Alkalinity advice please

[chrisgold]

Hello

My tank is a waterbox 35.2 about 2 months old
I used Tropic marin pro reef and mix with rodi water i make myself when its mixed its 8dkh
But then i do a water change (upto 40%) i test after and alk is between 10.2 and 10.5
I used carib sea live sand
Aqua forest rock
Tank is running a uv filter (tmc 300)
Skimmer (tunze 9004)
Algae reactor (tunze)

Any idea what could cause the alk to be this high ?

 

[chrisgold]

Hello

My tank is a waterbox 35.2 about 2 months old
I used Tropic marin pro reef and mix with rodi water i make myself when its mixed its 8dkh
But then i do a water change (upto 40%) i test after and alk is between 10.2 and 10.5
I used carib sea live sand
Aqua forest rock
Tank is running a uv filter (tmc 300)
Skimmer (tunze 9004)
Algae reactor (tunze)

Any idea what could cause the alk to be this high ?

Bump

 

[jurgenph]

i've had terrible Alk levels when i setup a tank with manmade rock. i bet that's the source of your Alk.

if you don't have corals in the tank yet, you can just wait it out, until it finished curing.
not sure how long it'll take.

J.

 

[chrisgold]

i've had terrible Alk levels when i setup a tank with manmade rock. i bet that's the source of your Alk.

if you don't have corals in the tank yet, you can just wait it out, until it finished curing.
not sure how long it'll take.

J.

Thanks it has to be the rock or the sand but i only really got this rock as i heard it didnt have to be cured . Hopefully it doesnt take long. I already have corals in the tank but most are hardy

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks it has to be the rock or the sand but i only really got this rock as i heard it didnt have to be cured . Hopefully it doesnt take long. I already have corals in the tank but most are hardy

That level of alk won't cause issue for your coral. I use coral pro salt that mixes over 11dkh

 

[Payedjay]

I agree I use coral
Pro salt as well once u get a full tank of corals you going on o wish u had that alk level all the time

 

[chrisgold]

I agree I use coral
Pro salt as well once u get a full tank of corals you going on o wish u had that alk level all the time

Aye its not a problem i just wondered if anyone knew why it was mixing at 8dkh and ending uo 10.5 in tank any ideas?

 

[chrisgold]

That level of alk won't cause issue for your coral. I use coral pro salt that mixes over 11dkh

Aye its not a problem i just wondered if anyone knew why it was mixing at 8dkh and ending uo 10.5 in tank any ideas?

 

[vetteguy53081]

While the range is safe, you dont want it changing constantly. The rock is one contributor. Some corals will have higher demands for alk than others but it must be kept stable. If your alk is dropping, your calcium is dropping as well. Just keep monitoring your alkalinity daily at the same time for a week or more to get a consistent daily usage before you start dosing. You will need to dose both calcium and alkalinity in a balanced method (either equal parts 2-part or kalk).

 

[nereefpat]

Aye its not a problem i just wondered if anyone knew why it was mixing at 8dkh and ending uo 10.5 in tank any ideas?

That seems impossible to me. Are you dosing anything to the makeup water or the display?

 

[Jekyl]

Hello

My tank is a waterbox 35.2 about 2 months old
I used Tropic marin pro reef and mix with rodi water i make myself when its mixed its 8dkh
But then i do a water change (upto 40%) i test after and alk is between 10.2 and 10.5
I used carib sea live sand
Aqua forest rock
Tank is running a uv filter (tmc 300)
Skimmer (tunze 9004)
Algae reactor (tunze)

Any idea what could cause the alk to be this high ?

Just for peace of mind... are you topping off with saltwater?

 

[Uncle99]

Make sure MG is running at 1350-1400ppm, low MG can cause unstable ALK readings.
I wait 24 hours after a water change before measuring and at the same time if auto dosing.

 

[chrisgold]

While the range is safe, you dont want it changing constantly. The rock is one contributor. Some corals will have higher demands for alk than others but it must be kept stable. If your alk is dropping, your calcium is dropping as well. Just keep monitoring your alkalinity daily at the same time for a week or more to get a consistent daily usage before you start dosing. You will need to dose both calcium and alkalinity in a balanced method (either equal parts 2-part or kalk).

Yeah its been constant so far with just weekly water change i only have a few corals in really so wont need to dose until i swap all the corals into this tank atm it just has about 10 testers just to add abit of live rock from ther skeletons. Its just strange to me as i have never set a tank up and the alk be this high calcium seems steady aswell havent checked mg

 

[chrisgold]

Make sure MG is running at 1350-1400ppm, low MG can cause unstable ALK readings.
I wait 24 hours after a water change before measuring and at the same time if auto dosing.

I shall check now and let you know thanks

 

[chrisgold]

Just for peace of mind... are you topping off with saltwater?

No i have rodi in my ato .
When i test water i put the same amount of salt water back in that i take out os that a factor or even necessary?
Also my skimmer has been running in aswell as i didnt have on through the cycle and has sometimes overskimmed and dropped the salinity by a few points so i would add abit of fresh salt again is this necessary or a bad idea?
thanks mate

 

[chrisgold]

That seems impossible to me. Are you dosing anything to the makeup water or the display?

Nothing the tank has had 5 m of calcium about a week ago as it had dropped for no reason i know but no alk . I just mix tropic marin salt until its at 35ppt, i have not sussed the exact amount to add yet so a just ad it as its mixing and keep testing untill i get 35ppt on hanna checker

 

[Jekyl]

Nothing the tank has had 5 m of calcium about a week ago as it had dropped for no reason i know but no alk . I just mix tropic marin salt until its at 35ppt, i have not sussed the exact amount to add yet so a just ad it as its mixing and keep testing untill i get 35ppt on hanna checker

Have you tested your tank water for salinity? Using a calibrated refractometer?

 

[chrisgold]

Have you tested your tank water for salinity? Using a calibrated refractometer?

Not recently in could re calibrate this hanna?

 

[Jekyl]

Not recently in could re calibrate this hanna?

I don't use hanna, so not sure. Just thinking it could be off and mixing salt to a higher ppm. This would raise nutrient levels. Your tank could also be at a higher salinity than you think causing the same.

 

[Jekyl]

Randy has a formula on here for making your own calibration liquid. It's worth a look just to be sure.