Alkilinity Problems

denverjon · May 4, 2013

I'm having issues with my alkilinity and I'm more confused than ever about what to do. The issue is that I can't seem to keep it stable and it normally hovers around 6.5 dkh. My calcium is 400 and magnesium is 1250. I use BRS soda ash and one of their dosers. I was dosing four hours per day and when I saw that my alkilinity continued to fall, I used their calculator and increased my dosage time to 7 hours per day. I told a friend of mine how long I was dosing and he thought it was unusual that I was dosing that long and theorized that I had oversaturated my system and that it was precipitating out (I've seen no sign of precipitation). He suggested that I stop dosing for 48 hours to see what happened. I tested my alk today and it's around 5 dkh. Here's my question...is it possible that I've been dosing too much and saturated my system or could it be that I'm not dosing enough? Seven hours of dosing per day seems like a lot but I've got an extremely high bioload, so maybe it's not. Whatever the case, I'd love some advice because I don't know what to do next. Thanks

Dan1789 · May 4, 2013

I think you have over dosed and caused the levels to fall. I did the same thing. Stop dosing for a couple days to let it even out. What size is your tank, what kind of corals do you have. I have a 90g, no sps, and I dose 5 min 30 sec every hour for 8 hours. Start small and slowly build up your dosing time.

Zack · May 4, 2013

I also had a similar issue where i was using a lot more part 1 and 2 than i thought I should be needing. My magnesium was ok but in the lower part of the acceptable range. I raised my magnesium to the top of acceptable range and my alk and cal. consumption went in half. I didnt see any evidence of precipitation either but it had to be what was affecting me.

denverjon · May 4, 2013

I have a total water volume of 210 gallons. It's a mixed reef that's packed with corals, primarily sps.

What I don't understand is that if I had oversaturated my system, why would my alk levels not be through the roof? And would I not notice some precipitation?

mcarroll · May 5, 2013

The amount of time you dose is pretty irrelevant. It's the quantity and concentration of product that matters.

Given your coral load you are probably not dosing enough.

Figure out how much you are dosing (catch one 7-hour doser run in a cup and measure it)

Also use the reef calculator and your test kit to see if your tank's numbers (your dosing requirement) match your dosing.

Check out the "Advanced" directions on Brightwell Aquatics' Alkalin8.3. Great to model your dosing strategy after. Especially try to use something close to their calculation for daily dosing rate.

-Matt

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Dan1789 · May 5, 2013

If you dose too much it will precipitate and draw more Alk out of the water. Check your sand to see if any of it has solidified.

Downbeach · May 5, 2013

It would be prudent to get a second opinion on your test. What kits, are you using?

denverjon · May 5, 2013

Thanks for the advice. I don't notice any precipitate on the sand. Plus, my calcium has remained stable, so it's not drawing that down. As for testing, I use both Salifert and Hanna. I also had a lfs test it last week. I think I'm going to dose manually for a bit and see if I can get things to stabize that way.