
I did notice, however, that my corals (and particularly my BTA) don't grow that fast. I've been reading about how high Alkalinity might encourage stony corals growth (assuming it's not a ULN tank which I don't), and have been thinking about raising my Alkalinity to 11-12. Is this a good idea, and will it hurt the BTA and other soft corals?
Thank you!
- A rainbow bubble tip nem
- Mostly LPS / few SPS corals
- One soft coral and several Zoas
I've been using the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt, with supposedly (400 ppm Calcium, 13 dKH Alkalinity, and 1440 ppm Magnesium). I noticed a while back that my Alkalinity drops much faster than Calcium and Magnesium, so I've been dosing baking soda to maintain it at around 8.2 dKH. Parameters:
- pH: 8.2
- Salinity: 35
- Nitrate: ~5
- Calcium: 520
- Magnesium: 1500
(calcium and magnesium seem off the chart high and they don't seem to drop noticeably)
I did notice, however, that my corals (and particularly my BTA) don't grow that fast. I've been reading about how high Alkalinity might encourage stony corals growth (assuming it's not a ULN tank which I don't), and have been thinking about raising my Alkalinity to 11-12. Is this a good idea, and will it hurt the BTA and other soft corals?
Thank you!