Rapidly increasing Alk consumption worries

pdxmonkeyboy · Dec 5, 2018

hey gang, i have a 280g display that is 80% sps. 400g total volume, gfo, heavy skimming, and a large fuge and high power chaeto illumination-harvest. i also dose 110ml vinegar/day.

current parameters
8.1-8.3 ph
nitrate 4ppm
phos 0.01
cal 440
dkh 7.9
mag..now 1600

my tank has been doing well and everything is growing. i had a triton test lately and added some trace elements based on the test.

what has me concerned is my alk consumption. 2 weeks ago it was 110ml a day (brs 2 part). alk was falling so i increased. then increased again, and again. every increase doesnt really seem to make a significant dent. meaning I increase about 10ml a day dosing but then have to dump a little extra in and increase more to hold the alk steady.

i checked my mag and added more just to be on the safe side. i also tried a new bottle of hanah reagent and got the same result.

normal for an sps tank or should i be looking at something else?

thanks.

TX_Punisher · Dec 5, 2018

Time for a calcium reactor. ;Woot

Clearly things are growing and consuming alk and growing. Up your dosing to keep up with the demand.

Sounds like a nice tank.

saltyfilmfolks · Dec 5, 2018

If you do the math in dKH rather than mil used , what is the increase?

pdxmonkeyboy · Dec 5, 2018

saltyfilmfolks said:
If you do the math in dKH rather than mil used , what is the increase?

it has gone up about .2dkh in 2 weeks. Just didnt want to keep adding when it was something else.

i knew this total newb who kept dosing alk and it wouldnt go up. he finally tested mag and it shot through the roof (ok, that newb was me)

Martin Kuhn · Dec 5, 2018

As posted already, it makes total sense to look at the dKH and Ca consumption per day.
An amount of dosed ml per day has always to be recalculated by the water Volume and the recipe used (type of ingredients and it’s concentration within the stock solution)

.2dKH per day is very low.
SPS stuffed tanks can easily consume 1,5 dKH a day