Alk dropping very quickly for what's in my tank.

[bryanfuel]

I have a small tank with 4 LPS/SPS frags in it. I've been struggling getting my ALK to where I want it and it keeps dropping to the 5.5 range. After a water change and dosing 2-part, I measured the alk to be 7.0 last night. This morning I remeasured and it's back to 5.5! There's no way my 4 tiny frags are consuming that much right?

Here's the tank details:
Tank: 24G Biocube
Equipment: AI Hydra 26, Hydor 100W heater, filter floss, Rio 1400 return pump, chaeto w/ light bulb on reverse photo period, bag-o-carbon
Salt Mix: 5 stage RODI water with Red Sea Reef Crystals salt
Test Kits: API pH Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate, Red Sea Alk Calc Mag, Refractometer, Instant-read digital meat thermometer.
Coral: Frogspawn (1 head), Blasto (1 head), Bird's Nest (2" frag), Mummy Eye Chalice (1" diameter), Zoas, palys, mushrooms, toadstool
Fish: Filefish
Inverts: Peppermint shrimp, nassarius snails, fighting conch, brittle stars, astrea stars, vermatid snail

Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 77F
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
pH: 8.3
Alk: 5.5 dkH
Calc: 390 (As of 2 days ago, I haven't measured today yet)
Mag: 1150 (As of 2 days ago, I haven't measured today yet)

 

[AdamB]

I would retest. I am assuming the test wasn’t accurate . I have got bad reading before doing tests .

 

[bryanfuel]

I would retest. I am assuming the test wasn’t accurate . I have got bad reading before doing tests .

Resteded. Red sea measured 5.6, API measured ~5

 

[Dempsey941]

Have you tested the levels of a freshly mixed batch of salt water?

 

[bryanfuel]

Have you tested the levels of a freshly mixed batch of salt water?

Interesting.... I measured it before and got 11dKH. I just measured now and got 5.3 on my red sea. So my read sea kit and API are bad?

 

[bryanfuel]

Red sea has an exp date of 02/20 and API is 07/20

 

[Quietman]

Might want to check salinity too. Make sure the mix was right and the 11 wasn't an erroneous reading.

 

[Dempsey941]

Might want to check salinity too. Make sure the mix was right and the 11 wasn't an erroneous reading.

+1

 

[Dempsey941]

Also some salt brands tend to lose their “potency” if they are left sitting and that could be a reason why your alk is low.

 

[bryanfuel]

Might want to check salinity too. Make sure the mix was right and the 11 wasn't an erroneous reading.

Salinity is 1.024 on the new salt and 1.025 on the tank.

Also some salt brands tend to lose their “potency” if they are left sitting and that could be a reason why your alk is low.

This is red sea reef crystals and mixed 2 days ago so hopefully it doesn't lose its potency that fast?

 

[Dempsey941]

This is red sea reef crystals and mixed 2 days ago so hopefully it doesn't lose its potency that fast?

It might, do you leave it heated and mixing?

 

[bryanfuel]

Sometimes, but not for this batch.

 

[Quietman]

It's not going to lose potency that fast but could have been bad mix/stratification. Hard to know without testing soon/shortly after it's made. But no fault, I don't test Alk/Ca on a new batch - salinity only. Wondering now if I should start?

I'd bring your tank back up. Bring your saltwater up as well. Monitor the Alk/Ca/Mg for any dropping over the next week and look at this again with new data.

 

[Dempsey941]

It's not going to lose potency that fast but could have been bad mix/stratification. Hard to know without testing soon/shortly after it's made. But no fault, I don't test Alk/Ca on a new batch - salinity only. Wondering now if I should start?

I'd bring your tank back up. Bring your saltwater up as well. Monitor the Alk/Ca/Mg for any dropping over the next week and look at this again with new data.

I agree seal up the bucket as best as possible and roll it back and forth to give the salt a good mix.

 

[lapin]

Salt Mix: 5 stage RODI water with Red Sea Reef Crystals salt

Red Sea makes a Coral Pro black bucket and a Regular ( blue bucket)
Reef Crystals is made by Instant Ocean
Im a bit confused.

 

[bryanfuel]

Red Sea makes a Coral Pro black bucket and a Regular ( blue bucket)
Reef Crystals is made by Instant Ocean
Im a bit confused.

Whoops. Coral Pro Black bucket

 

[GregDaKeg]

Salinity is 1.024 on the new salt and 1.025 on the tank.



This is red sea reef crystals and mixed 2 days ago so hopefully it doesn't lose its potency that fast?

I had the same problem with red sea blue bucket.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a small tank with 4 LPS/SPS frags in it. I've been struggling getting my ALK to where I want it and it keeps dropping to the 5.5 range. After a water change and dosing 2-part, I measured the alk to be 7.0 last night. This morning I remeasured and it's back to 5.5! There's no way my 4 tiny frags are consuming that much right?

Here's the tank details:
Tank: 24G Biocube
Equipment: AI Hydra 26, Hydor 100W heater, filter floss, Rio 1400 return pump, chaeto w/ light bulb on reverse photo period, bag-o-carbon
Salt Mix: 5 stage RODI water with Red Sea Reef Crystals salt
Test Kits: API pH Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate, Red Sea Alk Calc Mag, Refractometer, Instant-read digital meat thermometer.
Coral: Frogspawn (1 head), Blasto (1 head), Bird's Nest (2" frag), Mummy Eye Chalice (1" diameter), Zoas, palys, mushrooms, toadstool
Fish: Filefish
Inverts: Peppermint shrimp, nassarius snails, fighting conch, brittle stars, astrea stars, vermatid snail

Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 77F
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
pH: 8.3
Alk: 5.5 dkH
Calc: 390 (As of 2 days ago, I haven't measured today yet)
Mag: 1150 (As of 2 days ago, I haven't measured today yet)

if precipitation of calcium carbonate gets going fast in a tank, it becomes self supporting by providing more surface for additional precipitation. Stopping dosing for a while to let the surfaces get covered in other stuff can help. Also, keep the pH and alk on the low side, and magnesium, phosphate and organics on the higher side.

 

[dadnjesse]

How are you testing Salinity? Did you calibrate you instrument using calibration fluid.