Dkh not doing anything

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Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Because I wondered where it came from. The article doesn't justify the numbers or give any source. I'm not aware of Instant Ocean or Reef Crystals publishing target numbers, as the article claims. So I'm wondering if that is what it really is, or just someones testing.
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I have seen better charts. Help me here? My line of thinking as it relates to Alk. is that all the Salt mixes out there have an X amount of Alk. level to start with. So I thought if the OP used a mix with a lower alk/ level it may help. I will admit this article was weak as I have seen more comprehensive charts. I probably should of searched more, than try to help quickly.
 
Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Water changes with a lower alk mix can help, but not a lot.

A 10% change with a 7 dKH mix when starting at 11 dKH only drops it to 10.6 dKH.
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Wow really that's good to know.
So when testing last night stil at 9.1 going to test before I go to work shortly see what it is
Can putting new frags in really just stop the tank from collecting any alk? Why is that randy or anyone? I don't understand that
 
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Well nothing looked like slime to me it was and is weird that I was losing .3 dkh everyday then after I put the new frags in I am losing nothing. Corals are weird
 
Just let it ride brotha. Test frequently and react occasionally. what salt are you using now? I saw RSCP, but have you switched to something that better matches your target parameters?
 
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This is an odd one for sure. I think a detailed description of your system, testing methods, pH, as well as all your water parameters etc could possibly help solve this. Your phosphates are a bit on the high side. I like to keep it at 0.02 or below. 12dKH is way to high and I suspect your Ca and possibly Mg might be out of balance here. Another important factor is what type of frags you are talking about and what type of corals you keep in general.
 
No salt john C waiting for my corals to reach 8 so I can start dosing triton
I've been blessed by a post from the man @john.m.cole3 whos not retired.

bozoman most of that info is in the first post but ph and that's at 8.4-8.5 and yes it is that high. Red Sea test kits or Hannah or both. 1-2 inch frags all new ones were acro's from john fox and aqua sd. And my tank has nothing in it but the corals. (Sick fish then trumps hair ) I don't run anything but lights right now. And from what my phates were they are low but should be lower.

@twilliard the water is on its way
 
@Bozoman hsres my frags
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If that helps
 
Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
Your frags are small so they shouldn't impact your chemistry significantly on a day to day basis. Also if you just put them in the tank give them some time to acclimate before you should expect them to start absorbing minerals from the water. Usually they take a while before they start sucking up Ca and KH, at which point you are likely to see a growth spurt depending on how fast they are absorbing it.

I apologize if i missed it, but I cannot find an actual Ca or Mg measurement. Nor salinity. For Ca i see it dropped 25ppm in a week and i see you asking if you should get Ca to 420. I see you believed your Mg was 1300, but I have no idea when that measurement was, and what your other parameters were at that point. Individual measurements arent really all that valuable without the whole picture. Having 1 parameter within range isn't going to do much good if others are not. I also don't see any live rock or sand in your tank. Do you have some in the sump? Skimmer? Might as well tell us about your lights and schedule as well. No fish or inverts? Where does your phosphates come from? Feeding anything? Some Nitrate is needed. Your pH is slightly high, which is typically hard to do in a reef tank and furthers my belief that there is an imbalance here. This is why it is so important to start a thread with as much detail about your system as possible. If you are not feeding anything and there is no biological filter or bio-load you are going to have problems.
 
pH 8.4-8.5 is fine. Higher pH generally leads to higher demand for calcium and alkalinity.

pH is only determined by alkalinity and the CO2 level, and doesn't indicate any imbalance in anything else. :)
 
Randy Holmes-Farley said:
pH 8.4-8.5 is fine. Higher pH generally leads to higher demand for calcium and alkalinity.

pH is only determined by alkalinity and the CO2 level, and doesn't indicate any imbalance in anything else. :)
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I'm not saying the pH in itself is an issue at that level, nor that a slightly high pH in itself is a sign of imbalance, but rather that in a typical reef tank (that isn't dosing kalkwasser) getting pH to 8.5 is unusual and understanding why could be helpful in understanding his issues. Basically, more information about his system is helpful if OP wants help to figure this out.

