It's so on now - 72g Reef build

[SparKy697]

Hehehe, welcome to the dark side

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Sparky. You have reached the point where you need to maintain your CA and Alk levels and your PWCs just aren't going to cut it. Dosing with Bionic or another similar product really isn't that bad. You'll get used to it.

[neilanh]

25% water changes every week isn't enough. sigh.

So I ordered the 2-part kit from BRS. Do I continue weekly water changes, or since I'm now adding supplements can I drop to every other week or something?

[Ziggy953]

I have gone back to every other week and dose 2 days after my water change. I also do not dose daily. I dose 3 times a week and that keeps my levels right where I want them. I have never dosed Mg so I can't help you with that, though I have yet to have a need for it as my Mg is usually right at 3x my Ca levels.

[SparKy697]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

I agree with Sparky.

It's like music.... Say it again!

[GhostKnife]

I does the 2 part Bionic daily. I also used a little true calcium chloride... and it it brought my ca levels up and I am now maintaining that with Bionic. I do a PWC about 2-3 weeks. However I am still getting into the swing of things and the water changes might change. I have almost got a routine down.

[neilanh]

So, for a number of reasons, decided to try out the lab grade testing services of aquariumwatertesting.com. My tanks really starting to get into it's own, and I wanted to see what the whole spectrum of tests said. I've always been curious about accuracy of our hobby grade test kits, etc.

So, i found last week my Ca, Alk, and Mag were low. The test results just confirmed this, but gave me confidence in the test kits I have. While these results are a bit lower than what I tested, they're still pretty much in the ballpark.

The silicates were a surprise. Not sure what to do about that - ideas?

The nitrAte was a huge surprise, a good one tho!

here's what I got.

Ammonia (NH3-4) ........................Good ......................................... 0.007
Nitrite (NO2)................................Good ......................................... 0.001
Nitrate (NO3)...............................Good .............................................0.3
Phosphate (PO4) ..........................Good ........................................... 0.03
Silica (SiO2-3) ............................. High.............................................. 0.9
Potassium (K) ...............................Low................ ............................. 294
Calcium (Ca).................................Low.......... ................................... 333
Boron (B) ....................................Good .............................................3.1
Molybdenum (Mo).........................Good .............................................0.1
Strontium (Sr) .............................Good .............................................8.4
Magnesium (Mg) ...........................Low.................... ......................... 998
Iodine (I¯)...................................Good ........................................... 0.05
Copper (Cu++) ............................Good ........................................... 0.02
Alkalinity (meq/L)..........................Low................... ......................... 1.99

For Reference, I mailed the water tests out on my lunch break on Tuesday. Results were returned today (thursday). Pretty good turnaround.

[SparKy697]

WOW! What a great idea!

Looking Good!

[GhostKnife]

I agree what a good idea to verify your test kits... what are you using? Salifert? Ziggy you mentioned that you dose 3 times a week the B-Ionic. I dose everyday and was thinking of cutting back I have been testing everyday just the calcium and alk and they stay where I want them. I was thinking of setting up a gravity fed drip system for the B-Ionic. The good thing is, is that overdosing B-Ionic is really hard to do. Dumping it in carelessly is not good obviously but a little more than needed does not harm the tank. I put in 20 ml of each part every day. How much do you put in 3 times a week?
Neil how did you get them your water?

[neilanh]

Order from their website. They'll send you a kit with a prepaid priority mail return box.

I just use the API test kits.