Next steps after stopping dosing for 3 days for precipitation?

[techhnyne]

It is normal for alk demand to rise as pH rises. Whether it is excessive or not may be best judged by looking at things like gardening sand or seizing pumps.

What do you mean by gardening sand?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What do you mean by gardening sand?

lol

I meant hardening sand. iphone correction issues.

 

[techhnyne]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
Maybe you can help me because triton customer support is aweful and they wont answer my questions

im still getting slight precipitation but not as bad as before but i see it in rocks and even on my glass

what exactly are the active ingredients in triton parts A and B. And what is the active ingredient in the Calcium. Do you happen to know?

Also. Whats difference between dosing nahco3 and just co3? Triton sells both as alk boosters. But should i dose these with the core7 to keep precipitation to minimum?

 

[Genetics]

Any thought to just doing a water change to help bring back your levels? I had a similar issue not too long ago with IO and switched to their reef crystal brand. Solved my issue with precipitation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
Maybe you can help me because triton customer support is aweful and they wont answer my questions

im still getting slight precipitation but not as bad as before but i see it in rocks and even on my glass

what exactly are the active ingredients in triton parts A and B. And what is the active ingredient in the Calcium. Do you happen to know?

Also. Whats difference between dosing nahco3 and just co3? Triton sells both as alk boosters. But should i dose these with the core7 to keep precipitation to minimum?

The components would be calcium chloride and for alk, either sodium carbonae or bicarbonate.

Baking soda/sodium bicarbonate will not raise pH and is the thing to use. Sodium carbonate raises ph and isn't the thing to use when precipitation is an issue.

FWIW, Triton now sells a bunch of different ways to maintain alk and calcium.

 

[techhnyne]

Any thought to just doing a water change to help bring back your levels? I had a similar issue not too long ago with IO and switched to their reef crystal brand. Solved my issue with precipitation.

water changed have been done and once I get to the save PH and ALK i get precipitation. maybe if I just take myco2 scrubber offline it doesnt happen as much

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

water changed have been done and once I get to the save PH and ALK i get precipitation. maybe if I just take myco2 scrubber offline it doesnt happen as much

Lower pH always reduces precipitation a lot.

I don't think water changes to maintain alk is a better way than dosing sodium bicarbonate in this context, and it is substantially more expensive.

 

[Genetics]

water changed have been done and once I get to the save PH and ALK i get precipitation. maybe if I just take myco2 scrubber offline it doesnt happen as much

Which salt are you using? Also what levels are you shooting for?

 

[techhnyne]

Which salt are you using? Also what levels are you shooting for?

Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt

Im trying to be like 8.5dkh and 8.0-8.4 PH but my swings are 7.9-8.4PH midday - midnight

I just want to be somewhere I see nice growth because currently not too much

 

[Genetics]

Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt

Im trying to be like 8.5dkh and 8.0-8.4 PH but my swings are 7.9-8.4PH midday - midnight

I just want to be somewhere I see nice growth because currently not too much

From Tropic Marin website on salts:



When is your pH dipping? Overnight or during the day?

Just thumbed through a bunch of your posts. This is a 10g AIO. What skimmer is it that you use? I see you were battling hair algae at one point.

After looking at the picture of your tank I don’t see any corals that will need constant additives. Your goal should really focus on dropping phosphates, keeping water aerated, and buffering your system with a higher alk salt.

Tropic Marin is a good salt and small weekly water changes will best suit your aquarium size. I would focus on dropping nitrates and phosphates in the aquarium. You’ll know when these come under control as the hair algae turns white and dissipates.

Also, looking at Triton Other method, it is meant to supplement a refugium or like export (I am thinking algae scrubber). If you don’t have either I cannot see these addictive being helpful.

 

[techhnyne]

From Tropic Marin website on salts:



When is your pH dipping? Overnight or during the day?

Just thumbed through a bunch of your posts. This is a 10g AIO. What skimmer is it that you use? I see you were battling hair algae at one point.

After looking at the picture of your tank I don’t see any corals that will need constant additives. Your goal should really focus on dropping phosphates, keeping water aerated, and buffering your system with a higher alk salt.

