240 mixed reef parameters drops

[Btreefing]

I have a red sea 900 xl mixed reef mainly lps some frag sps. Parameters are all good except alk is dropping like crazy. I hooked up a kalk stirrer and dosing 5600 ml a day and still drops. I'm not needing to use my ato because this amount of kalk is equivalent to my daily evaporation. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[lapin]

You might try Randy's baked baking soda to get it back up to normal and let the kalk keep it there. Or it might be time for a calcium reactor

 

[Btreefing]

You might try Randy's baked baking soda to get it back up to normal and let the kalk keep it there. Or it might be time for a calcium reactor

Yeah I dose it manually morning noon and night and run the kalk but it still drops. Its not that stocked with coral .

 

[Btreefing]

Yeah I dose it manually morning noon and night and run the kalk but it still drops. Its not that stocked with coral .

not the greatest picture sorry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How much total alk per day is being consumed?

You should be able to balance any demand with a two part.

 

[Garf]

Yeah I dose it manually morning noon and night and run the kalk but it still drops. Its not that stocked with coral .

Are you totally sure your doing the alk test correctly? I.e., your not reading the test back to front, if it’s a titration test etc.

 

[Btreefing]

Roughly .75 - 1.0

Are you totally sure your doing the alk test correctly? I.e., your not reading the test back to front, if it’s a titration test etc.

Yeah, I use the red sea, hanna checker and apex neptune and all are dropping

 

[Btreefing]

How much total alk per day is being consumed?

You should be able to balance any demand with a two part.

.75-1.0 dkh

 

[Btreefing]

.75-1.0 dkh

Is that normal for the amount of coral I have?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That's a low to medium demand that is easily met by most methods, and even kalkwasser (if saturated and evaporation is not too low).

 

[blasterman]

Alkalinity can be consumed even if your tank has no corals in it. Its a major component of all kinds of biology that consumes it other than coral. Calcium however is only consumed by hard corals, Typically as your tank matures this will stabilize.

Use common baking soda to correct this. Online reef calculator will tell you how much. Cheap and easy solution. Do not be suckered into buying a two part.

If you use kalk to correct alk you may end up in a high calcium scenario. Just use baking soda to correct the difference.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Alkalinity can be consumed even if your tank has no corals in it. Its a major component of all kinds of biology that consumes it other than coral. Calcium however is only consumed by hard corals, Typically as your tank matures this will stabilize.

Not true. You are grossly misleading people.

Other than the conversion of ammonia to nitrate, and sulfur denitrators, can you identify any of the " all kinds of biology that consumes it "?

Please back up these unsubstantiated assertions.

 

[Garf]

Is that normal for the amount of coral I have?

Sounds about right to me although it’s gonna vary greatly between tanks and it’s inhabitants, CCA etc. Perhaps your Kalk stirrer isn’t as potent as it could be.

 

[Btreefing]

Not true. You are grossly misleading people.

Other than the conversion of ammonia to nitrate, and sulfur denitrators, can you identify any of the " all kinds of biology that consumes it "?

Please back up these unsubstantiated assertions.

Thank you Randy for your help, I'm pretty new at this but am anal about doing things right. Thanks again

 

[Btreefing]

Thank you Randy for your help, I'm pretty new at this but am anal about doing things right. Thanks again

Can I drip dose baking soda or do I need to pour it in?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can I drip dose baking soda or do I need to pour it in?

Dripping is perfectly fine, but maybe not necessary.

 

[Btreefing]

Dripping is perfectly fine, but maybe not necessary.

so having alkalinity go up and down during the day isn't hard on the coral

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

so having alkalinity go up and down during the day isn't hard on the coral

Depends on the dose. If the bumps are , say, 0.2 dKH, it is unlikely to be a problem. if it is 2 dKH, then yes, spread it out.