ReefSafeSolutions Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 How confident are you in the test kit? I had a friend with a similar issue and his test kit ended up being bad. Just a thought. I'm pretty confident with the test kit, we get repeatable results each time. Link to comment
HM3105 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I'm pretty confident with the test kit, we get repeatable results each time. My friend did too, it kept coming up low every time no matter what he did. He compared it to a couple other kits which both read much higher. Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 My friend did too, it kept coming up low every time no matter what he did. He compared it to a couple other kits which both read much higher. It definitely doesn't come up low. We test salt mix known to be at around 9.5-10dKH and that's what we get when we test, every time. I saw my alk consistently dropping with this kit...a one day hiccup isn't enough for me to say the kit is bogus. Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 I am having this same issue. Have you figured out a resolution yet? My recent thinking is that the alkalinity of my top off water is 0, thus every time the tank gets topped off it lowers the alkalinity. My unscientific mind tells me to bring the alkalinity of the top off water up to where I want the tank to be, just so that it's not dropping the tank levels, then use 2 part to replace what is being consumed by the livestock in the tank. Why does this not make sense? Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 On 1/20/2017 at 1:09 PM, ReefSafeSolutions said: My alkalinity is consumed rapidly. I've always had a hard time keeping it at the right level so I finally got some Kalkwasser to maintain it. So I've been working on getting my Ca and Alk to the right levels before I start using it. My Ca is fine, probably between 450-500. A little high, I know. But my Alk...well, yesterday, I dosed and got it up to 8.7 (measured at 9:30am). This morning, I measured again, at 9:30, and my Alk is down to 7. It's consumed faster than the recommend safe dosing amount per day of 1.4! Is that normal? I've got several LPS colonies, mainly Euphyllia. So you can understand my need to have consistent Alk. I'll admit, I'm a lazy reefer...I've been doing this for a few years but am only now getting into daily dosing. Better late than never. I suppose I'll get my Alk up to around 9 or 10 and then switch my ATO water to Kalk. I've got a database somewhere of how often my ATO turns on and for how long, so I can roughly estimate how much Kalk I'll need to add. 1 hour ago, Pjanssen said: I am having this same issue. Have you figured out a resolution yet? My recent thinking is that the alkalinity of my top off water is 0, thus every time the tank gets topped off it lowers the alkalinity. My unscientific mind tells me to bring the alkalinity of the top off water up to where I want the tank to be, just so that it's not dropping the tank levels, then use 2 part to replace what is being consumed by the livestock in the tank. Why does this not make sense? How many gallons are your tanks and what are your magnesium levels. If magnesium is not in balance you will never be able to get alkalinity and calcium to be stable. It is possible for corals to absorb a large amount of alkalinity on a daily basis but this is usually a problem in smaller tanks that have large coral colonies. Top off water does not need to be dosed with anything. When you add top off water you are replacing evaporated H2O. Elements do not evaporate at room temperature. Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 7 minutes ago, CronicReefer said: How many gallons are your tanks and what are your magnesium levels. If magnesium is not in balance you will never be able to get alkalinity and calcium to be stable. It is possible for corals to absorb a large amount of alkalinity on a daily basis but this is usually a problem in smaller tanks that have large coral colonies. Top off water does not need to be dosed with anything. When you add top off water you are replacing evaporated H2O. Elements do not evaporate at room temperature. my tank is a bc29. around 18-20 gallons. Magnesium 1400+. My thought is not that the elements are evaporating, but that the low alkalinity top off is diluting. I'm just at a loss as to why somewhat suddenly (last several weeks) my Alk levels are being used up but not calcium. I just bought an auto doser so that I can start dosing 2 part, but can't set it up because I'm afraid if I dose equal alk/cal as directed, then my calcium levels will rise to high. It's all very confusing Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 I think the majority of my alk consumption is through coralline algae. It's been growing fast in my tank. I also have some large LPS colonies which like CronicReefer said, can use alk fast in a small system. Adding kalkwasser to my ATO has solved my problem though and everything is stable in my tank finally. Your alkalinity is not being diluted by your ATO water. The alk concentration is increasing in your tank as the water evaporates, and as you add fresh top off water, the concentration is decreased back to normal. BUT...this variation in concentration is going to be TINY...I'd guess your test kits wouldn't even detect it. Bottom line is, your ATO isn't the cause of your Alk problem. Have you noticed an increase in coralline algae lately? Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Alright, I'm convinced it's not my ATO. Sadly, minimal coraline in my tank. Mostly euphilia and softies. Large colony of hammer.medium torch. small duncan. small frog. Large toadstool, some acans, some type of brain, mushrooms. and a BTA. Good to hear Kalkwasser worked for you. I'll look into it. Thanks Link to comment
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