2 part Precipitating or normal consumption in new SPS Tank

Mikedawg8898 · Feb 24, 2023

I have an 80 gallon tank with 20 gallons of water in the sump and about 25 SPS frags in the display. Tank has been running for about 6 months with no coral and just added them 2 weeks ago from an old established 20 gallon reef (also added the live rock to the sump) and until this past week alkalinity was above 7dkh with Kalk, but when it started dropping, i slowly started to add 2 part and i cant catch this falling knife.

I dose Kalkwasser around the clock anytime the PH gets below 8.25 and use 2 part to supplement my alkalinity and find that at 60Ml of 2part, my alkalinity is still dropping (I have a trident and also verified with hanna Checker. I am also using the BRS 1.1ML dosers but after running for 10 mins they actually dose 1.8ML a minute as 18ML was collected after 10mins

MY question is should i just double the dose of 2 part like i did in the screenshots below? And how can i be sure I am not precipitating the 2 part? I dont have a sand bed and I also dose the Kalkwasser upstream by the filtersocks, and 2 part downstream by the return pump and dont see any white precipitant on the walls, pumps, or heaters. Also on the trident graph, you will see where i hand dosed 55ml today around 12:15 and retested at 12:30 and came to 6.17 and it consumed or precipitated all of that within the next 6 hours

gbroadbridge · Feb 24, 2023

Mikedawg8898 said:
I have an 80 gallon tank with 20 gallons of water in the sump and about 25 SPS frags in the display. Tank has been running for about 6 months with no coral and just added them 2 weeks ago from an old established 20 gallon reef (also added the live rock to the sump) and until this past week alkalinity was above 7dkh with Kalk, but when it started dropping, i slowly started to add 2 part and i cant catch this falling knife.

I dose Kalkwasser around the clock anytime the PH gets below 8.25 and use 2 part to supplement my alkalinity and find that at 60Ml of 2part, my alkalinity is still dropping (I have a trident and also verified with hanna Checker. I am also using the BRS 1.1ML dosers but after running for 10 mins they actually dose 1.8ML a minute as 18ML was collected after 10mins

MY question is should i just double the dose of 2 part like i did in the screenshots below? And how can i be sure I am not precipitating the 2 part? I dont have a sand bed and I also dose the Kalkwasser upstream by the filtersocks, and 2 part downstream by the return pump and dont see any white precipitant on the walls, pumps, or heaters. Also on the trident graph, you will see where i hand dosed 55ml today around 12:15 and retested at 12:30 and came to 6.17 and it consumed or precipitated all of that within the next 6 hours

It seems a bit high, but it depends on growth. Are you seeing white tips growing on the frags?
Pic of the tank under white light would be useful.

My tank - about the same size, has full grown colonies of SPS and LPS and consumes around 300ml a day of each part. Thtats all I dose, no Kalk.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Feb 24, 2023

Some precipitation is likely happening in every tank.

Excessive precipitation will show as hardening sand, and excessive buildup of calcium carbonate on heaters, pump impellers, and anything else warm.

In the absence of seeing anything like that, I'd likely dose more.