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Alkalinity too low! Why?


Waterproof

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Waterproof

My alkalinity has recently dropped from about 9 to only 7. I'm not sure why this is happening. For some reason, I have a very hard time keeping it over 9 (typically only at 8). I've done 2 x 10% water changes in the past week. I use Oceanic salt and my water parameters are as follows:

 

Salinity: 1.024

pH: 8.2-8.3

ammonia: 0

nitrite: 0

nitrate: 0

calcium: 450 (typically 420-450)

 

What can I do to get this back up (around 10)? Should I dose with something like Seachem Marine Buffer? How much should I add to a BC14 to only raise the alk a bit? I assume less that the typical dose since the pH isn't the issue. I'm happy w/ the pH at 8.2. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

 

J.

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I bet your magnesium is low. When it is low, you will have a hard time maintaining either caclium or alk.

 

To bring your alk back up in your bc14, 1/8 tsp of baking soda will raise it about 1 dkh. I would do that once per day until the level is back to where you want it. This will be much easier to do after you get your Mg back to normal. I use Kent Tech M for that.

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jamesnmandy

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

great read, not nearly as complicated as it looks at first glance, using the advice on that page my tank now has zero issues with calcium and alk, i dont even have to test the PH anymore, if you keep the cal-alk levels within spec the PH will maintain itself for the most part, mine runs 8.2ph, 480ppm cal and 9-10 dkH alk consistently, once it got it balanced i just dose 5cc's of Brightwell Aquatics Reef Code A and 5cc's of the part B and i'm done ;)

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What livestock are you keeping in your tank? Alk is consumed by any stoney coral as well as coraline algae. In heavily stocked tanks dkh can drop by as much as 3 points per day. I use a dosing pump to administer a set amount of Ca and Alk supplements each day based on my tanks usage.

 

The best way to figure out how much your tank is consuming is to dose, test, and let the tank sit for 2 days. Then test again. Divide the difference of the 2 tests by 2 and that is your daily consumption rate. Then you can use a dosing calculator like the one found here to determine how much to add to your tank:

 

Reef chemicals calculator

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

 

The dosage will vary depending on what product you use. I'm a HUGE fan of the Ca / Alk and Mg supplements from bulkreefsupply.com. I'd suggest getting "The Complete Package". I think it will run you about $60 but will save you TONS of money in the long run.

 

Consider this... A gallon of each Ca and Alk B-Ionic will run you about $26 total before shipping. The complete package from bulkreefsupply will make 8 gallons EACH of Ca and Alk and enough Mg supplement to last years. It's a dry mix that you add to RO/DI in the 1 gallon jugs. Easy as pie and saves lots of money!

 

Here is a link to other GREAT reef chemistry articles:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/show...threadid=102605

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Waterproof
What livestock are you keeping in your tank? Alk is consumed by any stoney coral as well as coraline algae. In heavily stocked tanks dkh can drop by as much as 3 points per day. I use a dosing pump to administer a set amount of Ca and Alk supplements each day based on my tanks usage.

 

The only stoney corals I have are a torch and a very small pipe organ. The rest consists of a kenya tree, some shrooms, a couple rics, several zoas, 2 small patches of GSP, and some clove polyps. Coraline algae isn't really out of control in my tank. The back wall is completely clean, and the rocks are slowly getting more. I have to scrape tiny spots off the glass maybe once a week. There really isn't a big sink for my calcium. I was hoping, with the tank being so small, that I could maintain my Ca, Alk, and Mg through water changes, rather than a 2 part additive. Do you agree or disagree? I'm trying to keep this low maintenance (if there is such a thing!). I do 10-15% water changes each week and use oceanic salt. .

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I think maybe you're not mixing the Oceanic strong enough. At 1.026 or 35ppt Oceanic should have Ca levels up over 500 and alk will be around 8.5. If your not dosing anything you won't be able to get get alk to 10. I'd suggest mixing a cup of baking soda in a gallon of RO/DI. Then use the recipie 2 calculator at www.2partcalculator.com.

 

Try testing your makeup water and let me know what the results are.

 

Ben

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Waterproof
I think maybe you're not mixing the Oceanic strong enough. At 1.026 or 35ppt Oceanic should have Ca levels up over 500 and alk will be around 8.5. If your not dosing anything you won't be able to get get alk to 10. I'd suggest mixing a cup of baking soda in a gallon of RO/DI. Then use the recipie 2 calculator at www.2partcalculator.com.

 

Try testing your makeup water and let me know what the results are.

 

Ben

 

I mix to 1.024 (not 1.026). I just made a batch, and my parameters were as follows:

 

SG = 1.024

pH = 8.2-8.3

Alk = 8 (barely)

Calcium = 480

 

So, I added some Seachem Marine Buffer and kicked the alk up to around 10. The pH seems right at 8.3. I typically only test my new water for pH and SG, and periodically for Am, N'ite, and N'ate. When I first started my tank (3 months ago), I dosed w/ Marine Buffer (per the instructions) and shot the alk up to about 14. I then took several weeks and water changes to get it back to about 9. I guess I just never thought the Marine Buffer would be required again. Rookie move! I did a 15% water change today, and I'll keep adding the buffer to my mixed batches until I get the alk back to 10 or so. I think bringing it up too fast would be a bad idea...agree?

 

I'll have my LFS test for Mg the next time I go. What level should I keep it around?

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Yeah... you definitely don't want to add too much buffer at once. It can cause precipitation because of the localized ph spike. You can bring it up about more quickly mixing baking soda in water because it will drop ph by a little bit temporarily rather than increase it.

 

Check out this article too:

Solving Calcium and Alkalinity Problems

http://web.archive.org/web/20021127...ov2002/chem.htm

 

A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

 

The Relationship Between Alkalinity and pH.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/chem.htm

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  • 1 year later...
scubasteve2580
I think maybe you're not mixing the Oceanic strong enough. At 1.026 or 35ppt Oceanic should have Ca levels up over 500 and alk will be around 8.5. If your not dosing anything you won't be able to get get alk to 10. I'd suggest mixing a cup of baking soda in a gallon of RO/DI. Then use the recipie 2 calculator at www.2partcalculator.com.

 

Try testing your makeup water and let me know what the results are.

 

Ben

i mix to 1.026 with oceanic and my alk is 6.. my calcium is about 540

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