Do I just need to rip clean and start over?

[kdx7214]

I would prioritize flow if your intention is to keep SPS, but if you’re making compromises in equipment then you may have problems with failure down the line. That looks similar to the IceCap 2k gyres that I have used in the past and I think would work just fine for you.

I just use kalkwasser in my ATO chamber. Do you have an ATO?

Yeah. I have a 35 gallon trash can filled with RO/DI water. It's run through a little dosing pump controlled with reef-pi (on a RoboTank). Should I switch to something smaller? I'd be worried using that large a container for CO2 getting in.

 

[EithelSirion]

Yeah. I have a 35 gallon trash can filled with RO/DI water. It's run through a little dosing pump controlled with reef-pi (on a RoboTank). Should I switch to something smaller? I'd be worried using that large a container for CO2 getting in.

Could you fit a lid with holes for the pump cord and tubing? I use my Kalk in an open ATO reservoir and there is the formation of a small layer of precipitate film on the surface of the water which diminishes the further reactions through surface air exchange. It decreases the potency slightly but it doesn’t mess too much with the effectiveness of Kalk as a pH raising solution and the Kalk is dripped in just before my skimmer so much of the CO2 can be handled via that. You don’t have a ton of corals or anything pulling out Ca/Alk so the pH effect is more important

 

[kdx7214]

Could you fit a lid with holes for the pump cord and tubing? I use my Kalk in an open ATO reservoir and there is the formation of a small layer of precipitate film on the surface of the water which diminishes the further reactions through surface air exchange. It decreases the potency slightly but it doesn’t mess too much with the effectiveness of Kalk as a pH raising solution and the Kalk is dripped in just before my skimmer so much of the CO2 can be handled via that. You don’t have a ton of corals or anything pulling out Ca/Alk so the pH effect is more important

Right now I have the trash can lid fit snugly on top of the can. I drilled two holes in it to run the RO/DI fill line into it and the ATO pump line out of it. They fit pretty darn tightly. I'm just not sure how much kalkwasser to put into a container that large, especially since I don't know how to measure it's concentration when I refill it with RO/DI.

 

[Mechano]

Also considering u just use T5s , if those bulbs are over 9 - 12 months old of use , that will also contribute to pest algae.

So u have a phosphate low condition and some other elements. What I would start off with is
*doing a 50% water change (will replenish a lot of the calcium, magnesium, trace elements)(make sure you are using good RODI water—has TDS been checked in a while?)
*rechecking the big 5 elements again to see if there is much change after a few days. Keep an eye on your phosphate and nitrate. You want a balanced number. Eg. 8-12 ppm nitrate : .08ppm phosphate as a good number. You don’t want those number dropping too much or you are gonna open the door for dinoflagellates which makes GHA and valonia look beautiful. At least valonia is pretty easy to remove most of the time.

Hang in there. Your tank honestly doesn’t look that bad. Just need to get the tank balance in check.

 

[kdx7214]

Also considering u just use T5s , if those bulbs are over 9 - 12 months old of use , that will also contribute to pest algae.

So u have a phosphate low condition and some other elements. What I would start off with is
*doing a 50% water change (will replenish a lot of the calcium, magnesium, trace elements)(make sure you are using good RODI water—has TDS been checked in a while?)
*rechecking the big 5 elements again to see if there is much change after a few days. Keep an eye on your phosphate and nitrate. You want a balanced number. Eg. 8-12 ppm nitrate : .08ppm phosphate as a good number. You don’t want those number dropping too much or you are gonna open the door for dinoflagellates which makes GHA and valonia look beautiful. At least valonia is pretty easy to remove most of the time.

Hang in there. Your tank honestly doesn’t look that bad. Just need to get the tank balance in check.

I've already started getting some water ready for a water change, so I'll just make some extra and do a bit larger one than normal. I do check the TDS readings on the RO/DI regularly with a TDS meter I have. I should probably get a new membrane though since it's been about a year since last change, despite TDS still reading fine.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I am 100% sure the PH is the prime issue. Coral skeleton disolves at a PH of 7.6

Gotta do something to reduce CO2 in the house, Or at least the tank itself.

