Trying to raise Alk. Help please!

[CronicReefer]

I'm really confused where so many people got this idea that to raise alkalinity you do a water change. #1, This is the most expensive, inaccurate, and time consuming way I have ever heard of to raise alkalinity (it is almost pointless in my opinion to attempt maintain alkalinity by doing water changes). #2, There are numerous easy and accurate methods to raise alkalinity such as with sodium carbonate as I stated before. Water changes are mainly for reducing toxins, pollutant build up, and restoring some trace elements we may not test for.

 

P.S. As a side note, my salt mix could never possibly be used for raising alkalinity without doing a 100% water change as it mixes in the 7.5-8.5dKH range (NSW level).

[blasterman]

The sodium bicarbonate used in salt mixes is the same stuff used in a bottle of .99 cent baking soda. Actually, the grocery store baking soda is likely better quality.

 

Id rather add alk and keep a stable dKH than do water changes and be a slave to whatever dKH the salt mix uses. RC and some others mix as high as 12 dKH. Hardly ideal conditions if you ask me.

[Reefer69]

I'm really confused where so many people got this idea that to raise alkalinity you do a water change. #1, This is the most expensive, inaccurate, and time consuming way I have ever heard of to raise alkalinity (it is almost pointless in my opinion to attempt maintain alkalinity by doing water changes). #2, There are numerous easy and accurate methods to raise alkalinity such as with sodium carbonate as I stated before. Water changes are mainly for reducing toxins, pollutant build up, and restoring some trace elements we may not test for.

 

P.S. As a side note, my salt mix could never possibly be used for raising alkalinity without doing a 100% water change as it mixes in the 7.5-8.5dKH range (NSW level).

 

 

Doing a water change is just the easiest way of raising levels back to your normal level. Then you would want to dose to keep your levels stable. Long term yes, water changes are expensive and time consuming, but it's definitely the safest way to raise your levels back to normal.

[Mariaface]

 

 

Doing a water change is just the easiest way of raising levels back to your normal level. Then you would want to dose to keep your levels stable. Long term yes, water changes are expensive and time consuming, but it's definitely the safest way to raise your levels back to normal.

 

 

A 100% water change will accomplish this, but if you're trying to fix parameters then the 100% water change will shock inhabitants. Partial water changes will only get you to some point between your current and ideal parameters, assuming the new salt is closer to the ideal parameters if not exact. And you can still shock inhabitants if the change in parameters is large enough.

 

Dosing as a correction method is a way to make sure you're not changing parameters too quickly, but that you're still fixing them faster than usage in the tank. You can stagger the dosages throughout the day, even - if you tried this with a water change, you'd be wasting some of the new water with each additional change.

[Reefer69]

 

 

A 100% water change will accomplish this, but if you're trying to fix parameters then the 100% water change will shock inhabitants. Partial water changes will only get you to some point between your current and ideal parameters, assuming the new salt is closer to the ideal parameters if not exact. And you can still shock inhabitants if the change in parameters is large enough.

 

Dosing as a correction method is a way to make sure you're not changing parameters too quickly, but that you're still fixing them faster than usage in the tank. You can stagger the dosages throughout the day, even - if you tried this with a water change, you'd be wasting some of the new water with each additional change.

 

 

 

I agree completely. However just from experience i have done 75 - 100% water changes before with no ill record. All depends on how long the ALK has been that low for.

 

Lets say a system is at 8dkh but normally sits at 10 dkh. A 100% water change to raise the alk from 8 to 10 will not shock the inhabitants. In this case the longer they sit at the lower alk, the more stress they get. (Assuming other parameters are the same or close)

 

Now if your tank has been at 8 dkh for a couple of weeks, then you would want to raise it slowly by dosing or doing small water changes. As with all tanks to each his own though.

[gus6464]

A 1 point bump in dkh is not a big deal at all with 2 part or whatever OP wants to use. You guys are making mountains over molehills with this. Your alk is 7 but want 8.5? Bump it to 8 today and then wait 24 hours and bump it to 8.5. Problem solved.

[Renstar]

A 1 point bump in dkh is not a big deal at all with 2 part or whatever OP wants to use. You guys are making mountains over molehills with this. Your alk is 7 but want 8.5? Bump it to 8 today and then wait 24 hours and bump it to 8.5. Problem solved.

