This is what Oceanic test for me when mixed to 1.024 salinity.

Alk 9.5 DKH

Ca 470

Mag 1240

The numbers are a little higher than what I want, but I have 14 gallons left and need to look for a salt closer to what my tank is at. 

I feel the same way about water changes.

Hi. I was just curious. Just trying to gather data for my own use to know if my stuff is in line since we are so close to each other and running a similar set up. 

From peoples tanks I have seen, if your tank is clean and the parameters/algae (little to none) is good, then there is no need to do a water change often. I wouldn't do water changes often but I keep experimenting with food and since I overfeed, I do water changes weekly. 

Thanks for the info.

Marcos

I wish I were as smart as Ph.D Chemist Randy Holmes-Farley. We look to him for all our chemistry information. We used to have a Chemical Engineer in the club by the name of Jon Finch. His help was always invaluable. (Me, I'm just a dumb farmer with the wrong degrees for this stuff.) Randy's article partly explains why I have not tested pH for over 10 years. There really is very little need so long as 1) Alk is maintained, 2) good gas exchange is provided by surface water agitation and 3) oxygenation is assisted by Macroalgae producing O2 when illuminated.

Just thought I'd share.

Aloha,

Mark  

I use Oceanic sea salt, natural mix. I have dosed very little mag and just recently. I did not touch it until I got the all and Ca very close to what I wanted. I use a doser and have been working toward a stable number for about three weeks. Once the coraline algae showed up usage of alc and ca increased. I still don't use much. 10ml a day of each. I am shooting to keep the tanks top three as stable as possible. I felt that once everything else was good I should focus on them. 

Not sure if you noticed I am doing monthly 10% water changes. That is what I want to do and know many will say that is not enough. I like the stability of dosing, AC, GFO, skimmer and refugum. I am getting to the point I can turn the GFO and skimmer off every other day.

Great article and have read the article about 5 times and many of his other articles. That is one reason I am not that concerned. My PH ranges from about 7.75 to 8 over a 24 hour period. That is the norm for my tank so I keep my eyes peeled for changes outside that range or sudden changes in PH.

I mag dose magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride mix. I don't know the ratio, but it is the BRS mix. I will check to see what their ratio is. The PH has stayed the same even before I ever dosed Mag. It is not C02 either, tank is upstairs and I tried C02 scrubber with no change in PH.