UK_Pete
Active Member
I've succeeded in raising my pH to 8.4, nitrates to 2 ppm, phos 0.01, and run Ca at 550, alk at 9 dkh, salinity 35 ppm, temp 27 C (81 F), but I'm still not getting any abiotic precipitation anywhere in the tank, even on the heater and pumps, and with the low biotic calcium carbonate precip I have, with virtually no coralline, and few frags, I feel in a chicken and egg situation to try to get some calcium precip of some type.
The short question (rational underneath if you want to know) is can anyone think of any ways for me to trigger abiotic precipitation in my tank without raising alk? Like adding really fine calcium carbonate crystals (purple up got me thinking that), or something like that? Although the fine crystals seem like a PITA if they would work and nothing else would I would try it. The only way I can think otherwise without using OH would be electrolysis but it seems like a lot of work to do that safely. I dpnt have enough carbonate consumption to use kalk at the moment.
Reasoning:
I think I need calcium carbonate precip of some type to do 'something' because successful tanks seem to reach a tipping point where things start getting successful once a critical mass of SPS / coralline growth is reached. Unless its something like corals releasing chemicals which stimulate growth, which seem unlikely, then the precipitation of calcium carbonate must be removing something from the water - like organics or phosphate perhaps. I dont know but I would like to trigger some abiotic precipitation in the tank to see if it helps. But I shouldent raise my Ca or alk any further and my pH is optimal it seems.
With the above parameters, most others seem to have abiotic precip problems (if only!). So perhaps something is inhibiting it in my tank. And perhaps that thing is also inhibiting biotic precip in the coralline in my tank and slowing its growth to glacial speeds. And perhaps, as I have read a lot about, something is poisoning the surface of growing precip, so that if I can trigger some abiotic precip, I can bury this contaminant (whatever it is) in the growing abiotic mass of calcium carbonate and get rid of it.
The short question (rational underneath if you want to know) is can anyone think of any ways for me to trigger abiotic precipitation in my tank without raising alk? Like adding really fine calcium carbonate crystals (purple up got me thinking that), or something like that? Although the fine crystals seem like a PITA if they would work and nothing else would I would try it. The only way I can think otherwise without using OH would be electrolysis but it seems like a lot of work to do that safely. I dpnt have enough carbonate consumption to use kalk at the moment.
Reasoning:
I think I need calcium carbonate precip of some type to do 'something' because successful tanks seem to reach a tipping point where things start getting successful once a critical mass of SPS / coralline growth is reached. Unless its something like corals releasing chemicals which stimulate growth, which seem unlikely, then the precipitation of calcium carbonate must be removing something from the water - like organics or phosphate perhaps. I dont know but I would like to trigger some abiotic precipitation in the tank to see if it helps. But I shouldent raise my Ca or alk any further and my pH is optimal it seems.
With the above parameters, most others seem to have abiotic precip problems (if only!). So perhaps something is inhibiting it in my tank. And perhaps that thing is also inhibiting biotic precip in the coralline in my tank and slowing its growth to glacial speeds. And perhaps, as I have read a lot about, something is poisoning the surface of growing precip, so that if I can trigger some abiotic precip, I can bury this contaminant (whatever it is) in the growing abiotic mass of calcium carbonate and get rid of it.