Tropic Marin is a good salt and small weekly water changes will best suit your aquarium size. I would focus on dropping nitrates and phosphates in the aquarium. You’ll know when these come under control as the hair algae turns white and dissipates.

Also, looking at Triton Other method, it is meant to supplement a refugium or like export (I am thinking algae scrubber). If you don’t have either I cannot see these addictive being helpful.

I am using a icecap nano skimmer it works well. I dont have any algae issues its all under control currently.
here is my PH swings. I run lights from 12 noon to 11:30pm. i would like to somehow figure out a more steady PH swing between day and night.
My nitrates and phosphates are pretty decent.
no3 15ppm.

Ill add pics of my tank when light comes on. I have a new phone and no pics yet.

Triton has said their products are meant to be used even without a refugium on other methods

 

[Genetics]

I am using a icecap nano skimmer it works well. I dont have any algae issues its all under control currently.
here is my PH swings. I run lights from 12 noon to 11:30pm. i would like to somehow figure out a more steady PH swing between day and night.
My nitrates and phosphates are pretty decent.
no3 15ppm.

Ill add pics of my tank when light comes on. I have a new phone and no pics yet.

Triton has said their products are meant to be used even without a refugium on other methods

Your lights start dimming around 19:00? If so, and this makes sense, your pH climbs during daylight like many aquariums. The simplest way to smooth out pH would be to use a topoff with kalk in it. Set the apex to only allow it to run from 8pm to 11am at a slow rate. You can use any pH raising solution. If you are using 2-part I would use the calcium side during light-on hours.

And I stand by my earlier comment on using a salt with higher alk. Tropic Marin classic would be a good mix 1:1 with your current pro for water changes until you use up your pro. Randy has a write up I imagine on the correlation between pH and Alk.

 

[techhnyne]

Your lights start dimming around 19:00? If so, and this makes sense, your pH climbs during daylight like many aquariums. The simplest way to smooth out pH would be to use a topoff with kalk in it. Set the apex to only allow it to run from 8pm to 11am at a slow rate. You can use any pH raising solution. If you are using 2-part I would use the calcium side during light-on hours.

And I stand by my earlier comment on using a salt with higher alk. Tropic Marin classic would be a good mix 1:1 with your current pro for water changes until you use up your pro. Randy has a write up I imagine on the correlation between pH and Alk.

Here is pic

of tank

 

[Genetics]

Here is pic

of tank

Coming along nicely! Okay I do see some montis in there. Could you schedule your dosing to help curve changes in pH?

 

[techhnyne]

Coming along nicely! Okay I do see some montis in there. Could you schedule your dosing to help curve changes in pH?

I could but i was under assumption a steady ALK is more important then PH swings. only other thing to help PH is Lakl topoff at night or get an algae reactor to run at night

 

[Genetics]

I could but i was under assumption a steady ALK is more important then PH swings. only other thing to help PH is Lakl topoff at night or get an algae reactor to run at night

Stable alk is important. From the looks of it you have it all coming together. And honestly just a slight decrease on your alk and calcium supplement may be all you need to keep from another precipitation event. If you have an extra doser and port for your apex running a small amount of kalk overnight would mitigate your pH decline. But… you need to be careful as too much at once will cause a precipitation event.

 

[Genetics]

I could but i was under assumption a steady ALK is more important then PH swings. only other thing to help PH is Lakl topoff at night or get an algae reactor to run at night

Did you decide on a course?

 

[techhnyne]

Did you decide on a course?

Im thinking getting kalkwasser and another apex doser to dose ATO with kalk nightly for PH.
Seems like precipitation has settled a bit but i can still blow it off of my return tube and magnetic scrapper every day. I guess its impossible to not have any percititation?

 

[Genetics]

Im thinking getting kalkwasser and another apex doser to dose ATO with kalk nightly for PH.
Seems like precipitation has settled a bit but i can still blow it off of my return tube and magnetic scrapper every day. I guess it’s impossible to not have any percititation?

Seems like a good plan. Once kalk is dialed in you’ll like it. With the values you posted you really shouldn’t have precipitation unless it’s near your dosing lines.

 

[techhnyne]

Seems like a good plan. Once kalk is dialed in you’ll like it. With the values you posted you really shouldn’t have precipitation unless it’s near your dosing lines.

Seachem kalk any good?