PLEASE HELP, ALK @20.0

[A$AP-Reefer]

I'm not dosing anything. I only dosed my tank one time, I only do water changes to keep up with my levels, I notices a low cal and only dosed that.

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

It must be something to do with the esv, to be honest I never used this product. Is this similar to the balling method of aqua forest?where you have to dose equal amounts? If so this might be your culprit, I would just stop dosing everything and keep doing water changes. That should be sufficient for your tank, until everything is in control. Hopefully, someone here that uses this product can give in insight, if either even the calcium one as alk buffer added?

Yes I was only doing water changes to keep up with my intake levels, I noticed a spike and a low point in cal, I dosed that one time. Before that my water was cloudy a but and I figured something was off. I let it rock out and kept testing, my alk just kept going up and up and up throughout the week

 

[Henryb9]

What’s your magnesium? How often you test it?

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

What’s your magnesium? How often you test it?

Never test MAG never really have tbh. I didn't get it checked when I was at the fish store. I don't own a kit.

 

[Henryb9]

If I remember correctly when i first started the hobby, if my magnesium wasn’t within the regular range, my alk and calcium were giving different numbers.. maybe you should get it at-least checked today to see what your range is... well at least until you get the trident in Christmas.

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

If I remember correctly when i first started the hobby, if my magnesium wasn’t within the regular range, my alk and calcium were giving different numbers.. maybe you should get it at-least checked today to see what your range is... well at least until you get the trident in Christmas.

Yes, I understand and know that. But could be. This Definitely isn't the cause of the alkalinity going sky high and not stopping. Something else is the issue. After my 25g water change water is still cloudy , which sucks but honestly maybe it's the least of my worries. I haven't slept all night. This is how bad this is screwing with my head, I been in the hobby for 7 years now, loosing my cool this time Round!

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

If I remember correctly when i first started the hobby, if my magnesium wasn’t within the regular range, my alk and calcium were giving different numbers.. maybe you should get it at-least checked today to see what your range is... well at least until you get the trident in Christmas.

And I'm gonna get it checked after I take a nap some time soon, gonna hit the store and also check my alk and cal again In about an hour or 2.

 

[RVA REEF]

switch your salt to instant ocean purple

 

[92Miata]

Alk should be 0 in RODI top off so there is something in that water although IDK if 0.2 is enough to see the effects you are seeing. It is adding some alk with top off though.

The Hanna meter is nowhere near accurate enough to assume that 0.2 is not 0

 

[Tamberav]

The Hanna meter is nowhere near accurate enough to assume that 0.2 is not 0

That’s true. Regardless it is not the issue.

 

[Cell]

I'm a bit confused, you said repeatedly you didnt dose anything but then talked about how you raised your calcium because it was low?

Edit- Now I see you did reveal you dosed calcium. Kind of hard to follow when the info changes like this midstream.

 

[Cell]

Have you been monitoring nitrate during this increasing alk episode?

 

[RVA REEF]

I don't dose KALK. I dose ESV ALK & CAL. 50ml of that brings it to 420 from 204. in a matter of a day.

 

[dmy535]

Just some deductive reasoning, but I know you mentioned you dosed the calcium to raise it, how soon after this calcium dose did you notice the ALK spike? Was it same week? Or was this calcium dose several months back so we can assume it isn’t related? Cal/alk and mag are all components of each other so dosing one can spike another. Sorry you’re going through this

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If it were my tank I might try adding white vinegar to try and bring it down. But that might cause a bacterial bloom if you add too much

Vinegar does not permanently lower alkalinity. Once it is metabolized, the alk all comes back.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Okay, so I did the water change. From 20ppm to 14.1ppm which is the tank sitting at right now. I did not add any RODI water if that were the case of my problem but I don't think it is cause it's raised 11ppm within 3 days. So I am gonna not top off and see what it sits at around 6 hours from now. It shouldn't raise at all, if it does which I have a feeling it will... since it's been doing that then I have no clue or the solution to what is going on . To send out a ICP test and get results will take ages and I'll probably end up breaking down by then.. meaning myself , not the tank. I've never felt this frustrated and upset in a long time.

Let's see what happens going forward.

Be sure the RO/DI is 0 ppm TDS as tap water can add a lot of alk.

 

[schuby]

I use ESV 2-part. Is it possible that you hand-dosed some Alk instead of Calcium? The bottles and labels are nearly identical except for the wording. I use a doser, but I make myself check the bottles twice before refilling.

How about this. Did you dose Calcium (because it was low) a day or two before this Alk-event started? I'm just trying to present a possible avenue for this to have reasonably occurred.

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

1:39am I did the water change eith the saltwater mix from a very reputable store which the alk was mixed at 8.5 in their saltwater mix they have. After 1 hour of the water change I went ahead and tested the tanks alkalinity from 20ppm where it was climbing before the water change, after testing I see the ALK had decreased to 14.1ppm which dropped it a whole 6ppm From using the 25G of the pre made stores saltwater they sold me.

It is now 5:40pm I went ahead and tested the water just about 16 hours ago, way more then enough time to have a stable number in ALK , I tested 15.6 and then again I tested right after 15.7! How? How is my ALK still climbing ? Either I am making no sense, which I under stand I'm a bit all over the place and I'm sorry.

•first check

•seccond check.

I'm just panicking and not knowing what to do! I don't wanna lose any more of my pets =/ i lost 4 mushrooms over night, a few frags of zoas, my anemone is on the run and moved, my yellow tang not has something on the top of its head where it meets its fin. All the other fish seem to be fine, everyone is swimming and eating. All my coral looks like poop.. I only see the bright red mini colony on my bright red satosa which its looking like it's getting burned. All my acans, blastos and frogspawn are no starting or rtn or burn but are kinda closed up. My plate coral is fat and puffy with a faint orange ring and the color to the body is no more noticeable its completely bleached. The rosebubble tip is still colored, my chalices look to be fine.

Pictures underneath this

• photos of my sandsifting starfish

All photos were just taken now besides the starfish photos besides one with the cloudy photo if the starfish.


•photos of the plate coral now bleaching

•photos of the satosa looking like it's getting burned

•Photos of the acans.

•Photos of the blastos and chalices

•Picture of my frogspawn which is normally like 7" fully open and thriving. Recently just split 2 heads.

• pictures of the gonis as well some of the shrooms and rainbow hammer.

• skimmer after cleaning it at 2am until now it's definitely working harder then normal.

•FTS the water is way more Hazzy then the photo seen its very cloudy can't pick it up for some reason.

one major thing I noticed this past week of this happening. My sandsifting starfish has been really weird lately. It's moving in a way I never seen a starfish move before , it's center of its body is sticking up and all the limbs are like on tippy toes.

•This photo Was before everything started happening.

• This photo was just taken current , can kinda see how cloudy the water is. About 12" to the back from the glass.

For those who asked,
no I did not test the CAL yet. Also, didn't have any time to make it to the fishstore today =/

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

The Hanna meter is nowhere near accurate enough to assume that 0.2 is not 0

Highly true, but this is definitely cant be the issue.

 

[A$AP-Reefer]

Also a side note , after the water change its been 16hours as stated, i have not added any RODI water for those wondering about the. .02 testing straight from the blue line of the RODI system.