Help with alkalinity balance (very fast consumption)

[Jé123]

So if you read my previous posts, I was wondering if it was safe to use both Kalkwasser and two part dosing to maintain my alkalinity and calcium. I’ve just received my ESV b-ionic two part calcium buffer and I was going to figure out my daily alkalinity consumption. Yesterday, I’ve tested my alkalinity water at 10 p.m and it read at 7.2 dKH which was okay but I used the product to raise it to 8.0 dKH. Today, at the same time yesterday (10 p.m) I tested the alkalinity and it read at 6.3!! This is a 1.7 dKH and I don’t know if its me but it seems huge. After this result, I decided to test the calcium level and it read at 380 ppm which is a bit low but nothing too bad. Is this normal? 1.7 dKH a day seems a lot to dose, and it could spike!! Please help me! I also run GFO and carbon. I know GFO takes alkalinity when new but the one I have is maybe two months old. I test Alkalinity with the digital Hannah thingy tester

13.5 gallons

Corals:
- Birdnest coral
- Hammer coral
- Duncan coral
- Acan coral
- Favia coral
- Pulsing Xenia
- Zoas
- Mushrooms

 

[jsvand5]

So if you read my previous posts, I was wondering if it was safe to use both Kalkwasser and two part dosing to maintain my alkalinity and calcium. I’ve just received my ESV b-ionic two part calcium buffer and I was going to figure out my daily alkalinity consumption. Yesterday, I’ve tested my alkalinity water at 10 p.m and it read at 7.2 dKH which was okay but I used the product to raise it to 8.0 dKH. Today, at the same time yesterday (10 p.m) I tested the alkalinity and it read at 6.3!! This is a 1.7 dKH and I don’t know if its me but it seems huge. After this result, I decided to test the calcium level and it read at 380 ppm which is a bit low but nothing too bad. Is this normal? 1.7 dKH a day seems a lot to dose, and it could spike!! Please help me! I also run GFO and carbon. I know GFO takes alkalinity when new but the one I have is maybe two months old. I test Alkalinity with the digital Hannah thingy tester

13.5 gallons

Corals:
- Birdnest coral
- Hammer coral
- Duncan coral
- Acan coral
- Favia coral
- Pulsing Xenia
- Zoas
- Mushrooms

How large are the corals? What test kit did you use?

 

[Jé123]

How large are the corals? What test kit did you use?

I use the Hannah colorimetric digital tester which is supposed to be reliable. My hammer has maybe 2-3 heads. Duncan coral approximately 10 small heads, the birdnest is maybe 7 inch wide. They are not the biggest corals they are mostly frags, the acan has 5 heads that I can count. The aquarium is a nano tank, its 13.5 gallons.

 

[Jé123]

How large are the corals? What test kit did you use?

Here’s a pic of the corals, closing up to sleep, sorry for the blues

 

[Jé123]

Can someone help me? I would really appreciate that.

 

[rozart]

What is your magnesium levels at because mg helps maintain the balance and consumption of the alkalinity and calcium

 

[Jé123]

What is your magnesium levels at because mg helps maintain the balance and consumption of the alkalinity and calcium

I do not test magnesium but definitely will soon, I use red sea coral pro salt which is supposed to have all elevated levels but my levels are so low..

 

[Jé123]

I mean its crazy I decided to dose to bring the level back at 7.3 dKH and now this morning (9:20 am) I just tested at 6.9 dKH.. thats only been like 10 hours

 

[mbmartin06]

Just a thought as I have same tank. When Coraline growth explodes so does dKH consumption. is this happening?

 

[Jé123]

Just a thought as I have same tank. When Coraline growth explodes so does dKH consumption. is this happening?

I have coraline algae but not a too much, I don't think it would take that much alk. 1.7 dKH a day is crazy

 

[mbmartin06]

I have coraline algae but not a too much, I don't think it would take that much alk. 1.7 dKH a day is crazy

Ok.

IMO 1.7 isn’t completely insane, things in a small tank can be magnified. first the test kit has an accuracy of +-5% so the drop might not be as big or even bigger. Also it’s one day, see what it is over a number of days (5–7). I would dose the same amount daily over that time frame and adjust after a decent sample size but that’s just me.

 

[piranhaman00]

1.7dkh a day in that small of a tank is not crazy. Dose to compensate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

1.7 dKH is not huge nor crazy nor unusual. A soft coral tank can consume more than that.

The fact that it dropped into the 6.3 range (if real) is a bit surprising.

Do you see any signs of excessive abiotic precipitation such as hardened sand or clogged pumps?

 

[Jé123]

Ok.

IMO 1.7 isn’t completely insane, things in a small tank can be magnified. first the test kit has an accuracy of +-5% so the drop might not be as big or even bigger. Also it’s one day, see what it is over a number of days (5–7). I would dose the same amount daily over that time frame and adjust after a decent sample size but that’s just me.

I will do that, test everyday to see a more overall consumption

 

[Jé123]

1.7dkh a day in that small of a tank is not crazy. Dose to compensate.

Won’t dosing more than 1 dKH a day stress the corals?

 

[Jé123]

1.7 dKH is not huge nor crazy nor unusual. A soft coral tank can consume more than that.

The fact that it dropped into the 6.3 range (if real) is a bit surprising.

Do you see any signs of excessive abiotic precipitation such as hardened sand or clogged pumps?

I always make sure the alkalinity dissolves before dosing the calcium, I don’t see any precipitate. I think I will stop the Kalkwasser and focus more on the two part, I will let things go for a few days to see how much it drops and have a better understanding of what my daily consumption might be

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Won’t dosing more than 1 dKH a day stress the corals?

folks that need to dose that much often split the doses or use a dosing pump. I’m not sure if it stresses corals if it happens every day, but spreading out doses is a good idea.

 

[piranhaman00]

Spread the dose out every 1 or 2 hrs and keep it steady, no problems

 

[Jé123]

I do not test magnesium but definitely will soon, I use red sea coral pro salt which is supposed to have all elevated levels but my levels are so low..

I just tested the magnesium for the first time ever in my reef and it reads, if I did it correctly, 1320 ppm which is in range if I look on the internet.

 

[Jé123]

So I just tested for 3 days straight and it seems like the daily drops are more like 1 dKH a day. What I did is at the same time of the day I tested around 6.1 dKH (10 p.m) and I dosed right after to get back at 7 dkH and second day it drop back at 6.1 dkH. I think I just need to add small additionnal alkalinity and calcium so the levels don't go that low. This way, I can slowly raise my overall alkalinity back in normal range or 7-11 dkH.