Alkalinity advice

[MrObscura]

After another 24 hours it's dropped .1

 

Ang idea why it would drop .5 after the first 24 hours but then only .1?  

[Clown79]

No. It happens, consumption changes.

[MrObscura]

Oh, thanks 

 

Anyway, if with my water changes Alk stays between 9 and 10 for now  I probably shouldnt even bother messing with it yet right? 

[Sjadet]

On 10/8/2018 at 9:28 AM, MrObscura said:

Oh, thanks 

 

Anyway, if with my water changes Alk stays between 9 and 10 for now  I probably shouldnt even bother messing with it yet right? 

I mean if it drops .5 then only .1 you probably wanna keep it wherever it dropped .5 from. Because that is where your corals consume the most elements (grow faster)

[MrObscura]

5 hours ago, Sjadet said:

I mean if it drops .5 then only .1 you probably wanna keep it wherever it dropped .5 from. Because that is where your corals consume the most elements (grow faster)

If I'm going to adjust it shouldn't I just raise it to red sea coral pros mix levels and keep it there? 

[Sjadet]

17 hours ago, MrObscura said:

If I'm going to adjust it shouldn't I just raise it to red sea coral pros mix levels and keep it there? 

Sure but the pro mix is at 12dKh so make sure you have really powerful lights and a good amount of nutrients as well. It's generally a salt aimed for boosted growth in SPS tanks.

[Clown79]

On 10/8/2018 at 3:28 AM, MrObscura said:

Oh, thanks 

 

Anyway, if with my water changes Alk stays between 9 and 10 for now  I probably shouldnt even bother messing with it yet right? 

If it isn't dropping significant amounts through the week, I wouldn't mess with dosing because it will cause further fluctuations.

 

Wait until a full week of testing is done and determine how much every day alk has dropped.

 

 

[MrObscura]

Well, after just adding a bunch more corals the other day, the tank seems to be consuming enough Alk per day to lower it to a point we're the tanks Alk and mix water will be too far off come water change time on Friday. If consumption stays at the same pace they'll be like a 3dkh difference between the tank and the mix water. 

 

So, my question is how should I go about this? Do I try to raise it in the tank between now and Friday, or do a water change with a different salt with lower Alk?

[Clown79]

after you have tested for a week, if the alk is dropping every day and its 3dkh in a week, then daily dosing will be needed.

 

I prefer 2 part doser like Esv bionic. You dose equal parts of alk buffer and ca buffer to keep them balanced.

 

You can dose manually or with dosers.

 

 

How many ml/day will depend on daily drop of alk and gallons in the tank.

 

There are online calculators to help.

[MrObscura]

Yea, I got that. My concern is until it's adjusted how do I do my wc without it altering the Alk too much? 

[Sjadet]

On 10/16/2018 at 12:03 PM, MrObscura said:

Yea, I got that. My concern is until it's adjusted how do I do my wc without it altering the Alk too much? 

You will have to get a salt with lower dKh, but then you might as well just grab a carbonate buffer instead. That or doing a lot of small water changes everyday might atleast keep it stable, but at higher values.

[MrObscura]

Well, I need to do a wc tonight. My Alk is around 8.5dkh and my mix water mixes to 11.  I'm not sure if a 20% WC will alter things too much or not.