I can't get alk to stabilize. losing sps weekly.

[secretreefer]

ok.
i've been battling my alk problem for the past 5 weeks. lost a bunch of prized sps, rainbow millie, pink millie, blue hoeki mini colony, etc..etc... even had to frag up my xl reefready grapejuice colony. :cry::cry:. anyways i noticed stn 5 weeks ago. upped my alk from 6dkh -8dkh in 5 days. then to 10dkh in another 4 days. was holding good at 10dkh and resumed dosing brightwells code A and B. seachem reefbuilder every 3 days (recommended dosing). 3 days ago i lost a deepwater deswali colony that was fine after i got my alk back on track. checked alk and it was 6dkh. what the heck???? used salifert and API tests. i never had this problem EVER. SPS pros assist! all parameters stable and i'll post exact numbers but basically normal. could it be my live rock or sand (rock 4 years old, sand 2 years old)

 

[Luisra]

Are you dosing Alk, and Ca every 3 days?!? By the way, I'm not a pro.

 

[VegasRick]

I have read this a couple times and still can't quite make out the time frame. Are you only dosing 2 part every 3 days? Should be done daily.
Sounds like
One) you aren't checking your alk often enough and
Two) You aren't dosing enough 2 part

 

[secretreefer]

sorry, . brightwells schedule- (tues, thurs, sat). reefbuilder schedule- mondays and thursdays. and yeah, i'm suspecting my 2part dosing is too low.
Code A and B pretty much same instructions. i estimated my tank to have about 150g of actual water in system. 30ml each being dosed on brightwells schedule above.

straight from instructions--------Add 5 ml (1 capful) of product per 25 US-gallons of aquarium water every other day or as needed to maintain the alkalinity within a range of 7 - 12 dKH

That's it. i'm downgrading to a smaller tank!! lol!

 

[-Logzor]

OK so you are dosing two different products to raise your alkalinity? What is the reef builder stuff?

I would suggesting figuring out the consumption rate of your aquarium. You want to figure out how much alkalinity is it using per day. The "Reef Chemistry Calculator" will help (google search).

What are your Ca levels? Your alkalinity decline is either due to consumption or a chemical imbalance between Ca/Mg/Alkalinity.

 

[Tab28]

My rocks and sand are older than that and no Alk issue like that in my tank. Your Ca and Mag, PH are in check? When I used 2 part when I have a heavy SPS tank I dosed every day and still had to supplement addtional Alk once a week. It was too much so I switched to a kalk drip.

 

[Luisra]

lol. brightwells every 2 days. reefbuilder every 3 days. mondays and thursdays

Sorry to hear that you lost many SPS! You HAVE to dose Ca, and alk (part A&B) everyday. If I miss a day, the alk will drop from 8 to 7,

 

[secretreefer]

Reef Builder™ raises carbonate alkalinity without immediately impacting on pH. With long term use there will be a tendency to stabilize at pH 8.3. Carbonates and calcium are essential to all coral growth. If either becomes deficient, coral growth will cease, followed by a rapid decline in coral health. Used as directed, Reef Builder™ will not deplete calcium, magnesium, or strontium which usually tend to precipitate with increasing alkalinity

 

[VegasRick]

I would skip the reefbuilder and stick with the 2 part. Use the DIY if it's getting too expensive. Like Logzor said figure out your consumption and dose daily, twice a day is even better. I have had a 2-3 dkh drop in a day in a 100g sps tank with good growth and thats fairly common.

 

[DeathWish302]

I've been dosing 2-Part for about 3 years now. I prefer to use a Kangaroo IV preistaltic pump to slowly administer the alk portion. If you have a low enough pH you could drip solution reduced in about a gallon of top-off once a night. As far as I'm concerned, the commercial preparations are NOT to be messed with and prefer the straight calcium chloride and baking soda system with Magflake and epsoms as the mag additive. I use about 30mL of the baking soda solution daily and maintain my alk around 10dKh. You can have shifts, but mine will NEVER shift more than 1dKh unit over 3-6 months. This is mainly due to usage my the corals. After you test, wait a week adding only a certain declared amount of additive. Measure again after a few days to determine usage per the volume you added. This will be a rough usage by your tank, but you should test your water weekly until you understand your chemistry. After some years, you'll be like me and test maybe once every 2-3 months. After awhile, the corals will show signs or change and you can react w/o running for the test kit. Phosphate still creeps up on me and I wake up to some green stuff on the overflow.

