Alk won’t come down

[sturgisjasonc]

All is currently at 12.9 - I brought it down from 13.8 over the last month.

just this past week I did a 20% water change and have done 5gallon changes every morning. It has come down to 12.3 once and then it slowly creeped back up. And hasn’t dropped much below 12.5.

These numbers are gathered by way of Neptune Trident.

im at a loss, so I don’t really know what other parameters would be affecting alk. Any insight would be awesome!

 

[Miami Reef]

Are you dosing?

Do you have corals/coralline algae? What is the bioload of calcifying corals?

 

[sturgisjasonc]

Are you dosing?

Do you have corals/coralline algae? What is the bioload of calcifying corals?

I dos Calc/Mag/Iodine (400ish/1350ish). Quite a few corals. Skimmer is down due to excessive bubbles.
In the process of hooking up a media chamber so that I can start running GAC. Skimmer hasn’t been down for more than a month, so tank is relatively clean as far as algae and bioload(s) are concerned.

 

[JoshH]

Is this a recently high alk number? Or is this what it usually is and you are trying to bring it down? What Salt mix are you using?

 

[sturgisjasonc]

Is this a recently high alk number? Or is this what it usually is and you are trying to bring it down? What Salt mix are you using?

I was never really monitoring alk until I got my Trident a couple months back. Prior to that I had the Apex and was tracking PH. From what I’ve been told I over dosed the Aquavitro 8.4 chasing my PH which is more than likely what caused my Alk to spike.

I was using instant Ocean but slowly transitioned over the last 3-4 months to the Aquavitro mix.

 

[Gatorpa]

Buy a good test kit and double check it.

Relying on one system to check numbers can be an issue.

 

[sturgisjasonc]

Buy a good test kit and double check it.

Relying on one system to check numbers can be an issue.

Cross referenced with my Red Sea kit and my LFS

 

[Gatorpa]

Cross referenced with my Red Sea kit and my LFS

What salt mix do you use for WC?

I know some have higher Alk.

I use NSW on the rare occasions I do a WC so i’m not up on the salt mix characteristics

 

[JoshH]

I was never really monitoring alk until I got my Trident a couple months back. Prior to that I had the Apex and was tracking PH. From what I’ve been told I over dosed the Aquavitro 8.4 chasing my PH which is more than likely what caused my Alk to spike.

I was using instant Ocean but slowly transitioned over the last 3-4 months to the Aquavitro mix.

I am not familiar with Aquavitro salt, what are the mix parameters of it? Or have you tested it after mixing?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I dos Calc/Mag/Iodine (400ish/1350ish). Quite a few corals. Skimmer is down due to excessive bubbles.
In the process of hooking up a media chamber so that I can start running GAC. Skimmer hasn’t been down for more than a month, so tank is relatively clean as far as algae and bioload(s) are concerned.

What products exactly? Some calcium supplements boost alk.

Are you using tap water to make salt mix or for top off?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am not familiar with Aquavitro salt, what are the mix parameters of it? Or have you tested it after mixing?

Aquavitro claims to have 9 to 10.6 dKH. It's certainly not the best mix if alk is too high, unless you lower the alk in it before use.

aquavitro - salinity

 

[sturgisjasonc]

What products exactly? Some calcium supplements boost alk.

Are you using tap water to make salt mix or for top off?

Aquavitro products - I’ll get exact names in a minute. But just Calcium 15ml, Magnesium 25ml, and Iodine5ml dosing, as needed.

RO water only for my mixing tank. I mix 65 gallons at a time and have a 65 gallon RO reservoir. Salt mixes at 1.024 tap water has 0 TDS (according to my meter/LFS test results).

 

[sturgisjasonc]

What products exactly? Some calcium supplements boost alk.

Are you using tap water to make salt mix or for top off?

I’ve used all four of these.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well, there's your problem. Aquavitro Balance is an alkalinity supplement. It's active ingredient is hydroxide, which is an alk supplement, despite the incorrect claims by Aquavitro.

True question; are they just ignorant about their own product attributes, or do they knowingly peddle false claims? I don't know which.

aquavitro - balance

www.aquavitro.com

"Raises pH without affecting calcium and alkalinity"

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Another part of your problem is the Calcification product, which boosts both calcium AND alkalinity.

aquavitro - calcification

"calcification™ is a concentrated (140,000 mg/L) optimized blend of ionic and bioavailable gluconate-complexed calcium designed to restore and maintain calcium to levels found in natural seawater, without affecting pH. These two forms of calcium are combined in calcification™ to provide the hobbyist with a convenient way to ensure peak coral growth and health."

What do they think happens to the gluconate?

news flash: it is metabolized to release alkalinity, just like many other branded reef products that claim to boost alkalinity, Such as Salifert All In One (calcium acetate) or Tropic Marin (calcium formate).

 

[sturgisjasonc]

Well, there's your problem. Aquavitro Balance is an alkalinity supplement. It's active ingredient is hydroxide, which is an alk supplement, despite the incorrect claims by Aquavitro.

True question; are they just ignorant about their own product attributes, or do they knowingly peddle false claims? I don't know which.

aquavitro - balance

www.aquavitro.com

"Raises pH without affecting calcium and alkalinity"

Can you recommend specific supplements?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can you recommend specific supplements?

I discuss lots of good ways to supplement calcium and alkalinity here:

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

There is no aspect of reef aquarium chemistry more important than calcium and alkalinity. Many of my previous articles have described various aspects of these systems in detail. In reading those articles, aquarists will note one pervasive theme: that maintaining appropriate levels of each are...

www.reefedition.com