ALK question

[slayerhellfire]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

So since I have had my tank up and running almost a year its never been thriving and I never noticed why until now or at least I believe this is what's going on. So my ALK has been pretty stable at 8.5 for awhile now. I do a 10 gallon water change a week with coral sea pro salt which mixes at 12.5 ALK. Now I think I am literally over dosing my tank every week since I am adding a lot of ALK into the system and it percipitates out into the tank. Only reason I noticed this is because the other day I raised my ALK to 12.5 and watched it drop in two days to 8.5, not to mention my heaters were completely encrusted couple weeks ago. Now my question is this can this cause my corals to loose color , look like poo, not open all the way, I think the tank can never stabilize cause I am constantly adding such a high ALK content its shocking them. In other tanks I have had in the past my corals would be fat and happy after a water change but mine look like crap after a change. So to fix this problem I am switching to coral sea blue bucket because the parameters when mixed are what I am running at in which I am guessing it will stabilize everything. Here is what I am running currently. 95% all zoa tank! Two small montis, 2 small chalices

60 shallow reef with 40 sump. Aprox. TWV 75 give or take
calcium 450
mag 1450
ALK 8.5- now
PO4- unknown which I have a hanna checker coming in this week
nitrates higher than zero, less than 0.5 with API test kit.

Let me know what you think!

 

[Steved350]

You really don't have much of a demand to be adding a lot of alkalinity. What are you considering a lot? Are you dosing it thru a pump or are you dumping it in the tank? If the alkalinity is falling out you could be adding it way to fast for the flow rate you have in the tank.

 

[slayerhellfire]

You really don't have much of a demand to be adding a lot of alkalinity. What are you considering a lot? Are you dosing it thru a pump or are you dumping it in the tank? If the alkalinity is falling out you could be adding it way to fast for the flow rate you have in the tank.

No this is ALK from my water change with coral sea pro salt it mixes at 12.5 but my water colume is at 8.5 stable, my post is referring to using this salt is shocking my corals since its so high and it never really stabllizes when I do a water change it percipitates out.

 

[Steved350]

How big of a water change are you doing?

 

[Steved350]

Never mind

 

[Mikey Mane The Flare]

Changing salt is a good bad idea. With reef tanks keeping you water as close to the same everyday is key. Another easy test woul of been do more frequent small water changes. I feel like my alk never changes very rarely do I add alk

 

[slayerhellfire]

Changing salt is a good bad idea. With reef tanks keeping you water as close to the same everyday is key. Another easy test woul of been do more frequent small water changes. I feel like my alk never changes very rarely do I add alk

But I don't think my post is clear enough, with the water change I am doing I am litterlly over dosing my tank with ALK and not achieving the 8.5 ALK that my tank balances out to be. So that extra ALK that is in the pro salt is shocking the corals and never stabilizing. So by changing to the regular red sea salt I would be mixing my water at the same parameters as my tank. I feel this is the source of my problem

 

[slayerhellfire]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

That extra ALK is precipitating out into the water colume. Can this be the cause of unhappy corals, loseing color, not opening etc..

 

[Mikey Mane The Flare]

But I don't think my post is clear enough, with the water change I am doing I am litterlly over dosing my tank with ALK and not achieving the 8.5 ALK that my tank balances out to be. So that extra ALK that is in the pro salt is shocking the corals and never stabilizing. So by changing to the regular red sea salt I would be mixing my water at the same parameters as my tank. I feel this is the source of my problem

I hear you but I said both were good ideas

 

[Second Shot]

Just check your Alk after the water change. Quick math it looks like it’s probably only going to 9 after the water change.

 

[madweazl]

The amount you're changing would be enough to cause precipitation alone; can you check your magnesium with another kit or have the LFS do it?

 

[Tautog]

I had the same problem, and I would dose to stabilize then do a WC, and have a higher than usual Alkalinity and precepitation.
Either mix your salt the day before, allowing the KH to reduce, or don’t dose and let the Alkalinity drop before the WC and it will level out.
Using Pro Salt with a high Alkalinity after mixing should be enough to handle the demand each week for Zoas

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Precipitation of calcium carbonate does not generally bother corals. Rapid alk changes might, as might excessively low nutrients.

 

[slayerhellfire]

So after taking my water to my lfs they tested my nitrates and they were at 80!!!!!!!!!!!!! My nitrate test kit was expired and bad so it was reading less than 5 even after dosing sodium nitrate . Needless to say I know why my corals look like crap, it prob wasn't the salt lol. I did switch to the blue bucket red sea for a lower ALK. But many water changes ahead for next week or so...sighhhh