Hlp with alk

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

I have a ton of frags mixed reef dt I keep dosing alk it doesn't go up I tried dosing more still not going up I'm hand dosing at the moment every night around 19 ml per day I don't want to do something to cras m system but I'm trying to reach at least 9 dkh here are so.e of my frags alldoing good but just can't seem to raise my alk

i have heard baking soda will work or kalkawasser just never used this product i use the red sea foundation to dose for alk cal and mag it alk just stays any hlp would be appreciated thx all

FairbanksReefer · Mar 27, 2022

What are you dosing?

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

FairbanksReefer said:
What are you dosing?

Alk cal mostly and once in a while mag

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

Coralguy777 said:
Alk cal mostly and once in a while mag

Mostly alk now don't really need to dose any but that at this time according to my master hanna tester

FairbanksReefer · Mar 27, 2022

A 2 part? What brand and are you dong both parts equally? How are you testing Alk?

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

FairbanksReefer said:
A 2 part? What brand and are you dong both parts equally? How are you testing Alk?

I'm not dosing anything but Alk foundation by red sea I test and everything else is good

FairbanksReefer · Mar 27, 2022

Hopefully some experts chime in, I am definitely not one. I have been dosing for the first time in both of my tanks though. I have used seachem fusion 2 part and kalwasser, both definately raise my alk.

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

FairbanksReefer said:
Hopefully some experts chime in, I am definitely not one. I have been dosing for the first time in both of my tanks though. I have used seachem fusion 2 part and kalwasser, both definately raise my alk.

I have a ton in my tank like over 500 frag Mixed reefIt says not to raise more than 1.4% at a time or else it can do some damage I'm not sure as well I just started dosing myself

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 27, 2022

OK, let's back up a bit.

What is the alk and calcium now?

What is the tank volume (saying 9 mL dosed says nothing useful unless we know how much water it is going into).

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

175 total gallons alk is between 6.5 and 6.7 can't seem to get it up past that I have to s of frags sps and LPS

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

Coralguy777 said:
175 total gallons alk is between 6.5 and 6.7 can't seem to get it up past that I have to s of frags sps and LPS

Cal is 545

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 27, 2022

19 mL of alk foundation by Red Sea in 175 gallons is only boosting alk by 0.3 dKH. That's low.

What happens if you dose 50 mL? 100 mL?

I think you just need more.

Coralguy777 · Mar 27, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
19 mL of alk foundation by Red Sea in 175 gallons is only boosting alk by 0.3 dKH. That's low.

What happens if you dose 50 mL? 100 mL?

I think you just need more.

Will I not hurt my or crash my tank I read that not to raise all more than 1.4 per day?

Dennis Cartier · Mar 28, 2022

As Randy mentioned, you are probably not dosing enough to get the result you are looking for. Here is a calculator to help you get an idea of the amounts required. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Just to give you a bit of background on what to expect, the higher the alkalinity, the more you need to dose to keep it at that level. With a large quantity of frags (or colonies), the alkalinity will be pulled down faster and faster as they increase their consumption based on the alkalinity level spurring faster growth. Be prepared to have to keep raising your daily dose to adjust for changes in growth.

I know you have said you wanted to reach 9.0 dKH, but I would suggest you target something lower like 7.5 - 8.0 initially. This would be closer to natural levels and would be easier on the frags while you learn the ropes. Especially if you are hand dosing. Lots of issues can arise with SPS at high alkalinity values when nutrients are low or unstable, which can occur frequently in new tanks.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 28, 2022

Coralguy777 said:
Will I not hurt my or crash my tank I read that not to raise all more than 1.4 per day?

No, that’s a misunderstanding.

If your tank consumes 1.4 dKH a day, then you must dose that much.

that said, you are way below that and appear to need to dose more.

Coralguy777 · Mar 28, 2022

Dennis Cartier said:
As Randy mentioned, you are probably not dosing enough to get the result you are looking for. Here is a calculator to help you get an idea of the amounts required. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

Just to give you a bit of background on what to expect, the higher the alkalinity, the more you need to dose to keep it at that level. With a large quantity of frags (or colonies), the alkalinity will be pulled down faster and faster as they increase their consumption based on the alkalinity level spurring faster growth. Be prepared to have to keep raising your daily dose to adjust for changes in growth.

I know you have said you wanted to reach 9.0 dKH, but I would suggest you target something lower like 7.5 - 8.0 initially. This would be closer to natural levels and would be easier on the frags while you learn the ropes. Especially if you are hand dosing. Lots of issues can arise with SPS at high alkalinity values when nutrients are low or unstable, which can occur frequently in new tanks.

Thx so much for this my tank has been running 10+ yrs just got a lot of frags cut and never had to dose before just water changes did the trick brs talk about a9 dkh is the reason why I was willing to try to get there but from my local reefers and now yourself also suggested to be at 7.5 to 8.0same as he said I'll do the less complicated versions and keep it at 7.5 I'm almost there ph is stable cal is great and mag just my alk I have used sooooo much I was scared I'm overdosing but no I got different tests all were around the same thx again for the chart real help ful