I highly recomend the BRS or making a DIY carbon scrubber and make it recirculating on your skimmer. Offset the loss of oxygen input by making sure you have some good surface agitation.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Your PH is not going to be that low, PH is not easy to test, magnesium is a test you should be doing, what test kit do you use for po4? And how do you check your salinity? anther important parameter you need to be checking, there is probably an easy to fix explanation for this, you just need to check the obvious as that is likely the issue here.

I have had PH hit that, we have a lot of co2 producers in a well insulated house though. The first time our heat kicked on and windows shut after getting the tank running. We watched it drop from 8.0 to 7.68 in the matter of an hour. Imidiately took copepod jars turned them into CO2 scrubbers in series and overnighted some soda lime. Opened windows and just moved all of us into another room. It hit a low point of 7.62 before we decided to kick on the house fan for a couple minutes.

We were all watching the muppets christmas carol when it happened, had to dig out tue VHS copy for the old tv from when I was a kid we have in our playroom to keep the kids happy.

Kind of glad it happened, prior to having the PH monitoring and a reef tank, we had our windows closed for years. And I also woke up tired af for all those years, thought turning 30 did me in when that started, but since taking care of reducing CO2 in our house, it's been a very noticeable health benefit for all of us. Never ever would have known, it's been a year now since that event, and I haven't woken up dead tired but a couple times ever since. Seriously, it was years of useless sleep before that.

So if OP is in a similar situation with a bunch of animals and kids in the house, or high CO2 producing appliances, it might actually be that low of PH in the tank. I would also add that PH test kits almost always place me just south of where I would be if the CO2 concentration in the house was outdoor levels, and seems to be just testing the buffer, or at least as far as salifert and API behaves with my tanks. Our PH monitors match extremely close with what it should be with the Alk+CO2 measured level in the house, so I know it's at least close when we've cauggt it bose diving

 

[Reef.]

I have had PH hit that, we have a lot of co2 producers in a well insulated house though. The first time our heat kicked on and windows shut after getting the tank running. We watched it drop from 8.0 to 7.68 in the matter of an hour. Imidiately took copepod jars turned them into CO2 scrubbers in series and overnighted some soda lime. Opened windows and just moved all of us into another room. It hit a low point of 7.62 before we decided to kick on the house fan for a couple minutes.

We were all watching the muppets christmas carol when it happened, had to dig out tue VHS copy for the old tv from when I was a kid we have in our playroom to keep the kids happy.

Kind of glad it happened, prior to having the PH monitoring and a reef tank, we had our windows closed for years. And I also woke up tired af for all those years, thought turning 30 did me in when that started, but since taking care of reducing CO2 in our house, it's been a very noticeable health benefit for all of us. Never ever would have known, it's been a year now since that event, and I haven't woken up dead tired but a couple times ever since. Seriously, it was years of useless sleep before that.

So if OP is in a similar situation with a bunch of animals and kids in the house, or high CO2 producing appliances, it might actually be that low of PH in the tank. I would also add that PH test kits almost always place me just south of where I would be if the CO2 concentration in the house was outdoor levels, and seems to be just testing the buffer, or at least as far as salifert and API behaves with my tanks. Our PH monitors match extremely close with what it should be with the Alk+CO2 measured level in the house, so I know it's at least close when we've cauggt it bose diving

The op said their alk was very high and the room CO2 was 430, I was going from the op’s fact’s not stating that ph can not be low, given the fact’s as stated I doubt very much the ph is as low as the op thinks.

 

[Mechano]

I've already started getting some water ready for a water change, so I'll just make some extra and do a bit larger one than normal. I do check the TDS readings on the RO/DI regularly with a TDS meter I have. I should probably get a new membrane though since it's been about a year since last change, despite TDS still reading fine.

Sounds like u have the know-how , you were just going thru a rough patch with limited time and couldn’t keep up on maintenance.

You got this man , I bet the tank will look great in the coming months.
Just watch that nutrients are balanced after water change.
Phosphate/nitrate = 1:100 ratio ( roughly)

Then think about a cheap tuxedo or pincushion urchin or few turbo snails to “help” keep GHA in check but don’t rely on them totally to keep things perfect but they serve their part for sure.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

The op said their alk was very high and the room CO2 was 430, I was going from the op’s fact’s not stating that ph can not be low, given the fact’s as stated I doubt very much the ph is as low as the op thinks.

I missed the indoor CO2 reading