cal/alk

Just checking my interpretation of supplementing these 2 chemicals.  I was talking to another hobbyist tonight.  He is new.  He was telling me that he was instructed to dose his cal and then no more than 8-10 mins dose his alk.  I was told  that you must give plenty of time between dosing these 2 chemicals because they counter each other if dosed to close to each other.  I forget the correct term used to describe this.   My params seem to be doing fine, but he said his were also.  Can I get some confirmation on this?

Dosing your calcium and alkalinity too closely together can cause the calcium to precipitate out of solution causing what looks like snow in the water column. This rarely happens if the correct amount of the supplement is used and they aren't dosed right on top of each other.

It is best to dose Alkalinity slowly to prevent a rapid change in PH. A dosing pump works well for this but others have created a drip system where the dose is slowly dripped into the tank through tubing similar to that used in an IV. Personally I just put my daily dose into the filter sock in the sump where it is then diluted by water from the overflow and further mixed in the skimmer section and eventually makes its way back to the tank.

It's not as critical to dose Calcium slowly as it doesn't have a huge affect on the PH. Use of a dosing pump for calcium is more for convenience than to prevent issues when dosing.

I believe no matter how you dose your Calcium, Alk and Mag the important thing is to keep your levels as constant as possible so that you don't have large shifts in the PH which can shock the system and irritate your livestock.