My issue is that I cannot keep up with alkalinity consumption on my tank. I have gone from 50 ml per day to 200 ml per day in 3 months. I currently add about .75 gal of saturated Kalkwasser per day via an auto topoff and 200 ml per day of BRS Soda Ash and Calcium Carbonate via a doser in 24 intervals and am still having to dose extra every few days. My additional dosing only appears to raise the Alk about 25% of what I would expect. Both CA and Alk are dosed into the sump between the skimmer and pump chambers. My goal is 8.3 dkh but I struggle to keep it above 7. I recently stopped all dosing for 6 hours (except Kalkwasser) and my dkh dropped 0.3. I was afraid to let it go anymore. PH is rock steady at 8.3 and Ca remains relatively stable around 425 ppm. Magnesium has measured 1350 - 1450 depending on the test kit or ICP. I have never added Mag in 2 years. Salinity is 35 ppm with Fritz salt. I perform a 20% water change every two weeks. I have minor build up on my heaters, pump housing and sump bottom which requires occasional cleaning. Tank temp is stable between 78°-78.5° (Thermometer in pic is 1° out of cal).
My tank is a 2 year old 110 gallon mixed reef with about 70 corals split evenly between softies, LPS and SPS. Most corals are 2-3 times a nice frag size except for a large Birds Nest, a 4" chalice and 4" Monti Cap. I have 5 other smaller chalices (2-3") as well and a few acros. I have decent coralline coverage on the rocks and the overflow box in the tank. The system has a 1.5" sandbed (very little clumping) and 80lbs of Real Reef rock in the display, 15lbs of rock in the sump and small fuge (alternately lit) and 3 large ceramic blocks in the sump. BRS high capacity GFO is in a reactor. I also dose a small amount of Aminos and Trace Colors every day via doser.
Pictures of tank and sump attached.
My consumption seems high compared to others posted on this site and it seems to be rising at a rate I cannot keep up with. Any thoughts on if this could be normal for my tank or if something is wrong?
My tank is a 2 year old 110 gallon mixed reef with about 70 corals split evenly between softies, LPS and SPS. Most corals are 2-3 times a nice frag size except for a large Birds Nest, a 4" chalice and 4" Monti Cap. I have 5 other smaller chalices (2-3") as well and a few acros. I have decent coralline coverage on the rocks and the overflow box in the tank. The system has a 1.5" sandbed (very little clumping) and 80lbs of Real Reef rock in the display, 15lbs of rock in the sump and small fuge (alternately lit) and 3 large ceramic blocks in the sump. BRS high capacity GFO is in a reactor. I also dose a small amount of Aminos and Trace Colors every day via doser.
Pictures of tank and sump attached.
My consumption seems high compared to others posted on this site and it seems to be rising at a rate I cannot keep up with. Any thoughts on if this could be normal for my tank or if something is wrong?
