High Alk...

[Rocklin Mike]

Good morning everyone...been having an issue with my tank for a few months and still haven’t solved so I’m tossing it out to y’all. Tank was started last August in 2017. Had a pretty good algae issue at first due to using uncured pukani rock. Finally won that battle however still struggled with nitrate and phosphate levels. Was running chaeto but couldn’t keep it alive, I think I know why now. Switched over to liquid carbon and at first was using vinegar/glucose, now using vodka. Nitrate down to 1 now but po4 at .24ppm. I need phosphate reducer I know but that’s not the problem, at least I don’t think it is. The issue is with my alkalinity. Since the tank was born, alk has increased over the months. I don’t have a lot of corals so I haven’t dosed alk or calcium. Just recently started dosing mag. Alk increased to 11.9 in May when I completed an 80 gallon water change. Alk dropped to 10.7 and has steadily climbed back over 11. I tested the top up water before and after salt was mixed. Everything was within parameters of the salt mix. RO was zero. I was using Red Sea blue bucket. I have most lps corals that have struggled, my guess is the high alk. I have verified the test with Red Sea and Salifert test kits.

Tank parameters
Salt 1.025
Po4 .24
Nitrate 1
Ph 7.89
Mag 1290
Alk 11.8
Cal 420
Tank capacity 160 gal
Sump 40 gal
21 fish, 3-4 lps struggling, 1 sps doing quite well
Dose vodka, mag, pro coral solutions 1-4
Feed LRS, now homemade. Selcon additive.

I’ve had some good advice so far but my resources are a little stumped. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated and if more info is needed, please suggest.

Thank you!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Declining nitrate will boost alkalinity as it is consumed (just as it depletes alkalinity when it is produced.

That may be contributing, as may water changes with a high alk mix (many are 11 dKH or higher).

I'm not familiar with the ingredients in "pro coral solutions 1-4". Do you have a link?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Randy,

The elements in solution are printed on the cards in this link:
https://professionalcoralsolutions.com/about-us

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Forgot to mention I have a relatively deep sand bed. About 4”. I do agitate the surface now and then along with a hefty cuc.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Forgot to mention I have a relatively deep sand bed. About 4”. I do agitate the surface now and then along with a hefty cuc.

The cucumber may actually raise alk and calcium a bit. They can dissolve some of the calcium carbonate sand passing through them. The sand bed itself is not likely adding much, but maybe some if deep down in it the pH is low.

"New research led by Carnegie’s Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef."

https://carnegiescience.edu/news/sea-cucumbers-dissolving-coral-reefs

 

[Rocklin Mike]

The cucumber may actually raise alk and calcium a bit. They can dissolve some of the calcium carbonate sand passing through them. The sand bed itself is not likely adding much, but maybe some if deep down in it the pH is low.

"New research led by Carnegie’s Kenneth Schneider analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef."

https://carnegiescience.edu/news/sea-cucumbers-dissolving-coral-reefs

By cuc I meant clean up crew lol. No cucumbers here.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

By cuc I meant clean up crew lol. No cucumbers here.

lol OK.

 

[mta_morrow]

Declining nitrate will boost alkalinity as it is consumed (just as it depletes alkalinity when it is produced.

That may be contributing, as may water changes with a high alk mix (many are 11 dKH or higher).

I'm not familiar with the ingredients in "pro coral solutions 1-4". Do you have a link?

Wow! I learned another new thing in this hobby! Go figure [emoji6]

 

[Neoalchemist]

Are you rolling your salt bucket or other wise mixing your dry salt before you use it? I try to mix my dry salt once in a while (always at least once) so as to avoid the factory combined componants settling into different zones. We also don't know in what manner the components are combined originally.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Are you rolling your salt bucket or other wise mixing your dry salt before you use it? I try to mix my dry salt once in a while (always at least once) so as to avoid the factory combined componants settling into different zones. We also don't know in what manner the components are combined originally.

This is a great point that has been mentioned to me before as I am new to salt. I did mix my water change batch and had 8’s for alk. The strange thing is my alk keeps climbing and I haven’t changed water since May.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Any other suggestions?

 

[Brian1f1]

Personally I don’t think your Alk is likely the problem. Mine is 11.3, Calc 480 lps seems to love it.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Likely dosing the Professional Coral Solution 1-4. Is causing most of your alk increase

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Likely dosing the Professional Coral Solution 1-4. Is causing most of your alk increase

Why do you think it contains any alkalinity?

 

[Neoalchemist]

Personally I don’t think your Alk is likely the problem. Mine is 11.3, Calc 480 lps seems to love it.

As nutrients lower, corals threshold for higher alk also lower. People running ultra low nutrient systems corals will experience alkalinity burn at alk level sometimes as low as 8.5.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Why do you think it contains any alkalinity?

I found their website and although I can't find any specifics they call it a complete dosing program, which I interpreted as containing alkalinity and calcium supplements

 

[Neoalchemist]

Any other suggestions?

Does professional Coral Solutions list the contents on thier 1-4 starter pack or whatever product you are dosing?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

I found their website and although I can't find any specifics they call it a complete dosing program, which I interpreted as containing alkalinity and calcium supplements

These supplements do not replace the big three dosing.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Does professional Coral Solutions list the contents on thier 1-4 starter pack or whatever product you are dosing?

Yes I posted the link above. Look at that product cards and you can see the active ingredients.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Sry I totally missed that post.