How much of an alk swing is acceptable?

[glennr1978]

I would recommend to buy a new kit,,, stat. That Red Sea kH test is garbage. For less than $10 you can find an API (aquarium pharmaceuticals) which is as accurate as LaMotte, Elos, or SeaChem, and very easy to use. Each drop = 1 dKH, sharp color change, not really open to much interpretation. Get a new kit as soon as you can. If you see a couple degrees swing on API, then worry a bit. Until then, that Red Sea kit is junk, your water could be perfectly fine.

 

BTW - want to see what STN looks like? alkalinity swings while away for Christmas... notice the nice clean part of the rock... coral tissue was there at one point...

 

Thanks for the pic, but unfortunately I know what stn (and rtn for that matter) look like very well.

 

Btw, the red sea kit is for alk, and the hagen is kh. And they are all my crappy LFS sells. Today I noticed that petsmart sells API and Seachem products now. I may have to go check tomorrow and see what they have.

[glennr1978]

Okay, so I got a new test kit today (API) and my dkh reading is 10 before dosing B-ionic. It's been a few hours after dosing and I tested dkh again, and it's now 11. Is this acceptable? If not, how do you go about keeping it completely stable? Is that even possible?

[Alexraptor]

Hmmm my Hydnopora colony died from RTN for some unknown reason a long time ago, at the time i wasnt even measuring alkalinity...hmmmm i wonder..

[spanko]

I think I may have dosed too much B-Ionic 2 part alkalinty last night. I came home tonight and the millepora I just got has the strings of slime, no polyps extension and I took a turkey baster to it and all of the flesh just blew right off, leaving a bright white skeleton. I doubt you would call this anything but RTN. The rest of my acros are not looking real happy at this point but did not do what the milli did---yet....Sometimes I get po'd at this hobby.

[glennr1978]

I think I may have dosed too much B-Ionic 2 part alkalinty last night. I came home tonight and the millepora I just got has the strings of slime, no polyps extension and I took a turkey baster to it and all of the flesh just blew right off, leaving a bright white skeleton. I doubt you would call this anything but RTN. The rest of my acros are not looking real happy at this point but did not do what the milli did---yet....Sometimes I get po'd at this hobby.

From what I understand it is best to dose B-ionic in the morning to prevent larger ph swings.

 

I went ahead and tested about 30 minutes ago and now dkh is 10 again. So is a fluctuation from 10 to 11 to 10 again okay??

[glennr1978]

Bueller.......Bueller.........Bueller????

[glennr1978]

I guess no one knows!!

[PurpleUP]

From what I understand it is best to dose B-ionic in the morning to prevent larger ph swings.

 

I went ahead and tested about 30 minutes ago and now dkh is 10 again. So is a fluctuation from 10 to 11 to 10 again okay??

 

My inclination is that if you can minimize daily fluctuation to no more than 1 dKH throughout the day, you may want to wait until dKH falls to 8 before dosing the same amount as usual - to maintain 8 to 9 dKH. This will keep your water closer to the levels found in natural sea water, which I have been told is a good thing.

[glennr1978]

My inclination is that if you can minimize daily fluctuation to no more than 1 dKH throughout the day, you may want to wait until dKH falls to 8 before dosing the same amount as usual - to maintain 8 to 9 dKH. This will keep your water closer to the levels found in natural sea water, which I have been told is a good thing.

So I should temporarily stop dosing part one of the 2 part that I'm using? Is it really that simple to get dkh down to 8 or 9?

 

Once it drops to 8 or 9 should I just continue to dose the same ammounts that I'm dosing now, or should I start with less?

 

Should I still be dosing part 2 for Ca everyday while I'm waiting for the dkh drop?

 

Sorry for all the stupid questions. I'm just trying to get a good handle on this whole thing before I start spending serious $$$ on higher end SPS.

[PurpleUP]

So I should temporarily stop dosing part one of the 2 part that I'm using? Is it really that simple to get dkh down to 8 or 9?

 

Once it drops to 8 or 9 should I just continue to dose the same ammounts that I'm dosing now, or should I start with less?

 

Should I still be dosing part 2 for Ca everyday while I'm waiting for the dkh drop?

 

Sorry for all the stupid questions. I'm just trying to get a good handle on this whole thing before I start spending serious $$$ on higher end SPS.

 

Difficult for me to comment on Ca dosing since I don't use 2 part. What I've found for myself is that maintaining 400ppm doesn't require so much solution, which will ultimately save you money. But as far as lowering dKH, it should be that simple to allow your tank's natural alkalinity consumption to reduce it to more desirable levels. Depending on your consumption rate, it could take as little as one day to one week. Given that you're already able to maintain a 1 dKH variance between 10-11, I'd say you continue to dose the same amount at first then reduce it if you get too high of a spike. Basically, see if your normal dosing brings your dKH up to 9 (from a base level of 8). If it raises it to 10 dKH then wait until it falls again to 8, and decrease your next dosage by half. That's what I'd try anyway!

 

Lately, I've been tracking/maintaining my Mg levels at 1300ppm. Ever since, my system's needs for Alk and Ca haven't been so demanding. Are you testing for magnesium?

