Is this normal Alk consumption??

[Sabellafella]

Yes I do water changes, 20 gallons bi weekly.

What salt mix and around the times youve ben testing, has it right after water changes, before?

 

[Sabellafella]

Thats what I thought for a while, but I just got a new one last week and still the same issue. How can I check the concentration?

Dilute the sample 10/1 with rodi water. As simple as it is Itll take me forever to do the math with dilution n concentrations so randy could help you with that

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

What salt mix and around the times youve ben testing, has it right after water changes, before?

I use IO Reef Crystals, Ive been testing around all times, it pretty much always between 5-6dkh except when I just dosed which it goes to about 7-8dkh and then the next morning its back down to 5-6dkh. I feel like im just throwing away my Bionic since I have to dose so much .

 

[Sabellafella]

I use IO Reef Crystals, Ive been testing around all times, it pretty much always between 5-6dkh except when I just dosed which it goes to about 7-8dkh and then the next morning its back down to 5-6dkh. I feel like im just throwing away my Bionic since I have to dose so much .

Ive ben using bionic forever, just seems odd. How much are you dosing? How long after the initial dose do you test?

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

I originally dose 90ml of both parts twice a week. for the past 2-3weeks nows I raised the dose to 90ml every other day and still no fix. I test before dosing and after to see what affect the dose did. When I test after the dosing, it usually about 30min after I dosed

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Have you tried this kit on your new salt water to double check the kit?

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Have you tried this kit on your new salt water to double check the kit?

I havent tried the mag test kit on new salt water yet.

 

[Sabellafella]

I originally dose 90ml of both parts twice a week. for the past 2-3weeks nows I raised the dose to 90ml every other day and still no fix. I test before dosing and after to see what affect the dose did. When I test after the dosing, it usually about 30min after I dosed

My new tank has a bunch of small frags in it and it consumes 40.5 ml calc and 33.5 alk (alk is lower because water change water is higher) every day,116 total gallons so maybe your not going crazy. I would arise it to 9.0, wait 3 hours then start testing+ everyday after that. Start with 30-40 ml daily, then test 4 days later, if its still dropping up your dose. Maybe get a second oppinion on your test kit

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I havent tried the mag test kit on new salt water yet.

I meant the alk test.

 

[chriske99]

i think there is just nothing wrong with your tank.

i have a 130gallon sps reef and i dose 336ml of alk daily.

you are measuring to short after your dosing or you testkit is broke.

90ml of alk can max rise the alk of a 90gallon reef with little less then 1 Dkh.
you measure differences of 2 Dkh so that's a bad reading.

i dose 28ml of alk every 2 hours ( with a dosing pump ) and that keeps my alk rock solid on 7.8 and when it starts to drop to 7.5 ( happens every month or so because the corals grow) i ad every 2 hour 1ml.
so next step will be 29ml every 2 hour for me.
doing small doses every 2 hours keep your alk a lot steadier and that results in more growth and better colaration of your corals.

if you buy 1l solutions its gonna be a expensive hobby. ( then i would need 1 every 3 day's )
you can better buy NaHCO3 powder.
1kg ( don't now how many Lb that is ) will cost you 10 to 15 dollars but you can make 10L of the solution you are buying now buy just adding RO water to it.

think randy even has his own mixture

sorry if the English is bad but i'm trying