 

Wouldn't it not be a big deal depending on it's inhabitants? If his tank for instance is FOWLR or some LPS/Softies I wouldn't see it as a big deal. But if he has SPS pieces in there I would think it would make more sense to slowly raise it and just mix kalkwasser up with his ATO to keep the levels stable.

[gus6464]

 

Wouldn't it not be a big deal depending on it's inhabitants? If his tank for instance is FOWLR or some LPS/Softies I wouldn't see it as a big deal. But if he has SPS pieces in there I would think it would make more sense to slowly raise it and just mix kalkwasser up with his ATO to keep the levels stable.

 

I have done up to 2 whole dkh point bumps in one dose and nothing has happened with my SPS. SPS are not as fragile as people make them out to be. If he was going from 8-11 or something like that then I would worry about alk burn. 7-8 is well within the normal and preferred SPS parameters.

[Mariaface]

 

I have done up to 2 whole dkh point bumps in one dose and nothing has happened with my SPS. SPS are not as fragile as people make them out to be. If he was going from 8-11 or something like that then I would worry about alk burn. 7-8 is well within the normal and preferred SPS parameters.

 

 

It's totally possible you're in a high nutrient tank where alk burn isn't a big deal. In an over-filtered tank with low nutrients and high light, a sudden spike in alk is a real issue. I know; I've made this mistake and only barely got away with it by feeding immediately after.

[Andreww]

thanks everyone from chiming in. I've got some big colonies of LPS (Duncan, frogspawn, favia, some big cynarina and plate corals). As far as SPS, rainbow birds nest, gecko acropora, red monti cap and monti Undata. SPS are pretty small though but they're taking off.

 

Biggest improvement with raising ALK and Mag so far is my monti cap started growing from all sides, whereas before it was just sitting there with no real growth.

[markalot]

thanks everyone from chiming in. I've got some big colonies of LPS (Duncan, frogspawn, favia, some big cynarina and plate corals). As far as SPS, rainbow birds nest, gecko acropora, red monti cap and monti Undata. SPS are pretty small though but they're taking off.

 

Biggest improvement with raising ALK and Mag so far is my monti cap started growing from all sides, whereas before it was just sitting there with no real growth.

 

Excellent. It can be a little daunting when SPS take off and Alk drops but keep in mind a drop of Alk by 1 or 2 KH will only be a small drop in Calcium so make sure, as stated before the madness began, that you dose equal parts and let the tank balance itself out. I test calcium once a month, maybe, just to make sure it's not crazy low or high, then forget about it.

[Andreww]

 

Excellent. It can be a little daunting when SPS take off and Alk drops but keep in mind a drop of Alk by 1 or 2 KH will only be a small drop in Calcium so make sure, as stated before the madness began, that you dose equal parts and let the tank balance itself out. I test calcium once a month, maybe, just to make sure it's not crazy low or high, then forget about it.

I kept testing Calcium this past week while raising Alk and Ca is always 450. So I didn't dose any Calcium yet.

What's the best plan ?

Test until I see Calcium deplete then dose same amount of Alk and Ca ? Say if I do 15ml Alk a day, dose 15 ml of Ca too?

 

I dose Mg as needed but not same day as Alk.

 

Is It not recommended to dose Ca and Alk in the same time?

 

thanks

[Mariaface]

Don't dose them at the same time. Try to separate the doses by at least two hours, if not opposite ends of the day. You don't want to cause precipitation.

 

Once alk and cal are in line and you see both dropping, you can start dosing equal amounts of each (following alk consumption). If calcium falls out of line over time (it may normalize when usage corrects itself), you can correct for that when the time comes.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

I'm really confused where so many people got this idea that to raise alkalinity you do a water change. #1, This is the most expensive, inaccurate, and time consuming way I have ever heard of to raise alkalinity (it is almost pointless in my opinion to attempt maintain alkalinity by doing water changes). #2, There are numerous easy and accurate methods to raise alkalinity such as with sodium carbonate as I stated before. Water changes are mainly for reducing toxins, pollutant build up, and restoring some trace elements we may not test for.

 

P.S. As a side note, my salt mix could never possibly be used for raising alkalinity without doing a 100% water change as it mixes in the 7.5-8.5dKH range (NSW level).

 

LOL....