Alk help

Kyle Seeley · Jun 21, 2017

I have a ten gallon nano that has been up and running for about a year and a half. However, A while back I added an sps frag and these past few months I have really been struggling with keeping my alk up to where it needs to be. Currently it's has been running at 6dkh and sometimes lower. I have not dosed calcium in the tank since 6 months ago because the calcium has been off the charts and for some reason will not come down. I have tried dosing baking soda in the tank to get the dkh up to 8 where I would like it, but it's usually back down to 6 with in a day. The tank isn't showing any negative side effects either. It's the weirdest thing..

Any idea as to what could be causing this weird balance with my calcium and alk??

Ty Hamatake · Jun 21, 2017

If everything is happy and healthy, I'd really just leave it alone. If you aren't seeing the results you want then maybe start chasing numbers. A drop if 2 dKH in a tank with what appears to be mostly softies (your tank looks really nice BTW), is a lot. First thing is check is mag. Do you happen to know what yours is at?

scarface8 · Jun 21, 2017

Just asked a question I just saw was already posted lol my bad, in general, cal, alk and mag all play together in a sort of ratio.
With my tank, I test for all 3 before I dose anything manually,
If I notice alk is low I have a look at my mag level.
You will notice if u dose alk to raise it a little, cal and mag will change a little,
And same with the others.
I generally try to make sure my mag level is not low, ten manually top up the others if I have to.

GFO affects my alk if I ever use any (very rarely)

The ratio I was speaking of before is more a relation between cal and mag,
Mag level should be around 3 times your cal level, I'm not sure on the ratio relation for alk but I keep mine between 7.5 and 8dkh.

Having a too lower alk level will also allow you ph to swing a lot more between day and night

I hope that helps out

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 21, 2017

What calcium level, exactly? If truly off the charts, use a second syringe to get an actual value.

I'd dose alkalinity to maintain at least 7 dKH, and baking soda every day is a fine plan, at least until you determine you also need calcium (which you may soon, if not now).

Soft coral tanks can use 2 dKH per day.