Accidentally overdosed allforreef

Laidbackpk

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Not sure what else I can do. I noticed that my salinity had dropped to 1.020 sg after about 3 weeks of auto water changes and my new salt must have been very low.

40 breeder tank with sump, approximately 40-42 gallons total water volume. Alk had been stable with kalk around 8.5-9 dkh.

I bought a bottle of all for reef from brs last week and was planning to switch since calcium and magnesium were slightly lower with stable alk than I wanted, around 390 and 1150 respectively.

I set the all for reef to dose 5 ml per day at 2:30 am.
When I checked this afternoon, the dosing pump had been stuck on and my alk went up to 13.8-14 ish.
I’m already changing water 10 gallons per day with 1.030sg for 3 days to adjust my salinity up, per hamza reef calculator.
Anything else to adjust the all for reef overdose? Any pitfalls to watch out for?

what a comedy of errors that I will suffer through now. Doh.
 

Spare time

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Just do as big of a water change as you can. You could probably do it till calcium is right where it should be in the salt mix. I would assume that once that level is matching the salt mix, everything else should be in an ok range.


This is also why I will never use dosing pumps lol.
 

srobertb

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Following.

I run high alk at 11.5 and had my alk doser get stuck on about a month ago.
It sucks and it hurts.

My AWC falls out of calibration constantly and my salinity will drop slowly over a month.

I love all these automated systems but its created so many new points of failure!
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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The concern is not so much the current 14 dKH (which I'd just let fall on its own), but how much higher it might get as the formate is metabolized to release the alkalinity.

I do think water changes are a good plan.

Also make sure there is adequate nitrate and phosphate to prevent burnt tips and coral starvation as they try to grow faster at the high alk.
 
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Laidbackpk

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The concern is not so much the current 14 dKH (which I'd just let fall on its own), but how much higher it might get as the formate is metabolized to release the alkalinity.

I do think water changes are a good plan.

Also make sure there is adequate nitrate and phosphate to prevent burnt tips and coral starvation as they try to grow faster at the high alk.
Thanks, I’ll note extra feedings for a few days until the water change has leveled everything out.

I’ll try to test at least alk and calcium tonight and post some numbers.

I had one BTA that looked pretty sad, but with salinity up to about 1.022 this morning, he was looking a bit happier.
 

srobertb

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Thanks, I’ll note extra feedings for a few days until the water change has leveled everything out.

I’ll try to test at least alk and calcium tonight and post some numbers.

I had one BTA that looked pretty sad, but with salinity up to about 1.022 this morning, he was looking a bit happier.
FWIW My tank (due to the AWC getting clogged or slowing dow) has swung from 1.021 to 1.029. The swing is always missed because it’s over weeks. I just bring it down/up over a week so but turning off the “add” or “remove” portion of my AWC system.

I have never actually noticed a different in my mixed reef (including several BTA) within these swings (which I have resolved by using gas-line style fine mesh filters on the lines).
 
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Laidbackpk

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The concern is not so much the current 14 dKH (which I'd just let fall on its own), but how much higher it might get as the formate is metabolized to release the alkalinity.

I do think water changes are a good plan.

Also make sure there is adequate nitrate and phosphate to prevent burnt tips and coral starvation as they try to grow faster at the high alk.
Tonight’s readings.

salinity: 1.023
alk: 11.8
calcium: 480
mag: 1600
nitrate: 3
phos: .01

keeping up water changes
 
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Laidbackpk

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And today.
Salinity 1.025
Alk: 9.8
Ca: 460
Mg: 1440
No 3: 1
Po4: .02
Ph8

the 75% water change was 100% effective. I lost one sps frag to RTN, but it wasn’t doing great before the overdose.

Thanks for the ideas and reassurance everybody!!
 

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