4 DKH Alk swing last night- now what?

[cdw79]

What I believed happened was that a few weeks ago before I realized it was low, my Alk kept dropping from the 7.5 range I normally keep it to about 6.8, presumably because it was sucking out the very last drops of fluid. Like an idiot, I then increased the default output to try and mitigate that issue. Well sure enough, once primed with new fluid, the Alk exploded- 6.9 to 11.7 in a matter of hours. Just ran a second Alk test and got 11.0 this morning, so at least I know it's hit its peak (was worried it would come back even worse since the last test was at 1 am.

The tank has been set up for a year and a half and I have SPS, LPS, Clams, etc. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do, if anything. I cut off the default Alk to 1 ml per day (lowest it would go) to try and not double down on the issue, at the very least. But is this even a good idea, then? I know the Alk levels won't lurch down as quickly as they went up but idk if I should still have some calc coming in Looking over the tank today I don't see any signs of any kind of necrosis, which I guess is good, but we're still only 8 or so hours into the alk overdose. Both clams are open and seemingly doing ok for now. No shrimp or anything and only crabs are a few hermits.

Is there anything I should do? I'd fear a huge WC might get the DKH down to some degree, but would a potential lurch back be a good outcome as opposed to just trying to stabilize things? I dealt with these a bit a year ago or so, but I didn't have such a packed tank at the time, much less one with a decent amount of higher end stuff either. Just baffled at how I've managed to do this, any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[bradreef]

How do the corals look? Polyp extension? I would say dont do anything drastic unless the corals show signs of stress. Back in the day many successful sps tanks ran alk over 10dkh. I would say to very slowly bring it down. The corals/ clams are probably used to the higher alk. Shouldnt be sn issue unless you rapidly change things

 

[cdw79]

Completely unaffected as far as I can tell. Lights are off but SPS of all types still look the same as they have. Torches, hammers, etc. are unbothered. I don't know if it's because it's still too early to tell (early on I had a chalice slowly disintegrate on me over a few weeks after a big swing when I still was a little less clued into the workings of the apex) but no observable changes this morning

 

[under.water.ninja]

If you have enough corals to consume the alk then just wait a few days for it to slowly drop back down and then start dosing again. Do a water change if you want to get it down quicker. It’s really not that big of a deal! Your be really surprised what corals can handle

 

[under.water.ninja]

When I make a mistake with alk I fix it right away, doesn’t matter how big the swing is. If it drops from 8.5 to 6.0 because a dosing bin didn’t get filled in time, I add enough talk to bring it back up in one shot. Corals can handle it. If it has slowly slowly been going down, the raise it back up slowly or vice versa

 

[bradreef]

Tank of the Month - March 2003 - Reefkeeping Online

Perfect example of a top notch tank running alk over 11 dkh. Its not a big deal and used to be common

Tank of the Month - July 2003 - Reefkeeping Online Magazine

This one ran at 10dkh

Tank of the Month - December 2003 - Reefkeeping Online Magazine

Thisone at 11 dkh. My favorite as he was like a mentor when i was new in the hobby

 

[Dburr1014]

I will 100% advise to go slow bringing it down. 1dkh per day.
Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.
Edit: my tank comsumes about 1dkh a day. So if I shut off my carx co2 tank, it drops 1dkh in 24 hours.

 

[cdw79]

@bradreef I'm not concerned at the fact it's at 11 dkh, I'm concerned about the speed and size of the swing to get there. I kept my tank there at one point too. I'm just concerned about the shock associate with such a large and rapid swing

 

[cdw79]

I will 100% advise to go slow bringing it down. 1dkh per day.
Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

Would me just cutting it off from Alk be a good approach to follow this? Or would that be too steep of a decline, would you say?

 

[Dburr1014]

@bradreef I'm not concerned at the fact it's at 11 dkh, I'm concerned about the speed and size of the swing to get there. I kept my tank there at one point too. I'm just concerned about the shock associate with such a large and rapid swing

I have gone from 8 to 12, lost nothing bringing it down 3 dkh in 3 days

 

[Dburr1014]

Would me just cutting it off from Alk be a good approach to follow this? Or would that be too steep of a decline, would you say?

You can go in any way you see fit. I just advise not more than 1dkh per day.

 

[cdw79]

I have gone from 8 to 12, lost nothing bringing it down 3 dkh in 3 days

That gives me some hope, I couldn't find any threads on a swing like this. Hopefully I've dodged a bullet here. Sounds like the best approach, like most things, is to not over-worry and go slowly. Who'd have thought!

 

[under.water.ninja]

That gives me some hope, I couldn't find any threads on a swing like this. Hopefully I've dodged a bullet here. Sounds like the best approach, like most things, is to not over-worry and go slowly. Who'd have thought!

You are fine! Watch the latest rappin with reefbum with Dang Zoux, I just butchered his name lol, but it’s very informative on all swings and many other things