[glennr1978]

Difficult for me to comment on Ca dosing since I don't use 2 part. What I've found for myself is that maintaining 400ppm doesn't require so much solution, which will ultimately save you money. But as far as lowering dKH, it should be that simple to allow your tank's natural alkalinity consumption to reduce it to more desirable levels. Depending on your consumption rate, it could take as little as one day to one week. Given that you're already able to maintain a 1 dKH variance between 10-11, I'd say you continue to dose the same amount at first then reduce it if you get too high of a spike. Basically, see if your normal dosing brings your dKH up to 9 (from a base level of 8). If it raises it to 10 dKH then wait until it falls again to 8, and decrease your next dosage by half. That's what I'd try anyway!

 

Lately, I've been tracking/maintaining my Mg levels at 1300ppm. Ever since, my system's needs for Alk and Ca haven't been so demanding. Are you testing for magnesium?

Thanks for your help!! No I'm not testing for mg since I don't have a kit. Hell I can't even find a kit online. So what I've been doing is dosing Tech M as described on the label. It says to dose once a week if you aren't testing.

[spanko]

Should probably stop dosing the Mg and get a test kit.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...s_salifert.html

[glennr1978]

Should probably stop dosing the Mg and get a test kit.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...s_salifert.html

Thanks for the link. Last time I checked they were out of stock, I'll go ahead and order one now.

 

I haven't seen any ill effects at all since I started dosing for mg. In fact, my tank seems to be more stable since I started using Tech M. I'm even starting to see my little acro colony color up (it browned out a couple days after I got it, and has been brown for about 3 months now). Since I'm not testing I dose a little less than what is recommended.

[spanko]

Cool.

[PurpleUP]

Thanks for the link. Last time I checked they were out of stock, I'll go ahead and order one now.

 

I haven't seen any ill effects at all since I started dosing for mg. In fact, my tank seems to be more stable since I started using Tech M. I'm even starting to see my little acro colony color up (it browned out a couple days after I got it, and has been brown for about 3 months now). Since I'm not testing I dose a little less than what is recommended.

 

I like the Elos kit for Mg. You can really tell the difference in quality, IMO. I'm curious to find out what level your Mg is now. My guess is that it's still too low, although you've been dosing weekly. What salt brand are you using?

[glennr1978]

I like the Elos kit for Mg. You can really tell the difference in quality, IMO. I'm curious to find out what level your Mg is now. My guess is that it's still too low, although you've been dosing weekly. What salt brand are you using?

It very well may be low still. I don't want to push it too much, thats why I've been dosing a little less than what is recommended by Kent. I switched from IO to seachem reef salt about 3 or so months ago. I've been very happy with it so far.

[PurpleUP]

It very well may be low still. I don't want to push it too much, thats why I've been dosing a little less than what is recommended by Kent. I switched from IO to seachem reef salt about 3 or so months ago. I've been very happy with it so far.

 

I use the same brand. When I tested my base Mg level, it was 1100ppm at 1.025.5 salinity. Again, I'd be curious to know where your base Mg levels test for newly mixed salt, once your kit arrives. You might want to check my thread for raising Mg. I linked it to the most relevant page. IT TAKES ALOT OF DOSING AND PATIENCE to bring it up to desired levels. FYI, since my Mg has been at 1300ppm, I haven't had to dose nearly as much Ca or Alk. I've come to find that it is a very important element to keeping healthy SPS.

[glennr1978]

I use the same brand. When I tested my base Mg level, it was 1100ppm at 1.025.5 salinity. Again, I'd be curious to know where your base Mg levels test for newly mixed salt, once your kit arrives. You might want to check my thread for raising Mg. I linked it to the most relevant page. IT TAKES ALOT OF DOSING AND PATIENCE to bring it up to desired levels. FYI, since my Mg has been at 1300ppm, I haven't had to dose nearly as much Ca or Alk. I've come to find that it is a very important element to keeping healthy SPS.

awesome, thank you!!

[glennr1978]

elos magnesium kit ordered. I'll post results when it gets here.

[glennr1978]

Here's why marinedepot.com rules. I ordered the test kit at about 5:15 pm., just checked my e mail and it's already been shipped by 6:00 pm.

[PurpleUP]

Here's why marinedepot.com rules. I ordered the test kit at about 5:15 pm., just checked my e mail and it's already been shipped by 6:00 pm.

 

MarineDepot's FAST. I get all of my supplies from them now. Cheaper than the LFS and easier on gas. The Elos kit will make you feel like a real chemist. It seems to have more precision than the API testing kits I'm used to. New reefers like myself typically disregard Mg, but I've noticed that the most successful aquarists pay very close attention to it. Try to test Mg at least 1hr after you dose alk. It could impact your results.

[bdare]

Glenn,

 

Did you test your Mg yet? Keep in mind when you dose Mg it will also increase your salinity. I highly reccomend getting Mg supplements from bulkreefsupply.com. You'll get Mg chloride and Mg sulphate which is more balanced than most supplements which are just one or the other...

 

Mg supplements can also be purchased locally for much cheaper than what LFS sell. Epson salts and Mag Flake (found at HD or Lowes) are the same thing...

 

Ben