Akalinity Help on Nuvo 10

[RedTheReefer]

Hi.

I posted a recent thread about my dKH being around 4.5 dkH. I was skeptical about this reading and so were others. I decided to triple check this reading (from the Hanna dKH checker) with the API Reef Master test kit and the Red Sea Alkalinity Test kit. I have confirmed that the Hanna dKH checker is surprisingly reading correctly.

I was given advice to do 25% water changes (because of low tank volume) everyday to bring my Alkalinity up to levels that my salt mixes at. I use Tropic Marin Pro. I tried this for the past week and here are my results.

Date​	Alkalinity​
3-Nov-20​	4.5​
4-Nov-20​	5.1 (after water change)​
5-Nov-20​	5​
6-Nov-20​	(water change)​
8-Nov-20​	(water change)​
9-Nov-20​	(before water change) 4.8​
10-Nov-20​	(before water change) 4.5​

My conclusion is that water changes are not enough and I need to dose in order to get my levels back up.

My calcium tests at 470-480 ppm which is already high (using Red Sea Calcium Kit). I would like to dose All for Reef instead of Kalkwasser (because my PH is at 8.1) or any two part method for simplicity to bring it up to 7.5 dKH. The problem with this is that my calcium is already high. I understand using All for Reef is not as efficient as two part dosing in this case. But, if I use All for Reef, would my calcium shoot up even higher and cause problems down the road? Should I be able to level my calcium out with more water changes while dosing All for Reef?

 

[RedTheReefer]

Anyone?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, dosing is the answer, if you are convinced the values are accurate.

I would use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), not sodium carbonate or ALL for Reef. You may not detect any alk with ALL for Reef. (you haven't dosed any yet, have you?)

here's a calculator:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

I'd boost 0.5 dKH twice a day.

 

[RedTheReefer]

Yes, dosing is the answer, if you are convinced the values are accurate.

I would use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), not sodium carbonate or ALL for Reef. You may not detect any alk with ALL for Reef. (you haven't dosed any yet, have you?)

here's a calculator:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

I'd boost 0.5 dKH twice a day.

I'm haven't dosed anything yet. I'll pick up soda ash from BRS to use.

What do you mean by boosting 0.5 dKH twice a day?

Do you mean dosing twice a day to boost it up 0.5 dKH per day until desired level is reached or boosting it up 1 dKH per day with two separate doses of 0.5 dKH?

Also, is there a trick to get your actual volume of tank water?

Thanks for the response.

 

[RedTheReefer]

Yes, dosing is the answer, if you are convinced the values are accurate.

I would use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), not sodium carbonate or ALL for Reef. You may not detect any alk with ALL for Reef. (you haven't dosed any yet, have you?)

here's a calculator:

Reef Chemistry Calculator

I'd boost 0.5 dKH twice a day.

Did alittle research but I'm not fully understanding why you recommend sodium bi carbonate over something like soda ash. How come in my case?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm haven't dosed anything yet. I'll pick up soda ash from BRS to use.

What do you mean by boosting 0.5 dKH twice a day?

Do you mean dosing twice a day to boost it up 0.5 dKH per day until desired level is reached or boosting it up 1 dKH per day with two separate doses of 0.5 dKH?

Also, is there a trick to get your actual volume of tank water?

Thanks for the response.

NO, not soda ash. Wrong product. Raises pH too much, which you do not want if precipitation of calcium carbonate may be playing a substantial role.

Sodium bicarbonate or baking soda.

Estimating the tank volume is fine.

Add 0.5 dKH worth of baking soda in teh AM and 0,5 dKH worth of baking soda in the PM each day until you get to your target level, then adjust dosing as needed.

If it needs to be higher, dose a bit more each day.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

These are the best steps (IMO) to reduce the potential for precipitation when that is a problem:

Stop dosing as long as alk stays above 6 dKH (corals are typically Ok at that level). When you resume dosing, use a low pH additive (like baking soda). Stop efforts to boost pH (if any). Reduce skimming or other organic removal temporarily. Keep magnesium at least 1300 ppm. Let calcium drop. Remove phosphate export methods if using GFO or other binders.