The Reef Chemistry Handbook
Alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and the numbers that keep corals alive
The accuracy moat. Reef chemistry is where most tanks quietly succeed or slowly fail, and where most online advice is folklore. This handbook works from first principles: what seawater actually is, why alkalinity is the heartbeat parameter, how calcium and magnesium interlock, how to test like your results matter (because they do), and how to choose and run a dosing system — two-part, kalkwasser, or reactor — matched to your tank's actual consumption. Ends with a troubleshooting engine for the classic disasters: alk swings, stuck pH, nutrient spirals.
Contents
- 17 min
The Blueprint of Seawater
Every parameter that matters in a reef tank, its target range, and a triage hierarchy for which numbers deserve attention first — and which can safely wait.
- 27 min
The Two Constants
Salinity at 35 ppt and rock-steady temperature are the foundation every other parameter stands on. How to measure both correctly and automate them for good.
- 37 min
Alkalinity, the Heartbeat
What dKH actually measures, why corals burn through it every day, why holding it steady beats chasing any target number, and how fast is too fast to correct.
- 47 min
The Skeleton Budget
Calcium and magnesium interlock with alkalinity in one system: targets, the balanced consumption ratio, and why magnesium quietly decides whether both hold.
- 57 min
Testing Like a Lab
Titration technique, reagent age, digital colorimeters, and a proper testing log — the unglamorous accuracy habits that make your numbers worth acting on.
- 67 min
The Nutrient Tightrope
Nitrate and phosphate: why bottoming them out is every bit as dangerous as letting them climb, the target ranges, and the export tools from skimmers to media.
- 77 min
Two-Part, Demystified
Sizing daily two-part doses to your tank's measured consumption, choosing manual versus pump dosing, and the ramp-up protocol that avoids overshooting.
- 87 min
Kalkwasser & the Big Guns
Kalkwasser dripped through the top-off, calcium reactors for heavy-demand tanks, and honest thresholds for when your tank has actually outgrown two-part.
- 97 min
The pH Problem
Why the air in your house suppresses reef pH, what pH really affects and what it doesn't, and fixes ranked by effort from an open window to scrubber media.
- 107 min
The Trace Element Question
Iodine, strontium, and friends: which trace-element consumption is real, which dosing is marketing, and how to avoid polluting your reef with supplements.
- 117 min
The Full Panel
ICP testing: what a lab panel reveals that home kits never can, how to take a sample correctly, and how to read a thirty-element report without panicking.
- 127 min
When the Numbers Move
A diagnostic engine for alkalinity swings, drifting calcium, stuck nutrients, and mystery consumption — each problem's causes ranked by how likely they are.
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