Cal and alk

[Nanoreef15]

Your sps have problems with that alk level?

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[Chris A.]

Yup
They tend to like it around 8


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[Nixperience]

Do you use kalkwasser or just water changes?

 

[luu78]

I think stopping the vinegar dosing should be the next thing to do if you really want to know the answer as to what caused the alk/calcium increase rate is higher than the livestock consumption rate. I can only suspect the vinegar is breaking the calcium carbonate down thus increasing the alk/calcium levels based on your feedback. If not, then 2 WCs should bring the numbers down to normal. Monitor alk level every 3 days and it should go down gradually. Calcium should drop naturally as well. Once alk hits 8-8.5, maintain them with 2 parts to keep steady. Based on the drop rate, you should know the daily consumption and refer to reef calculator for two parts dosing. My SPS got alk burn just by a gradual increase in alk without my knowledge. My auto doser for calcium pump jammed awhile back. When I realized my montis were stressed,the alk measurement was at 9-9.5 when it had always been around 7.5-8. I noticed that if I keep my 2 part containers ABOVE the dosing pumps, they work much much more reliably. If the containers are BELOW the dosing pumps, sometimes the pump loses suction and doesnt pump the correct amount required.


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[Chris A.]

I'm going to do a massive water change this weekend and put it where I want it.
I asked Randy Holmes about the vinegar increasing alk and calcium and he said it wouldn't be possible at the amount we dose our tanks , he uses .5 l in his a day lol

 

[luu78]

How big is his system? 1000 plus gallon? I only use 6 ml of NO3PO4x in my 75g DT with nitrates around 5 ppm. Hmmm, after all, we use vinegar to break down calcium build up in our equipments such as heaters etc...I wonder what could increase your numbers. And you're sure the test kits are accurate enough right? Hehe. Good night


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[Chris A.]

Not sure what would increase it , think he has a 100 DT with sump and frag tank
Either way I'm just going to shock everything once and get down to where I'd like it, tired of chasing a ghost lol

 

[nemodan]

With a massive WC be prepare to lose some SPS, probable.

A,decrease of Alk so suddenly can be catastrophic.

Again, unless you have high nutrients ....stop the vinegar.

Stop any other dosing and let the Alk goes down, naturally or help it with small WCs with no more than a 1 dkh reduction every other day.

Do things slowly.

 

[dz6t]

View attachment 113902

From this table, the regular IO salt looks pretty darn good to me. Where is this table from?

 

[Chris A.]

Just a quick search and a bunch of them pop up
All pretty much the same

 

[Docstach]

I think you are making too much of this and if you are not careful will make things worse. Remember stability is key, not necessarily the exact numbers. There are plenty of great SPS reef tanks that run ALK on the higher side. I would just stop dosing and do you normal water changes and see if it gradually goes down (but I certainly am not an expert).

 

[dz6t]

Provided the table is current, I would prefer to use regular IO salt than reef crystal.


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[Chris A.]

Io's alk is way lower, probably 7


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[gurumasta]

Is your PH stable? I don't see that you posted that reading.


And thank you for instilling the fear of drunk reefing into me. I need to pay attention to that!

 

[dz6t]

According to the table, Alk for IO salt is 11. Actually if they come with Alk at 7, I will prefer it than 11.



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[dz6t]

You can adjust Alk up easily but not so easy to drop it.


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