BTW I love your articles on Chemistry and the Aquarium. Really made a difference when I first moved into keeping coral 10 years ago. Thank you!!!
 
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justingraham said:
No salt john C waiting for my corals to reach 8 so I can start dosing triton
I've been blessed by a post from the man @john.m.cole3 whos not retired.

bozoman most of that info is in the first post but ph and that's at 8.4-8.5 and yes it is that high. Red Sea test kits or Hannah or both. 1-2 inch frags all new ones were acro's from john fox and aqua sd. And my tank has nothing in it but the corals. (Sick fish then trumps hair ) I don't run anything but lights right now. And from what my phates were they are low but should be lower.

@twilliard the water is on its way
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Lol, not retired.
 
Ok well thought I put it in there calcium is 380-390 depending on which test Red Sea is 390 Hannah is 382. Magnesium I don't care about. First the Red Sea kit is a PITA and I've asked before and randy said don't worry about it so I don't. It's not even thought about by me. My ph is so high because I literally have waves in my tank. I'm turning my tank over 40-50 times an hour depending on how much u think a penductor adds to a little giant 4mdq I have a vectra in a closed loop with two sea swirls and a mp10 as well. Live rock I have about 90-100 pounds sand I have 125 pounds. I have about 30 snails and one cleaner shrimp in my tank. I feed my tank one algea wafer for the shrimp and fuel every other night and some kind of coral foot reef roofs Maby the nights I don't feed the fuel. I can process 5 nitrates a day or whatever it is. When i feed after I test an hour or two later I have 5 nitrates then when I test after I feed it test zero. Phosphates are what they are u say they are high to me it's normal what it has always been. Lighting two ReefBrite 48 inch leds one 50-50 one all blue. Blues are on for 10 hours 50-50 are on for 7. My fish are in time out in the next room over. I have all types of critters in my tank from bristle worms to copopods to amipods to feather dusters. I have not dosed anything nor done a water change in well over a month I have just been waiting for my tank to get to 8 dkh to start triton. My tank religiously took up .3 dkh a day until I added the new round of frags and has not moved from 9.1 dkh in the last nine days. So my question is why did the established frags stop taking in alk? I'm guessing u want orp as well that's at 375-400 daily. Also my temp varies from 76.6-78.5 daily as well messed up weather cold one second 85 the next. No skimmer use a sock I change out every two to three days not running any gfo use rodi water with a tds of zero. Tank is now roughly six months old. Anything else u wanna know?
 
Great info. I would raise Ca to 420 over 2-3 days like you suggested and keep it there. After that you should be in good shape. Phosphates are ok just slightly higher than ideal for your acros, though your LPS and monties shouldn't mind at all. Nitpicking really. I would check Mg just to be sure they aren't low, but it would be strange in a tank at this stage.

Forgive me if this question seems redundant/insulting, but you are using RO water to replace evaporated water right?
 
Yea ro water
Five gallons last me about five to six days. That's what the float is in the sump. O salinity is 33 ppt I know should be 35 but it's 33 and I have had no problems with it.
As far as mag I tested three times in a row and got three diffent results so yea.
All the acros have good pe I'm not saying the best I have ever seen but they are out none have lost color or rtn.
I'm not trying to chase numbers just trying to figure out why I guess. Why would the old frags stop using the dkh? I can understand the new ones as they are getting acclimated but why did the whole system just stop? U know what I'm saying? I guess it's just nature and I should enjoy the view. And @twilliard u used to do triton correct?
If u did should I dose the calcium up to 420 and then when my dkh gets to 8 start the triton stuff or should I just wait till my dkh gets to eight and not worry about the calcium till then?
Thanks everyone for ur help
 

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