Kent Tech•CB Parts A & B ?

[Jeff]

I have a 72 gallon bowfront stocked with SPS & LPS. My questions is in regards to raising calcium. Do I always need to add the same amount of part a & b? My alkalinity is perfect but my calcium is low around 350. How can I achieve higher calcium levels, do I add more of one part than the other? LMK....Thanks!


(Add 10 ml per 40 gallons aquarium capacity of Part A and the same amount of Part B each day until target calcium level and alkalinity are reached)

 

[marine mike]

There has always been a couple of conflicting schools of thought on this topic. It seems like most people, including myself when I was dosing, had a similar issue to yours, there was always one being used up faster than the other. I know there are people out there who will tell you that you should always add the same amount of each one, why I am not sure, as the goal is to get to the target level of each every day, or however often you dose. I added less alkalinity part A then I had to part B on a daily basis. I never saw any ill results from doing this and why would you want one side too high only to get to the proper level on the other. I say add the necessary amount of each, whatever that may be, to get to the desired levels daily.

 

[JohnK]

I would say that if your tests are showing one being depleted faster than the other, it would make sense to dose to balance that out.

That said, have you checked your Mg? If it's low that could be the actual cause of the Ca and alk being out of balance. I'd look into that first if you haven't already.

 

[deuceb]

diddo

i go through twice as much ca as alk and my mag is fine i use bionic wich doesnt sell individually

 

[gobie1313]

From what i understand about 2 part, i thought it was mainly used to maintain the level of Ca and Alk once you reach the level you want. I used turbo calcium and mag to get my levels where i wanted them, then started dosing 2 part, which maintains my levels.

 

[JohnK]

Salt brand and water change frequency could have an impact here.

 

[afboundguy]

I used to add 20-30ml more ca than alk before I started dripping kalk.

But I agree with John about salt brand and frequency of H20 changes... What brand you using and how often do you do H20 changes?

 

[Jeff]

red sea pro salt......10-15 gallon water change one a month.

 

[JohnK]

red sea pro salt......10-15 gallon water change one a month.

That's interesting.

According to this;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1287118

Your salt should be a bit high in Ca and low in alk, just the opposite of what one would expect considering your problem. Are you positive about the Mg level being in range?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that water changes with an off salt mix is by far the most common cause of "imbalances". Ongoing imbalances in other ways are very slow to appear for a well designed two part, and should not yield regular needs to dose off ratios of the two parts.

But obviously if you use a mix with 540 ppm calcium, you'll get very different needs than using one with 360 ppm calcium.


I discuss what causes true imbalances here:

When Do Calcium and Alkalinity Demand Not Exactly Balance?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.htm