Alkalinity Help

[Hecticdude]

Hi everyone, I have had my PH at 8.2 since tank cycled.
Having a issue with maintaining Alkalinity above 7.2.
Calcium and magnesium are good but I cannot keep Alk consistent.
Any suggestions?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hi everyone, I have had my PH at 8.2 since tank cycled.
Having a issue with maintaining Alkalinity above 7.2.
Calcium and magnesium are good but I cannot keep Alk consistent.
Any suggestions?

It is normal to dose alkalinity. How much alk (in dKH) are you needing per day?

 

[esther]

Hi everyone, I have had my PH at 8.2 since tank cycled.
Having a issue with maintaining Alkalinity above 7.2.
Calcium and magnesium are good but I cannot keep Alk consistent.
Any suggestions?

Do you currently dose anything to raise you dKH? What do you have in your tank? Corals consume Alk, so it's normal to see it drop.

 

[Hecticdude]

It is normal to dose alkalinity. How much alk (in dKH) are you needing per day?

2

It is normal to dose alkalinity. How much alk (in dKH) are you needing per day?

20 Ml every other day

 

[Hecticdude]

Do you currently dose anything to raise you dKH? What do you have in your tank? Corals consume Alk, so it's normal to see it drop.

Mixed reef.
Cal 433
Mag 1400
Ph doesn't change but Alk is challenging.
I do 10% water change every week with
Tropic Marin BioActif.
I figured consistent water changes would keep alk stable.

 

[esther]

Mixed reef.
Cal 433
Mag 1400
Ph doesn't change but Alk is challenging.
I do 10% water change every week with
Tropic Marin BioActif.
I figured consistent water changes would keep alk stable.

Typical alk consumption could be from .5 to a couple dKH per day. So changing water weekly won't keep it stable for the whole week. You'll need to dose.

 

[Hecticdude]

So i will need to test Alk daily?

 

[esther]

Test until you figure out your daily consumption rate and dose to match, and then I would test weekly for a bit until you're comfortable and figure out your testing regimen after that.

 

[Hecticdude]

Thank You

 

[esther]

Thank You

Feel free to DM me if you need any more help! Good luck.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree that 2 dKH per day does not necessarily indicate a problem other than a need to maintain alkalinity (and likely calcium, eventually) by dosing.