180 ml of Calcium a day??? Wow, how big is your tank?So, if my calcium dosage is 180 mL per day, I should be dosing 18 mL per day of this stuff? Sounds way too high??
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180 ml of Calcium a day??? Wow, how big is your tank?So, if my calcium dosage is 180 mL per day, I should be dosing 18 mL per day of this stuff? Sounds way too high??
125 gallons. I think the dosage is so since I was having explosive coralline algae growth.180 ml of Calcium a day??? Wow, how big is your tank?
I would highly recommend reading all of the directions for the Reef Care Program. The primary mistake I have had in the past is not treating every component of foundation, energy, salt, algae management and colors combined as part of the plan. In other words, they are designed to work together. There are several different versions of the program based on targeted goals of the Red Sea Reef Coral Program. The parameters for maximum growth of SPS frags is as follows:
Alk: 12.6 dKH
Ca: 465 ppm
Mg: 1390 ppm
NO3: 1-2 ppm
PO4: 0.1 ppm
I2: 0.06 ppm
K: 400 ppm
Fe: 0.15 ppm
10% weekly water changes
This does not include the Reef Energy which dosage is based upon total water volume.
My two biggest complaints with the Program are: 1) Alk & Cal are not balanced - do not add them in equal parts, 2) a small number of their test kits are extremely difficult to read on their color scale - particularly PO4 and Mg. I personally use Hannah got Alk and PO4 and Salifert for Mg.
My problems with the Reef Care Program were simply being noobish at the time and not doing a good job with Alk stability (fixed now) and operating under the WRONG premise that I always just wanted NO3 and PO4 as low as possible always. As you crank Alk up you must raise the NO3 and PO4 to the levels Red Sea states or your corals will die - just like some of mine did - especially the expensive ones. I have fixed these problems and trying to finalize the water quality parameters to where they need to be. I will post my progress on my build thread
There are two ways to supplement the colors product. One is based on 1/10 of the Reef Foundation A (Ca/Sr) daily addition. Do not mix these chemicals into your Foundation A solution due to precipitation. Most people report it is better to add these by dosing instead manually. I add manually daily but will be trying to add DP before too long. However that means 4 more DP and is expensive. Red Sea is more expensive but so is Zeovit. The other method of determining dosage is through measuring I2, K and Fe. Note there is not a test for Reef Color D supplementation. Note I2 can be lethal quickly so regular testing is important. Also, when getting your levels correct Red Sea recommends no more than the following max changes per day...
Ca: 20 ppm
Alk: 1.4 dKH
Mg: 10 ppm
I2: 0.03 ppm
K: 10 ppm
Fe: 0.05 ppm
I have watched the videos 3x and read the manuals at least 2x now and I have been using the products for multiple months. I would highly recommend thorough reading and watching before starting. Lots of good information that makes sense and is based upon synergy of all of these different aspects of these programs.
Thanks for the info. I am implementing the Red Sea program into my tank, but was nervous about raising my KH that high. Many reefers say not to chase a number, and my tank has been doing well in the 9.0 to 9.5 range. Has anyone else had problems raising their KH? Or successfully achieved accelerated growth after raising it?
And to answer the obvious question of "why mess with your parameters?" Because I want to maximize my results, if possible...and I'd like to start growing and selling frags.
Red Sea has 2 programs: Accelerated Coral Growth & Enhanced Coloration. It would be nice to know the ballpark growth difference between the two, as I would prefer enhanced coloration if I could still get decent growth. And especially if accelerated growth means poor coloration. Anyone have any input on this?
I have two tanks: a 300g display tank and a 55g frag tank. Parameters on both (DT listed first; FT listed second)...Mg: 1360 - 1400, Ca: 420 - 425, KH: 9.2 - 9.0, NO3: 24 - 64+, PO4: 0.16 - 0.36. Although Nitrates and Phosphates are high, the corals have never looked better. I am switching to Bio-Pellets this week, as I haven't been able to keep them in check using GFO & Carbon...and I like to feed my tank.
Any input or advice is much appreciated.
How big is your tank?I just starting using ABCD about 4 months now and have notice huge improvements in colors, especially with green. And my chaeto which was a slow grower is now exploding with growth.
I don't have their test kits, so I am dosing according to Calcium uptake.
I've seen folks mention 10% of calcium or 1/10. I'm not using RedSea Reef Foundation A/B for Cal/Alk, I'm actually using BRS 2-part. So for me the correct formula to follow is 1ml for every 10ppm uptake of Calcium.
I'm currently dosing 122ml/day of BRS Cal which is slightly over a 10ppm change in calcium/day. Because I don't have a testkit and I'm dosing ABCD manually, I currently only dose 2ml of each product twice a week. So I'm dosing a total of 4ml/week of each product, when according to Calcium uptake, I should be doing 7ml/week of each.
I do plan to get the test kits...eventually. Once I get a better idea of the results then I will readjust dosing amounts. But with the results I'm seeing so far, I'm already very pleased.
How big is your tank?
That's the formula I couldn't remember. I would start with something less than that and see how things progress. You can always increase the dosage if you're not seeing any results. I personally use a dosing pump so the four colors are spread out throughout the day.
Do we have an answer?Can all four be mixed together and dosed with one pump?