ALK moving around

[smarcuscofer]

My ALK is dropping around a half point a week I have a20 gallon tank with only one small hammer frag maybe 2 inch frag it's trying to split I can see it slowly pinching in half should I be dosing or just sticking with water changes I want the ALK as stable as I can get it right.... I'm probably over thinking and just need a more strict water change schedule to avoid the swings

 

[Spare time]

It would be far cheaper to do the tiny dose require rather than a water change. Alk is pretty easy to test and you can dose calcium in equal proportions in many easy and cheap two parts like that from brs. I personally am not a fan of water changes as a means to restore elements as it becomes really costly and messy after a while.

 

[smarcuscofer]

It would be far cheaper to do the tiny dose require rather than a water change. Alk is pretty easy to test and you can dose calcium in equal proportions in many easy and cheap two parts like that from brs. I personally am not a fan of water changes as a means to restore elements as it becomes really costly and messy after a while.

My calcium hovers at 500 could I still be dosing in equal parts I don't understand why it doesn't drop with the ALK...I agree about costly and messy not to worried about cost I use reef crystals and that's cheap enough but I just experienced my first ALK swing because of an aggressive water change after slacking off the water changes because everything was going good I feel like if I had been dosing the whole time I wasn't doing a water change my tank wouldn't be so mad when I did a big water change..

 

[Spare time]

My calcium hovers at 500 could I still be dosing in equal parts I don't understand why it doesn't drop with the ALK...I agree about costly and messy not to worried about cost I use reef crystals and that's cheap enough but I just experienced my first ALK swing because of an aggressive water change after slacking off the water changes because everything was going good I feel like if I had been dosing the whole time I wasn't doing a water change my tank wouldn't be so mad when I did a big water change..

You can just dose the alk. It may have been high to begin with from the salt being slightly separated in the bucket (meaning some parts had more calcium thatn others etc.). The calcium will fall back down. Mine is 500+ because I mixed my own calcium without instructions as I had nothing to measure grams.

 

[smarcuscofer]

You can just dose the alk. It may have been high to begin with from the salt being slightly separated in the bucket (meaning some parts had more calcium thatn others etc.). The calcium will fall back down. Mine is 500+ because I mixed my own calcium without instructions as I had nothing to measure grams.

Thanks for the help...I was thinking of trying the seachem alk... The price is good and I don't exactly need a gallon of alk hanging around waiting on me to use it a few ml at a time luckily I have some digital kitchen scales hanging around I find them very handy for mixing salt water so easy once I dialed it in

 

[smarcuscofer]

Thanks for the help...I was thinking of trying the seachem alk... The price is good and I don't exactly need a gallon of alk hanging around waiting on me to use it a few ml at a time luckily I have some digital kitchen scales hanging around I find them very handy for mixing salt water so easy once I dialed it in

Other than ALK I have no reason to do water change everything else seems pretty stable

 

[Spare time]

Thanks for the help...I was thinking of trying the seachem alk... The price is good and I don't exactly need a gallon of alk hanging around waiting on me to use it a few ml at a time luckily I have some digital kitchen scales hanging around I find them very handy for mixing salt water so easy once I dialed it in

I use their seachem reef builder powder. I would switch to something cheaper like brs sodium bicarbonate but I have a rhythm going with it and don't feel like switching it up.

Have you ever dosed alk before?

 

[smarcuscofer]

First reef tank and first year so no