How do I keep Alk up without calcifying my sand?

[hannernanner]

Hey everyone,
I'm navigating the fourth month of my new tank, trying to get it stabilized. I've been frustrated with the inconsistency of my dKH measurements. The 130 gallon system seems to consume a ton of alk with no real cause to do so. I have five tiny frags, all soft corals except one Duncan. I have yet to see even a hint of coralline algae. I am on the tail end of a hair algae outbreak. My nitrates and phosphates have been so low that I was dosing to keep them up. I do water changes every three weeks. For the last two months my alk has been tanking. I'll test right after a water change, the highest I can get is 7.7dKH, even thought the Tropic Marin Classic salt I use should mix up higher than that. So at first I started dosing the alkalinity half of a two-part system, since calcium levels didn't need adjusting I only dosed the alk. dKH would drop as much as 1dKH in 24 hours, so I started dosing to keep it between 7.2-7.7. I realized I was going to use up a lot of the two part solution so I switched to baked baking soda for a while. Could barely keep the dKH above 7.5, even dosing daily. I check calcium weekly and it is never being consumed at the same rate. The sand has been calcifying. So, after the most recent water change, I quit dosing everything. I'm so confused, and no matter how many articles I read, I don't understand why my alk continues to be in free fall no matter what I do!

 

[stanleo]

I use Soda ash from BRS. It is less costly that the two part stuff out there because you can buy in bulk. Best thing you can do is get yourself an auto dosing pump. Mine allows me to dose small increments at regular intervals every day. Just test alk, wait exactly 24 hrs and test again. That will tell you how much your system uses in a day. Then divide that by five or six and set the dosing pump to go off every four hours. I wish I would have gotten one sooner. BRS has a calculator that tells you how much of the soda ash solution you need to raise your alk.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I go through a lot of this stuff and this deal has lasted me four months and I have only used two pouches.

Pharma Soda Ash 1-Gallon Mix (5 Pack)

Ultra-pure Grade Soda Ash for 2-part dosing in your reef tank! Bulk Reef Supply 2-part additives are the perfect solution to replenish the intake of calcium and alkalinity coral consumes when it grows. Using only pharmaceutical grade ingredients allows you to keep a cleaner reef with fewer...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[stanleo]

Lots of things use up alk in the tank and some even precipitates out if I remember correctly. and around the 6 month mark is when I noticed my alk taking a nose dive as well.

 

[hannernanner]

I use Soda ash from BRS. It is less costly that the two part stuff out there because you can buy in bulk. Best thing you can do is get yourself an auto dosing pump. Mine allows me to dose small increments at regular intervals every day. Just test alk, wait exactly 24 hrs and test again. That will tell you how much your system uses in a day. Then divide that by five or six and set the dosing pump to go off every four hours. I wish I would have gotten one sooner. BRS has a calculator that tells you how much of the soda ash solution you need to raise your alk.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I go through a lot of this stuff and this deal has lasted me four months and I have only used two pouches.

Pharma Soda Ash 1-Gallon Mix (5 Pack)

Ultra-pure Grade Soda Ash for 2-part dosing in your reef tank! Bulk Reef Supply 2-part additives are the perfect solution to replenish the intake of calcium and alkalinity coral consumes when it grows. Using only pharmaceutical grade ingredients allows you to keep a cleaner reef with fewer...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

That makes sense, but in this case I don’t see how my tank is “consuming” alkalinity in the expected way.

 

[stanleo]

This is the pump I have. It is amazingly simple and reliable.

 

[OrangeCountyReefer]

What are you using to test

 

[hannernanner]

What are you using to test

The Hanna checker, thought the reagent might be bad so I ordered new reagent, I’ve used the whole bottle at this point since I’m testing every other day. So I’ve got new reagent ordered again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here's a copy and paste from a similar situation:

I would not be certain the issue is ongoing precipitation, but it might be. Sand clumping does not prove it to be currently happening. Sand hardening happens initially when the tank is set up then slows as the sand becomes covered in organics, magnesium, and phosphate, but here is my standard recommendation to reduce precipitation on sand, heaters, pumps, etc:

If you are concerned about abiotic precipitation, then ways to stop it are:

1. Stop dosing alk for a bit and let it decline.
2. Reduce pH by switching to a low pH alk mix like sodium bicarbonate, or a calcium organic such as Tropic Marin All for Reef.
3. Ensure magnesium is normal to high.
4. Keep organics and phosphate on the high side.

After a few days of not dosing alk, restart slowly, adding additives to a very high flow area so it mixes in fast.

 

[OrangeCountyReefer]

The Hanna checker, thought the reagent might be bad so I ordered new reagent, I’ve used the whole bottle at this point since I’m testing every other day. So I’ve got new reagent ordered again.

I have salifert test kits to compare with Hanna instruments just to be safe. May wanna get a salifert one too just to be safe

 

[DanM1029]

Here's a copy and paste from a similar situation:

I would not be certain the issue is ongoing precipitation, but it might be. Sand clumping does not prove it to be currently happening. Sand hardening happens initially when the tank is set up then slows as the sand becomes covered in organics, magnesium, and phosphate, but here is my standard recommendation to reduce precipitation on sand, heaters, pumps, etc:

If you are concerned about abiotic precipitation, then ways to stop it are:

1. Stop dosing alk for a bit and let it decline.
2. Reduce pH by switching to a low pH alk mix like sodium bicarbonate, or a calcium organic such as Tropic Marin All for Reef.
3. Ensure magnesium is normal to high.
4. Keep organics and phosphate on the high side.

After a few days of not dosing alk, restart slowly, adding additives to a very high flow area so it mixes in fast.

Would you recommend just breaking up the clumps in the sand bed if possible, or will that release a bunch of pent up alkalinity/calcium. Do you need to remove the clumped sand?

 

[Waters]

That is one of the main reasons I switched to BB. I was dosing almost triple the ALK in my last tank to my current BB one, which has double the coral. Once I tore it down, I had large areas under and around the rockwork that turned to cement. With BB, my ALK consumption has remained very stable in the year it has been set up, other than slight increases to coincide with SPS growth. I personally would (and did) remove the clumps.