What is sucking up Alk?

[Emma01]

How is your Ca doing? Are you seeing a similar trend downward with it? I am asking because I have been seeing my alk go down, but my Ca is not. I too use GFO, and now I'm wondering if all this alk drop is due to that. That would explain why my Ca keeps going up but Alk down ( I dose Kalk to try and raise my alk). As far as SPS go, I have been going through some slight swings as well, and I have seen my Montipora grow and thrive as well as birdsnest. You can look at Monti's too. I cannot believe your tank is three years old and has no Coraline! You are very patient!

My Ca stays between 320-375.
I have been very patient with the hobby, and like most of us, have had heartbreaks (my 3 year old fatty of a clownfish jamp out of tank overnight) .
I love the hobby though. Love seeing my inhabitants grown and thrive. It’s just corals if like to master now

 

[Emma01]

Does the rock show signs of purpling in color? You have something beginning to utilize the major elements, my bet would be coralline. Keep a monitor on it. Most those results are in the range of the test kits, but trending downward indicates to me there is usage.

Birdsnests are about the easiest of the SPS to dabble in for starters.

Hi are monipora any good for beginner SPS keeping?. Any tips for keeping/long term success of these.?
I’d like something to be able to cover rock work over time.
Thanks all

 

[RobZilla04]

Hi are monipora any good for beginner SPS keeping?. Any tips for keeping/long term success of these.?
I’d like something to be able to cover rock work over time.
Thanks all

Yes I started with a couple of those as well. Very hardy.

 

[Emma01]

Yes I started with a couple of those as well. Very hardy.

Thanks
Which ones shall I stay away from to begin with?
Emma

 

[RobZilla04]

Thanks
Which ones shall I stay away from to begin with?
Emma

I'm not the best with names of specific corals. If you go to the LFS typically they can help you pick out some of the easier SPS branching and plating corals. As a general rule stay away from expensive/designer pieces. Those can be far more sensitive and harder to keep. Not to mention if one of the $5 or $10 dollar frags doesn't make it, you wont be too upset. Lose a $50-$100+ and the frustration with the hobby grows quickly.

 

[Emma01]

I'm not the best with names of specific corals. If you go to the LFS typically they can help you pick out some of the easier SPS branching and plating corals. As a general rule stay away from expensive/designer pieces. Those can be far more sensitive and harder to keep. Not to mention if one of the $5 or $10 dollar frags doesn't make it, you wont be too upset. Lose a $50-$100+ and the frustration with the hobby grows quickly.

Thanks for your help. Looking forward to starting SPS keeping

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Check your Mg. It may be low.

 

[lapin]

Hi are monipora any good for beginner SPS keeping?. Any tips for keeping/long term success of these.?
I’d like something to be able to cover rock work over time.
Thanks all

This is not a SPS but a LPS. The chalice coral can cover quite a large area over time.

 

[lapin]

Thanks
Which ones shall I stay away from to begin with?
Emma

A good rule of thumb on SPS. The higher the price for a frag you need a looking glass to see. The harder it will be to keep.

 

[Emma01]

A good rule of thumb on SPS. The higher the price for a frag you need a looking glass to see. The harder it will be to keep.

A looking glass !
Thanks though, I’ll look for the cheaper frags

 

[lapin]

You laugh, I have 2 of them. One is hand held the other is one of the jewelry lights. Wait til you get old *-}
I take the hand held to frag shows to see what others are spending the bank on.

 

[Icylder]

Yes!

I'm running chemipure blue. I haven't noticed any measurable decrease in my alkalinity using the salifert test kit between water changes. The accuracy with the kit is in 0.3 dKH increments which might explain why... My tank only has two Percula Clownfish right now. Is there any resource on how Chemipure sucks up alkalinity? Does this mean I have to get rid of the chemipure before I add SPS or LPS coral?

 

[lapin]

I'm running chemipure blue. Is there any resource on how Chemipure sucks up alkalinity? Does this mean I have to get rid of the chemipure before I add SPS or LPS coral?

Post 15 in the thread
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/2/chemistry

If you read the article you will see GFO can change Alk. The amount in your case is prob not that big a deal. Nothing to worry about unless you are border line low to start with.

 

[Bradley Keck]

My Ca stays between 320-375.
I have been very patient with the hobby, and like most of us, have had heartbreaks (my 3 year old fatty of a clownfish jamp out of tank overnight) .
I love the hobby though. Love seeing my inhabitants grown and thrive. It’s just corals if like to master now

I'm so sorry to hear about your clownfish. That is really sad. I love my clown fish pair. One suggestion I would have is to get your Ca up into the 400 + range and like another reefer suggested, check your Mg and make sure it is around 1300 or so before you add any SPS. In general, when I started adding SPS, I stayed away from acropora's and added one plating montipora. A good starter SPS IMO. This allowed me to see how my system was doing in regards to SPS. Once I saw the red monti encrust onto the rock I glued it too and start growing, I added a birds nest and another monti. I have just kept slowly adding as the frags I get acclimate and show signs of growth and coloration. I know have 16 SPS frags an d just did add my first acropora, but have stopped adding since I am seeing my parameters start to drop. Not going to add any more until I get stabilized again. Good luck! Just remember to bring those levels up a little first

 

[rushbattle]

Post 15 in the thread
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/2/chemistry

If you read the article you will see GFO can change Alk. The amount in your case is prob not that big a deal. Nothing to worry about unless you are border line low to start with.

Plus one to this comment. It’s not clear, but it could be that it has even less effect on alk as PO4 concentration goes up in the water.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

I had the same problem as you when I used 2 part on my old 25 gallon. For some reason my substrate was sucking all the alk and some calcium out of the water and the sand turned hard as a rock pretty bizarre. I did have precipitation problems and when I switched to calcium reactor I never had the same problem on my big tank.