I would suggest a consistent method of dosing DAILY and ditch the black magic elixirs. I prefer to know exactly what I'm receiving btach to batch and can by mixing my own solutions. That's just my opinion and I prefer the DIY types as they are far cheaper when dosing large amounts.

 

[secretreefer]

thanks guys for all the input,l really appreciate it. i will continue to test every day. should i mix up a new batch of water? (25 gallons redsea coral pro salt) and add it ?

 

[-Logzor]

thanks guys for all the input,l really appreciate it. i will continue to test every day. should i mix up a new batch of water? (25 gallons redsea coral pro salt) and add it ?

I should ask. Is your alkalinity solution dissolving all the way when you dose it? Does it go into a nice white cloud then disappear?

Sometimes if you CA is super high or your chemicals are out of balance your alkalinity will precipitate immediately and have a lessened effect on the water chemistry.

 

[secretreefer]

yeah the reefbuilder usually dissolves completely except for a few granulated sugar sized pieces. yup nice white cloud. .... my CA is kinda high so maybe......hmmm.......

 

[Murfman]

What is your Mg at? Fluctuating Mg will have effect of not getting Alk/Ca in balance.

 

[secretreefer]

im at the office right now so ill post some numbers when i get home. i'm pretty sure my mg isn't fluctuating tho.

 

[Redstag]

Is this Res Sea Coral Pro salt alk is more than 12 dkh?

thanks guys for all the input,l really appreciate it. i will continue to test every day. should i mix up a new batch of water? (25 gallons redsea coral pro salt) and add it ?

 

[AcroholicReefer]

secretreefer, why are you dosing so much if you are getting negative results?

I haven't dosed anything in years except for magnesium and all I run is a kalk reactor. There are very few systems out there than require Ca and alk supplements in addition to a nice kalk reactor with a great mixing pump. Not saying that sps systems cannot be ran off of part A and part B alone, but you will spend the rest of the hobby chasing numbers. Then add the extra cost from the supplements, extra test kits, and the lovely extra labor that is involved in dosing supplements compared to kalk alone.

I have seen really nice systems that are ran off of dosing alone but it just isn't for me. The "set it and forget it" method and the "freedom of going out of town for 5 days at a time method" has always worked for me. HTH

 

[secretreefer]

i've been dosing (c-balance and brighwells back and forth) for the past 2 years and this is the first time i'm having any sps STN/chem problems. lol first time i'm stressing about this! LOL. that's why i was questioning maybe live rock or sand had to play a part in this b/c i haven't made any significant changes. my sps usually grow fast and have pretty decent coloration. idk. i've stopped dosing a/b since i last tested and am just trying to get my alk back up to 10. i'm thinking about investing in a kalk reactor too since I got quite a bit of sps growing. i do have a aquamedic 2xpump doser. i'll be setting that guy up this weekend fo sho.

secretreefer, why are you dosing so much if you are getting negative results?

I haven't dosed anything in years except for magnesium in a long time and all I run is a kalk reactor. There are very few systems out there than require Ca and alk supplements in addition to a nice kalk reactor with a great mixing pump. Not saying that sps systems cannot be ran off of part A and part B alone, but you will spend the rest of the hobby chasing numbers. Then add the extra cost from the supplements, extra test kits, and the lovely extra labor that is involved in dosing supplements compared to kalk alone.

I have seen really nice systems that are ran off of dosing alone but it just isn't for me. The "set it and forget it" method and the "freedom of going out of town for 5 days at a time method"have always worked for me. HTH

 

[secretreefer]

hey bro, haven't chatted since i sent u the redbug tabs! Hope all is well. i'm not sure about the dkh. this will be the first time i'm using it as w/c new water so i was planning on mixing it today and testing alk, etc..etc... on it tonight after it got good and mixed up.

Is this Res Sea Coral Pro salt alk is more than 12 dkh?

 

[AcroholicReefer]

i'm thinking about investing in a kalk reactor too since I got quite a bit of sps growing.

I bought my first kalk reactor in 2007 and I have ran one on my sps systems ever since. If you get a decent kalk reactor like a GEO or Precision Marine, along with a pH monitor, it will make a world of a difference.