WHY

[Unitylover]

I tested all when cycling a tank a while back and I was shocked by how quickly it was consumed. I too thought something must be up. How long did you wait between doing the WC and testing? I never came to a conclusion about where my alk was going. Could have been bacteria, algae, or even some sort of inorganic binding to my rocks or something.

If you did the WC, waited a week and then tested and got a low result, my bet is you're seeing something similar.

If it's that (whatever "that" is) it will level out soon.

i do a WC weekly, so ill give params before and after my WC today, and my tank is cycled. 7 months old, 1 clown is in there

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I tested all when cycling a tank a while back and I was shocked by how quickly it was consumed. I too thought something must be up. How long did you wait between doing the WC and testing? I never came to a conclusion about where my alk was going. Could have been bacteria, algae, or even some sort of inorganic binding to my rocks or something.

If you did the WC, waited a week and then tested and got a low result, my bet is you're seeing something similar.

If it's that (whatever "that" is) it will level out soon.

Interesting!

 

[Chrisv.]

i do a WC weekly, so ill give params before and after my WC today, and my tank is cycled. 7 months old, 1 clown is in there

Got it. Let us know how it goes. I still think the expt I suggested above will be informative and is worth your time.

Be extra careful when you measure things for your test and buy a jug of distilled water from the grocery store to rinse off your supplies.

 

[Chrisv.]

Interesting!

I know that sounds nuts. I will say that I too had never bothered testing alk early on. After decades, I finally got a bunch of Hanna checkers and I was so jazzed about them that I let the water testing get a little out of hand.

 

[SlugSnorter]

My salifert test kit i got is faulty, it claims it expires in 2026, but it is reading fresh saltwater at 12.5, and reads my tank, with three 20-38 water changes done last week, with IO salt (which mixes at 10 DKH), at 6 DKH. My calcium is at approx 420.

don't you use tap water? that can cause it.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

i do a WC weekly, so ill give params before and after my WC today, and my tank is cycled. 7 months old, 1 clown is in there

You said you did a 50% WC last week... Was that all at once?

How long after the WC are you testing? Best to wait 12-24 hours.

 

[Unitylover]

You said you did a 50% WC last week... Was that all at once?

How long after the WC are you testing? Best to wait 12-24 hours.

its not all at once, it was every two days, chemiclean to kill my cyano

 

[SlugSnorter]

its not all at once, it was every two days, chemiclean to kill my cyano

chemiclean is more of a bandaid, it kills the cyano but also the competition so be careful of cyano returning in the future.

 

[Unitylover]

chemiclean is more of a bandaid, it kills the cyano but also the competition so be careful of cyano returning in the future.

it is growing back, I still need to find the source of it lol.

 

[SlugSnorter]

it is growing back, I still need to find the source of it lol.

once again, you would be much better off switching of tap water as it can fuel cyano growth and mess with params, you can even just use premix from the LFS (likely just around a dollar per gallon) until you can get a more permanent solution.

 

[Unitylover]

once again, you would be much better off switching of tap water as it can fuel cyano growth and mess with params, you can even just use premix from the LFS (likely just around a dollar per gallon) until you can get a more permanent solution.

Ill try and get distilled. (once I have a chance because of school and whatnot)

 

[Unitylover]

So before WC, it is 5.5 DKH. around that amount. Will prob post the WC amount in a few hours.
Also I heard kalkwasser has killed some peoples cyano, true or BS?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

it was going at 6DKH for my tank, but arent alk and calcium linked? calcium is fine, so is it wrong?

No, that’s not evidence of a faulty kit.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So before WC, it is 5.5 DKH. around that amount. Will prob post the WC amount in a few hours.
Also I heard kalkwasser has killed some peoples cyano, true or BS?

Kalk is not a recommended treatment for cyano.

 

[Unitylover]

Swapped to a new thread because i want to kinda Log the amounts.