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Alk is disappearing ....where has it gone??

Y

ynotme4886

Long story short....my alk and ph always seem to run a bit low. No matter what I do it just stays at the same levels or will rise for a day and then level back off to where it decides it wants to be

My ph always sits around 8.0(just checked)..... really want it to be at 8.2 to 8.3
Alk at 8.3 or 2.97 (just checked)....would like it at about 3.66
Mag is currently at 1260
Calcium is at 475
Salinity at 1.026
No nitrate/nitrite/ammonia/ says no phos but am sure with the hair algae and diatoms it is in there somewhere

I have a 92 corner with a 20g sump and change 15gal every 2 weeks. I use Trop Marin for my salt and Salifert for my test kits

Everything in the tank looks great except for some hair algae and now a few brown diatoms on my sand bed :mad:

I've tried using DT's new line of calc/mag/alk supplements to level out my numbers in the last 2 months but no luck. There are no fish in the tank....just clean up crew who get fed 2x a week (very lightly fed) and the corals get fed about the same.... A bit of snow and some cyclopeze

So any ideas would be great
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

your params are fine - check this link:
http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=8356.0

why do you want to raise the alk/ph more?

The only thing I can think of is whether you measured your ph at night and what was the result?

Better yet - measure it in a cup, add an airstone and an hour or so later - measure it again.

But I think the params are fine. The diatoms and hairalgae are there not because of the alk/ph - but some nutrients you are somehow introducing (or introduced) into the tank.

Using RODI water? skimmer?

one more article on relationship of calc and alk:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
 
Y

ynotme4886

Wow... that was good reading and I bookmarked it for reference in the future.

I am using R/O DI water but am not using my own unit....getting it at the LFS. I just don't have the time or the space to use my own unit....will set it up in a permanent location after we move in the spring.

I am thinking about buying a tds meter so I can check the water I buy just to make sure it is good.....I wonder how often the store maintains their r/o unit.

As for skimmer I use a sump buddy 40 with a mag 9.5 and run it 24/7.

I feed the corals 2x per week.... marine snow for the filter feeders (2 cap fulls)Bottle says 4 caps for my size tank (92 corner 20g sump) and a bit of cyclop for everything else. I melt it... drain excess water off of it..mix with a baster of tank water and feed. I occasionally spot feed my anemone with a bit of silverside but if that happens once a month its a lot.

I measure my ph about the same time during the day.... nap time for the little one which is between 10-11 am.

I am thinking about pulling out all of the rock and giving it a scrub with a toothbrush and a rinse with old water from my next water change.... kinda like a rinse station....scrub in one bucket....rinse in another...and throw in a third and just re aqua scape the tank and give the sand a good vac while I am at it.

Will this help or just make it worse?
 
M

mott768

The only thing I'd recommend you do is raise your mag to 1350-1400, once you get your mag level stable your calc and alk should stabilize also. For your calc level your alk/DKH is perfect. If you raise your alk higher your PH may drop more. PH of 8.0 or 8.1 is fine there is no need to raise that either.
 
Y

ynotme4886

I thought I had read somewhere as well that if you boost your mag.... it will help wipe out the hair algae as well.

For raising my mag I have the DT's mag additive and also Tech M by Kent..... I think I like the Tech M better.
 
M

mgonz

I'm having the same problem. I dose bionic two part daily and I drip brightwell kalk2 nightly and I can't keep my alk up. It just drops and drops. Mag is1290 and I'm due for a water change. But this has been an on going thing. I was using phosban and read that it may be the issue so I changed over to rawa and am still having this issue. Please help
 
C

calaxa

What are the following params:

Ca
Alk (dKh or meq/l)
pH

You have an imbalance that you are artificially trying to correct and the system is trying to establish an equilibrium. I doubt phosban or rawa is a factor in all this. I would see what would happen if you didn't dose for a day or two (or more if your corals can tolerate it) and see where the system is actually trying to move towards.
 
M

mgonz

alk is around eight. Cal is 410 and ph is between 8.1 and 8.3. I'll check again tommorow I just did a 20gal water change today.
 
C

calaxa

If you are really worried it is on the low side, you can add baking soda (not baking powder). Best method is to bake it on sheet for an hour to dry it out, then dissolve in water. Another method is kalkwasser rather than these 2 part ionic stuff since it raises both calc and alk. I just raised my CA from 380 to 440 over the last two days. At the same time my dKH went from 8 to roughly 10.5-11. pH went up from about 8.2 to 8.4 (I do kalk + vinegar). If you did pure kalk, I can't even imagine what the pH spike might've been. I don't really know why you think it's low. I think the calculator says 8-9 is normal for 410 calc. Test kits vary from brand to brand and dKH isn't what I call a quantitative test. Your Mg is on target too at roughly 3x calcium. BTW, what Mg kit do you use? I'm trying to compare the different brands (leaning towards salifert but seachem has a cheap combo I might want to try).

If you want more info about kalk + vinegar, let me know. I was just experimenting with it and so far I really like the results (Can dump a gallon of kalk with little or no precipitate and pH spikes max of 0.2 then equilibriates for 120 gallon tank). Just have to see what that organic carbon will do to the tank.
 
M

mgonz

just checked levels again and this is what I got alk 9.6 calc 400 mag is 1200. I've been dripping Kali at night and I use the two part as my daily supplement. It seems as though things are starting to balance out. I will keep an eye on it. I will try to bring my mag up to around 1300 and bring my calc up. Thanks for the help. If things don't work I will def pm you about the whole baking soda thing. Thanks again.
 
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